Employment

I came to Canada with my family in 2006. I tried to find the same professional job that I had had in my home country. I was a process engineer and focused on layout design engineering. I sent out hundreds of resumes, but there was no response. At the same time, I took the LINC program funded by federal government because they had child minding services and I had a chance to learn Canadian culture and improved my English. I studied very hard and my attendance was good. I got a reference letter from my LINC instructor. It was my first step in my Canadian job hunting.

I was told that there was a nineteen-week government funded adult co-op course. The program entailed an eight-week in class curriculum portion in addition to an eleven-week work term placement in a field most suited for my individual needs and qualifications. Although it was an unpaid job, it was an easy way to get Canadian work experience in my professional field. So, I decided to quit the LINC course and take the co-op program. My instructor, Lynne, helped me a lot. She reviewed my resume and gave me lots of advice. She imitated an employer to practice my interview skills. Finally, she helped me to contact employers and settled down in the work place.

When I completed the co-op program, I got my second reference letter written by my instructor. I had a good relationship with my workplace supervisor and he would be my reference in my future job hunting. One week later, I got my first professional job. Since the mining industry started booming in 2007, I had a chance to enter a top 10 consulting company in the world. Although the mining industry is always going up and down, I still kept on moving forward in my professional field.

In 2015, the mining industry slowed down. The prices of oil dropped down more than 60 percent, and other mining products were in the same situation. The project that I was working on shut down. Our team was dismissed. I applied for EI benefit and tried to find another job in the mining industry. There isn’t any good news coming. I had almost run out of my EI benefit. My friends told me that there is a program called Second Career. The program is funded by the government and helps people that have been laid off and find it difficult to get another job in the same field. I visited an employment centre and made an appointment with an adviser. My employment adviser, Alex, reviewed my resume, helped me analyzed the job market, gave me the Second Career application form and the college information that listed the qualified programs. It’s very helpful and my application was approved quickly. 

I started the Second Career program in November 2015 and studied some popular 2D and 3D design software such as AutoCAD, MicroStation, Solid Works, Inventor, Catia, UX and so on. It helped me to turn into a mechanical designer and focus on detail design. After 7 months, I got a diploma issued by a Canadian college. I updated my resume and started to look for a new job as a mechanical designer. I got a job quickly that prepared design drawings which establishes interfaces and locations for all components and subsystems related to the wind tunnel. It was a 3 to 6 months contract job, but I finally got into the manufacture industry. When I completed the contract job, I got my manufacture experience and my supervisor said he would call me back if there were some new projects because I had delivered high quality drawings.

In conclusion, don’t give up any time. You will find many resources to help you and try some new roles in Canada. When you have specialized skills, you can have a standard of living we all desire in this country.