MentorAbility Experience: Tyler

Canadian Grind Cafes is a small coffee chain in B.C. that offers specialty food and drink. The brand is known for empowering staff by providing inclusive environments with flexible schedules while offering extra knowledge, support and training requested by staff. We knew these stores would be a great environment for mentorships to take place and we were thrilled when owner, Lynnette, agreed to partner with MentorAbility.

MentorAbility Experience: Sonja (Accessible Technology)

Sonja is always seeking emerging technologies that can assist in her studies. Her interest in tech led to her thinking about starting a podcast where she would not only explore accessible technologies for persons with disabilities, but also review these technologies and interview the creators.

MentorAbility Experience: Laura

Laura always had a strong love of the Arts, so when she began thinking of possible career paths to explore, she naturally leaned toward something more artistic and performative – eventually setting her sights on pursuing music and dance.

MentorAbility Experience: Lito and Nicolas

Nicolas is a very social person and always enjoys being with people, and so ICSS knew that MentorAbility would be a great way to explore jobs that involve engaging the public.

ICSS used the MentorAbility program to engage The Westin Ottawa to arrange a mentorship for Nicolas in a Greeter role and they were more than happy to accommodate.

MentorAbility Experience: Michael

When Michael came to Performance Plus Rehabilitative Care Inc. (PPRC) and the Inclusion Alliance to find a new job, he already had work experience stocking shelves in a grocery store. Michael wanted to work in the produce section of a grocery store next, but he was concerned he might not have the skills to do so.

MentorAbility Experience: Lacey

Lacey was interested in exploring a career in after school programming. After learning about a potential mentorship opportunity from the Vocational Training Centre manager, the MentorAbility New Brunswick team coordinated a meeting between Lacey and Amanda, the director of the local Boys and Girls Club. Amanda provided a tour of the facility and later introduced Lacey to the afterschool program supervisor.

MentorAbility Experience: Lisa

Lisa enjoyed an automotive class during her schooling days and always thought that working in the industry would be a great fit for her; but, seeing as it’s a male-dominated field, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get hired as a woman. Thankfully, this concern didn’t stop her from looking for opportunities, and Lisa arrived at MentorAbility ready to gain a hands-on mentorship experience working with cars.

MentorAbility Experience: Doug

Having recently graduated university with a degree in Applied Economics, Doug was more than ready to jump into his career; but, Covid made for an uncertain job market and he was unsure of his next step toward employment. Thankfully, Doug looked into his university’s career counselling program and they referred him to MentorAbility — a partnership that ultimately landed Doug a great job with a big Tech company! 

MentorAbility Experience: Basel

When Basel came to March of Dimes Canada (MODC) for help finding employment, he wanted to work full-time as a Farm Hand. Basel grew up in Syria where he worked on a farm his whole life. When he moved to Canada in 2016, however, he faced numerous barriers to employment including a lack of formal training, no Canadian job experience and deafness. With all these barriers in his way, it was not surprising that he struggled to secure employment.

MentorAbility Experience: Trisha and Tiffany

After considering potential career paths, Trisha had her sights set on working in the restaurant industry because she felt her positive energy and upbeat personality would translate well into customer service.

Trisha was soon referred to MentorAbility to gain hands-on work experience, and the first mentorship opportunity that came along was in childcare (and not the restaurant industry). Trisha figured that any work experience was good experience, so she agreed to be mentored by Tiffany, owner of the ProCare Family Centre in Ottawa.