Stories & Inspiration

A visit to the Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society resulted in a referral to Apsect’s IMMpowerBC program, part of the Ministry of Economic Development’s Skills Connect program. Ton learned that his skills and experience were in demand in BC, however without trade certification it would be difficult for him to find work commensurate to his skills. Ton was accepted into the program and with the support of his job coach he was able to plan the steps toward gaining trade certification with the Industry Training Authority. Ton was very motivated and anxious to get to work as soon as possible. He and his job coach developed a plan to find work in his field where he could begin gaining Canadian experience while he prepared for trade certification. Ton applied for and received membership to the IBEW based on their review of his portfolio of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR). Ton also registered for Construction Safety Training System (CSTS) and B.C. Electrical Code and Standards Course to become more familiar with systems in BC.

Although Ton’s English language skills are strong, he felt clear after completing this training that he was not ready to challenge the Red Seal exam just yet. Ton explains, “I am very knowledgeable in my trade but I do not think I have enough industry vocabulary to write the exam. I aim to be successful in all things I do, and I do not believe I can do my best on this exam right now.” Ton was certain that his best option now was to find an employer to hire him so that he could gain more familiarity with the technical vocabulary and Canadian codes while on the job, and challenge the Red Seal after that. Working with his job coach, Ton focused his energy on his job search. They developed a resume and cover letter, and he learn about effective job search strategies in Canada. He found many good job leads to follow and, an outgoing person by nature, he had no difficulty in marketing himself to employers. In March of 2008, Ton believed he may have found an ideal opportunity. A local food equipment services company was interested in his electrical skills. And the journeyman supervisor on site also spoke Dutch. Ton is dedicated to speaking English on the job, yet he recognized this would be a tremendous asset in expanding his English vocabulary. “If I do not know the English name of a tool I can quickly learn it with a Dutch translation.” Ton was offered a job with Jemco Food Equipment Service Ltd. where he was able to gain valuable experience to help him earn his TQ in BC.