Finding the right career to match your skills and personality isn’t always easy. Nick, a young man in Langley, gets bored easily and wanted to find a job with a lot of variety. He was interested in exploring options in the trades but wasn’t sure where to start.
Staff at Inclusion Langley Society connected him to MentorAbility, a program that matches job seekers with mentors who excel in their areas of interest. By providing mentees with firsthand experience in potential career paths, the program helps people make informed choices about their next steps.
A spokesperson from Inclusion Langley explains, “We thought welding could be a good fit. We connected with SIDMAC who was immediately open to mentorship. SIDMAC makes custom-made brewery tanks to ship all over the country!”
Staff at SIDMAC welcomed Nick warmly, gave him a tour and introduced him to Juris, his mentor. Juris showed Nick how they make all the parts for the brewery tanks. Nick got to wear a welding helmet and watch Juris do some basic welding. Nick thought the welding was mesmerizing.
Coincidentally, another staff member from Inclusion Langley also works at SIDMAC. He was on shift while Nick was there. Like Nick, he gets easily bored and appreciates doing something different every day.
He shared, “With welding, I’m rarely ever bored. SIDMAC is the best place I’ve ever worked. They are great teachers, and there are great opportunities.”
Mentorships, such as those offered by MentorAbility, are very short – only an hour to a day long at most. This offers job seekers the opportunity to have a quick taste of a job, before committing time and money to further education.
It’s also great news for businesses who want to expand their understanding of inclusive hiring practices. They too can observe the process of training, communicating and working with someone with a disability even if they don’t have a position available currently.
MentorAbility currently supports mentorships for job seekers across BC. For more information about obtaining this kind of support, please contact Inclusion BC’s Inclusive Employment team at employment@inclusionbc.org
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