Manulife Financial
Elvira Cordileone
As a foreign-born postgraduate student in the United States, Edwin Mazani could have made that country his permanent home by flashing his newly minted MBA.
Instead, the 39-year-old chose to come to Canada. He arrived by way of Windsor in August 2006, armed with a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Zimbabwe, his native land, and his MBA specializing in business information systems from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
He moved to Toronto and received his Canadian landed immigrant status by December of that year, but finding employment at a level matching his education and skills proved harder than expected.
"The job market here was completely different from my experience," Mazani says. "Employers insist on ÔCanadian experience.'"
He contacted the Halton Multicultural Council, a community agency that helps newcomers. The council told him about Career Bridge, the program that introduces skilled immigrants to potential employers through internships paid for by the employers.
After getting a Canadian assessment of his educational credentials (a requirement of the program), he applied for an internship and Manulife Financial took him on as a business analyst in its reinsurance division. The company hired him after his internship.
Manulife has participated in Career Bridge since the program began four years ago, says Diane Bean, the company's executive vice-president of corporate affairs and human resources. "Right from the beginning, we were pragmatic," she says. "We recognized the importance of quickly assimilating skilled immigrants."
Bean says the interns Manulife has employed - 25 graduates so far - contributed something vital in their time with the company - their dealings with staff helped break down cultural and racial biases. "We found over and over how much commonality there is."
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