The Burnaby Board of Trade's Access Student Career Development Program gives opportunities to post-secondary students to develop their skills through workshops, networking and mentorship.
Ali Najaf, a student in the Access program, asked to write this piece about his experiences with the program.
"I think the letter really demonstrates the value of the program and the community engagement piece that benefits business and participants and in the long run the community as well," said Tessa Vanderkop of the Burnaby Board of Trade.
Here, in his own words, is Ali Najaf:
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"In its sixth year, the Access Student Career Development Program by Burnaby Board of Trade has provided opportunities to students from SFU, BCIT and Douglas College to enhance their skills and develop themselves, through workshops, networking, and mentorship. The program, apart from offering professional development, provides students an opportunity to build valuable networks through attending BBOT events. I am fortunate to say that I had the opportunity to be part of two cohorts of the Access Student Career Development Program.
"In my second year, I was curious to find out what I wanted to achieve in life in terms of career growth. Being an international student, I also wanted to know more about Canadian workplace culture. It was then that I heard of this program and decided to apply. I was extremely lucky to have a chance to be a part of it. In the first cohort I had the opportunity to be mentored by Christian Codrington from CPHR B.C. & Yukon who helped me better understand the HR industry and tapped me into his network so I can have the opportunity to learn directly from HR professionals about their experiences.
"Fast forward in my final year of undergraduate, I decided to join the program again to further develop myself. This year I have been paired with Meike Krug from FORTISBC who is helping me to take steps out of my comfort zone and has helped me understand different notions of leadership. Meike has arranged for me a full day at FORTISBC where I got the opportunity to meet people from various HR departments which helped me get better understanding of the HR industry.
"Access has allowed me to grow individually while learning mutually from the people I met and the connections I made. Through actively participating in committees and organizing events I had the opportunity to polish my own project and event management skills. Working in committees has been a great experience as I got the chance to be part of teams made of people from other schools, which provided me the opportunity to work with people from diverse backgrounds and built up my peer network.
"Access program strives to inspire and enlighten its participants. One of the best parts of the program is that you can attend events from the Burnaby Board of Trade, and unlimited Access Program events at no cost. Access has been a great platform to grow my network in the Burnaby business community. I am grateful to my mentors for investing their precious time in me and for guiding me in my journey. I would like to thank Tessa and Ann for putting a tremendous amount of effort in supporting students' career journey."
Ali Najaf will be graduating from Beedie School of Business in June 2016. He has completed three co-op terms and aspires to work in human resources upon graduation.This article was provided by the Burnaby Board of Trade.
