On May 30, 2023, TRIEC’s Professional Immigrant Networks (PINs) program hosted its first in-person event of the new fiscal year – a post-pandemic reunion of associations in the PINs program. The event provided a platform for leaders and partner organizations to connect with one another to identify opportunities for collaborations and networking.

Collaboration between associations and partner organizations has been the core objective of the PINs program. PINs leaders, employer and community partners have organised many different collaborative activities and events throughout the years, which have helped immigrant professionals build their professional networks and find pathways to meaningful employment and career advancement opportunities in Canada.

The event had a panel discussion, moderated by Gerard Keledjian, event MC and Managing Director, New Canadians Media Inc. The panel featured Arcelia Camacho Tapia, Director, Specialized Services and Bilingual Programming, ACCES Employment, Carlos Paz-Soldan, President, Hispanotech, Craig Hill, Human Resources Manager, Quasar Consulting Group, and Valerie Gow, Recruitment, Outreach, and Alumni Officer, Intercultural Skills Lab, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

The panelists shared their insights on why collaboration between different organizations in the sector – associations, immigrant-serving agencies, and employers – was important in delivering tangible outcomes. They also shared their own experiences in collaborative initiatives with their partners, and important advice for others interested in building those relationships. Carlos and Valerie also shared their insights from the Collaborative Mentoring program and the Career Advancement for Women event, respectively, which were organized in partnership with other PINs associations and helped many immigrant professionals in building their networks and careers.

Finally, the highlight of the night was an impromptu discussion with Craig Hill, Raquel Insa, Ahmadraza Kabiri, and Solomon Shiferaw from Quasar Consulting Group. On March 30, PINs organized an occupation-specific networking event for engineers in collaboration with Quasar and Hispanotech, where they had the opportunity to meet with employees and hiring managers from Quasar and learn about Quasar’s hiring process and career pathways available in their field. Ahmadraza and Solomon participated in that event and, through networking and insightful conversations, were hired by Quasar in the following month. Their success stories emphasised the role of community partners, like ACCES Employment, Humber College, Intercultural Skills Lab, and PINs Associations in the success of newcomer professionals.

The event was a huge success, highlighting how a collaborative approach between organizations can lead to better outcomes for everyone. As the number of immigrants coming to Canada continues to grow, working together to create more opportunities will be the best way to help them succeed in their careers, and fulfill their potential.

For more information about this event, or to learn more about TRIEC PINs, please email Rohit Singh at rsingh@triec.ca.