Sheridan awarded Community Partner of the Year by TRIEC for mentorship of newcomers

In celebration of Mentoring Month, the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) is spotlighting Sheridan as one of its Community Partner of the Year award recipients. The agency, which works to address immigrant underemployment throughout the Greater Toronto Area, relies on partner organizations and their teams of mentors to help guide newcomers in their Canadian career journey.

For the past 12 years Sheridan has been a community partner with TRIEC’s Mentoring Partnership program, delivering supports through its Community Employment Services (CES) offices in Brampton and Oakville.

Janet Gaffney, program coordinator of the TRIEC Mentoring Partnership at Sheridan, works with a team who helps recruit, register, match and coach program participants – both mentors and mentees. “It’s a tremendous honour to be recognized in this way,” she says. “We see our work as community match-makers, helping talented and educated people find opportunities that are appropriate for their skills.”

Sheridan’s team has matched more than 900 skilled immigrants with mentors from their profession, 112 in the past year alone and brought on board 29 new volunteer mentors from Halton and Peel Region. Last year, 82% of Sheridan mentees found work in their field or in a related field within six months of completing the program. Sheridan is also an Employer Partner with TRIEC since 15 faculty and staff have volunteered their time as mentors. They provide profession-specific guidance on Canadian industry trends, job search strategies, building a professional network and leveraging skills and experience.

“The work of Janet and the CES team at Sheridan is an important part of Sheridan’s role as stewards of community development,” said Matt Rempel. “Every newcomer has their own set of skills and experiences that will influence the opportunities they pursue, and the team at Sheridan works tirelessly to address individual needs.”

The Community Partner of the Year honour is granted based on outcomes like the number of matches between mentees and job opportunities and feedback from mentees themselves. Alongside Sheridan, ACCES Employment and JVS Toronto were also recognized.

Interested in connecting with Sheridan’s Community Employment Services as a mentor or mentee? Contact Janet Gaffney: janet.gaffney@sheridancollege.ca or 905-845-9430 ext. 8134.

Pictured above left: Janet Gaffney (middle) accepting the TRIEC Community Partner of the Year award at a reception.