After three successful fairs in Toronto, Canadian Immigrant magazine will be sponsoring their fourth Career, Education and Settlement Fair for newcomers to Canada.

Every year, thousands of immigrants arrive in Metro Vancouver, with great ambitions for their family’s future. However, many of them face culture shock about the realities of Canadian living — from continuing education to obtaining employment to getting settled into day-to-day life.

The goal of the fair is to inform and motivate new Canadians as they begin and continue their settlement journey. It aims to provide essential information and tips on job hunting, accreditation, upgrading of education, settling in and more.

This free, day-long immigrant expo will take place on Monday, December 16, 2013, at the Vancouver Public Library, from 11AM to 7PM. 

A list of exhibitors, sponsors and more information: www.canadianimmigrant.ca/careerfair.

 

Speaker’s Session #1 (Keynote Address)

Gobinder Gill - “8 Key Steps to Getting Hired”

 

Are you new to the country or encountering difficult times getting a well-paid job? To compete successfully in today’s extremely tough competitive job market, you need to know what human resources personnel are seeking in a potential candidate (hint: soft skills are important). Gobinder Gill is the best-selling Amazon author of Achieving Prosperity through Diversity. Recently he spoke at the TEDx Stanley Park: Diversity: Think the Unthinkable.

 

Speaker’s Session #2:

Afshan Basari - “Making the Most of Foreign Credentials”

 

Internationally trained professionals come to Canada with education, experience and certification in their fields of experience, but face countless barriers in re-establishing their careers here, particularly in licensed professions. Afshan Basaria shares six ways to achieve career success in BC with your foreign credentials. Afshan Basaria is a certified career development practitioner. She also serves as the vice-chairperson for the Skills and Employment Program, an initiative of the Aga Khan Economic Planning Board for B.C.

 

Speaker’s Session #3:

Silvia Di Blasio - “Strategic Volunteering Can Help You Gain Canadian Experience and the Job You Want”

 

Newcomers are often told to volunteer to gain Canadian work experience, but not all volunteering opportunities are created equally. Silvia Di Blasio will help newcomers understand how the right volunteering opportunities can help you gain experience, practise your language and other skills, earn local references, and better understand Canadian workplace culture. Argentine-born Silvia Di Blasio is a career/employment counsellor and facilitator with Skills Connect for Immigrants at Immigrant Services.

 

Speaker’s Session #4:

Andy Krieger — “Accent Reduction Workshop: 5-step Method”

 

Is your accent a barrier in being understood in the workplace and in your life overall? Accent reduction coach Andy Krieger will give you a preview of how to speak without your foreign accent. Using a colourful and easy-to-understand slide presentation, you will be introduced to the same method that Andy has used to teach Jackie Chan and Li Bing Bing, and thousands of students. He uses a simple five-step method that uses tongue and lip positions to speak beautiful English. Andy Krieger has been teaching accent reduction in Vancouver and around the world since 1997, having taught more than 12,000 students.