The INC Webinar: An Information Session on the International Student Career & Employability Certificate Program

Written by Nancy Maria Fernandez

@nancymfernz

We are currently cruising through a period of immense economic insecurity caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Although it has impacted us all in many different ways, it is important to note that COVID-19 has caused drastic changes to the job market and has redefined the way we look at careers and work. The abrupt shift to virtual operations has only served to place many manual jobs in a precarious position, resulting in increased competitiveness and a need for a more tech-savvy labour force. For students, this may mean signing up for more professional courses, and taking on more internship and volunteering opportunities in order to expand our horizons and increase the chances of getting hired post graduation. In view of this, on September 8th, 2020, the Career Services department held an information session on the International Student Career & Employability Certificate (INC) Program.

Conducted virtually via Zoom, the webinar was presided over by Juliana Wiens, a career counsellor at the SMU Career Services department. The event was moderated by Mikala Gallant-Snively of the SMU International Student Centre. The INC program started 4 years ago as a partnership between the SMU Career Services and the International Student Center. During the session, Ms. Wiens acknowledged the fact that many international students who enroll at Saint Mary’s eventually wish to stay and work in Canada after graduation. However, oftentimes students find it difficult to make this dream come true. Designed exclusively for international students, “the INC program aims to help students transition from university life into the Canadian work force ,” said Ms. Wiens.

What makes this program more attractive is the fact that besides aiding students in finding employment after graduation, it is available free of charge. Although it is not an academic credit course, it is a certificate program recognized by the university and will be a valuable addition to your CV and co-curricular record (CCR) at SMU.

Ms. Wiens also talked about how international students who remain in Canada are imperative to the development and prosperity of our economy, as they have cross-cultural experience which will be beneficial in both work and social settings. She stated that the program familiarizes students with the subtleties of the “spoken and unspoken rules of Canadian work culture” as they forge a life for themselves in Canada after finishing their university education.

This interactive session also included a small activity conducted in the beginning of the webinar. Students were asked to turn their camera and microphone on and describe what they were good at. Participants’ responses ranged from writing, to socializing, to accounting and event-planning. Ms. Wiens later explained that this activity allowed students to self-reflect and think about their strengths before saying them out loud to everyone else.

Additionally, having their cameras and microphones switched on required participants to be mindful of their tone and how presentable they were. Ms. Wiens mentioned that this was important because all these underlying nuances factor into the Canadian work culture. These nuances are, at times, the first step towards preparing oneself for living and working in Canada. While it is important to communicate effectively with others in an in-person setup, “it is just as important to engage with people virtually,” she concluded.

Ms. Wiens briefed students about the particulars of the INC program, stating that there are two components to it — the Classroom component and the Volunteering component. Held over a period of 8 months (September, 2020 – March, 2021), the classroom component of the INC program requires students to attend 14 weekly in-person sessions with 7 sessions happening each semester. These classes will train students on important skills like resume writing, job interview etiquette, job search skills, networking, etc. Since the Fall term is being conducted online, classes will be held on Zoom every Friday. As of now, the tentative start date of the program is September 18th, 2020, from 10am to 12pm ADT.

The volunteering component of this initiative requires students to volunteer online with any Canadian organization of their choice for a minimum of 25 hours for the course of this certificate program. The purpose of volunteering is to provide students with a platform to “learn and practice [existing and newly acquired skills],” contended Ms. Wiens. She also said that students’ volunteering experience will be recorded in their CCR at SMU. “The CCR is a way of tracking any extracurricular activity (e.g. leadership, volunteering, activism, etc.) that you participate in which is documented by the university,” explained Ms. Wiens.

Wiens assured participants at the event that Career Services is invested in helping students find virtual volunteering opportunities in Canada, and would also assist them in choosing the right kind of Canadian organization to work with. In the previous years of the INC program, students have had the opportunity to attend guest lectures given by potential recruiters. This year, however, Ms. Wiens said that there will be a panel of recruiters who will attend and speak at the virtual Student Career Conference (which is open to all SMUdents) that will be held on November 6th, 2020.

Additionally, participants were also shown 2 video recordings of former students who had participated in the program and are now working in Canada for Emera’s Nova Scotia Power. Both the graduates vouched for the credibility and the benefits of the INC program. One of these graduates mentioned that her employers were so impressed that they spent a substantial amount of her job interview talking about the various facets of the program.

Ms. Wiens also mentioned that as part of the program, students are taken on “corporate tours” to major Canadian companies in Halifax where they get a glimpse into the Canadian work environment. Ms. Wiens mentioned that if campus were to safely reopen in the winter term, that would enable the INC program participants to have a few in-person classroom sessions, as well as the opportunity to go on at least one of these corporate tours. She also hopes that they can have a small graduation ceremony next year at the end of the program to felicitate the students. This would be a particularly special moment as it was not possible this year to hold a ceremony for the previous batch of students, due to the pandemic.

While answering questions from students during the Q&A session, Ms. Wiens clarified that the INC program is significantly different from cooperative education or the CO-OP program. “While CO-OP is open to all students, the INC program is exclusive to international students only,” she reiterated. Moreover, the CO-OP program entails 4 months of paid work in one’s field of study, but the INC program, as mentioned earlier, is mainly grounded on learning and acquiring necessary skills and gaining volunteering experience.

Just to reaffirm, the INC program is offered every year for the benefit of international students. So for those students who were unable to sign up for this year’s program, you can always do so next year if you are still enrolled at SMU. Additionally, the SMU International Student Centre has informed students about the Atlantic Canada Study and Stay program (Fall to July) which is being offered by EduNova. Aimed to provide final year international students studying in Atlantic Canada with important training that will better equip them with necessary skills when they enter the Canadian workforce, this initiative is also quite similar to the INC program. The application deadline for this program is September 28th, 2020.

The INC program is highly recommended among previous students and every third and fourth-year international student who wishes to stay and work in Canada after graduation must be sure to take advantage of this opportunity if they are able to do so. For more information, you can contact Juliana Wiens via email at juliana.wiens@smu.ca. You can also reach out to Mikala Gallant-Snively at mikala.gallant-snively@smu.ca.

Claire KeenanSeptember 23, 2020