PossScript
This is a dream job
One of my favourite musicians Richie Hawtin has been known for making great music since the 90s (back then under the alias Plastikman). Sure there are thousands of fantastic musicians out there and thousands more who are not so fantastic but who are fantastically known to everyone. What’s different about Hawtin is that he represents music (minimal techno) that’s been relatively obscure for many years with next to no play on MTV, no Rolling Stone covers, no merchandise at Wal-Mart. I can guarantee you that Hawtin’s got nothing on Justin Bieber in terms of fame. Only in the past few years has the genre of music that Hawtin is part of (if you must, call it electronic) been getting some major play, famously so in 2006 when Hawtin collaborated with choreographer Enzo Cosimi on a composition called ”9.20” for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Or recently, with the artist deadmau5, becoming “the first Canadian artist to headline a concert at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Nearly 20,000 turned the night into one of the largest dance parties Toronto has ever seen.”
The point is that whenever I watch Hawtin play shows (online only, now that I’m older and go to bed at 11), I’m shocked at how many people he brings out to see him. Thousands. I’m in awe. Here’s someone who’s been doing the same thing for decades, playing music that many would say gets no respect because it involves pushing buttons and laptops, not real instruments, and blah blah blah (I’ve heard it too many times). But it’s so inspiring to know that he never faltered and never gave up his dream to go after a more traditional, “respectable” kind of job or even played more traditional, “respectable” type of music. This is just a boy from Windsor, Ontario after all, and, I’m sure, it wasn’t easy to pursue a dream that’s became a real success despite the fact that it didn’t follow the middle-of-the-road path.
Jowita
Bad, bad jobs
Recently during a team meeting at work my manager asked me if it was true that I had worked at Wendy’s. I write about my gig at Wendy’s from time to time here and I suppose my extremely sophisticated look and exquisite tastes just don’t compute with the idea of me in a uniform that matched “the colour of the building” I worked in (I stole this one from Louis C.K., of course). But, yes, my friends, it’s true that there was a time in my life when I didn’t spend my days walking around with groomed mini poodles, opining on everything from wine to Christopher Hitchens. There was a time in my life when my hands seemed to smell permanently of ketchup and pickles, when I tried not to acknowledge the fact that I wore a visor hat and a button on my shirt that asked, “Am I smiling?”
It turned out I’m not the only one with a bad job in my past. My manager sheepishly confessed to washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant, my other two co-workers listed Pizza Hut and K-Mart as the places of their past torments.
This is the part where I tell you that there’s no shame in working a bad job: There’s no shame in working a bad job — you do what you have to keep your head above the water. My dad delivered pizza when he first moved to Canada. As a new immigrant, my mom had her share of terrible farm jobs. Bad jobs are bad because they pay little and demand a lot, but in a lot of cases they’re better than being capable and broke because you gave up on working all together and instead whine about being too good to flip burgers.
And this is the part where I tell you that in most cases bad jobs rarely turn into a lifetime pursuit. Unless you really, truly find your calling among pickles and cheese, chances are you will eventually move on and find something that will make you happier. Trust me — I did (those mini poodles…).
Jowita
New IT bridging program
If you’re an internationally trained IT professional struggling to build a network and find that first Canadian IT job, the new Coaching to Career pilot bridge training program may be for you. It starts May 28 with three weeks of in-class employment preparation in workplace communications and culture. After that, you will be coached for six months by an industry leader who has received specialized training from the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC). Your coach will help you identify skills and capabilities and learn how to apply them in the Canadian workplace. As well, he or she is expected to market you to people in their own business network.
To be eligible for this program, you must have experience in the IT sector and have arrived in Canada within the last three years. A minimum Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level of 8 in speaking, reading, writing and listening is required. The May 28 session will take place at JVS Toronto’s head office at 74 Tycos Dr. Two more sessions are planned for Toronto as well as one in Ottawa. If you want to attend an info session, there will be two to choose from on May 7:
Session 1:
10 to 11 a.m.
ING Direct Canada, Thompson Block, 2nd Floor
221 Yonge St.
Session 2:
3 to 4 p.m.
Welcome Centre Immigrant Services- Markham North
8400 Woodbine Ave. Ste. 102-103
Email coaching@ictc-ctic.ca to register. Please note: attending an info session is not mandatory.
If your English level is only assessed at a CLB level 7 and you need a bit more employment preparation training, consider ICTC-JVS’s other bridging program, the Integrated Work Experience Strategy (IWES), which has a six-week in-class component as opposed to Coaching’s three weeks.
The ICTC’s report on the labour market estimates that between last year and 2016, Canadian employers will need to hire some 106,000 information technology workers, many of whom will need to come from global talent.
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