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• http://N/A Wendy Campbell

  The Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council (ERIEC) has done a great job in its short history of getting skilled foreign-trained professionals integrated into Edmonton’s workforce. I’ve inserted a news release below that outlines several new ERIEC Board members, most immigrants themselves – and now very successful members of the business community.

  Please consider these Edmonton business people for mention in the Winners’ Circle.

  NEW BOARD UNDERLINES COUNCIL COMMITMENT TO IMMIGRANT EMPLOYMENT

  The new board of the Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council (ERIEC) underlines the organization’s commitment to the full integration of internationally trained individuals into Edmonton’s labour force.

  The 11-member board includes four new members of whom three are foreign-trained professionals. One has extensive experience in workforce diversity.

  “We are about creating a brighter future for our community by ensuring skilled immigrants are fully integrated in the Edmonton regional labour market. Skilled immigrants represent our future,” said ERIEC board chair Jacques Pelletier.

  Working with a broad network of partners, ERIEC helps Edmonton’s business community strengthen its business bottom line by maximizing employment opportunities for new, skilled immigrants. The organization focuses on the needs of regional employers so they can expand their workforces to include internationally trained new residents.

  “Growing numbers of Canadian businesses recognize the benefits of employing globally trained and educated residents, but many employers need support accessing the available skills,” said Pelletier.

  New to the ERIEC board are Onkar Athwal, vice-president, human resources with All Weather Windows; Manoj Mistry, a principal with Stantec Consulting; Jeffrey Sundquist,
  vice-president, corporate development with Zedi; and Sorin Mihailovici, lead for community liaison/independent productions, Omni TV.

  They join Mr. Pelletier, board chair, Lilydale; Brenda Nylund, vice-chair, workforce planning and development consultant; secretary/treasurer Don Matthew, KPMG; Bob Mulligan, Royal Bank; Cindy Laporte, TELUS;
  Janet Seve, City of Edmonton; and Katy Campbell, University of Alberta, Faculty of Extension.

  ERIEC was officially launched in March 2010. Its flagship program is The Career Mentorship Program, offering the Edmonton business community a practical, interactive vehicle for sharing job search advice and knowledge about the Canadian workplace culture with foreign-trained professionals. A full 60 per cent of the internationally trained professionals who entered the program now have full-time employment consistent with their education, training and experience.

  ERIEC’s principal funders are Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Alberta Employment and Immigration.

  -30-
  For more information, contact:

  Doug Piquette, Executive Director
  Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council
  Phone: 780-497-8866
  E-mail: dpiquette@eriec.ca

  Note: please see Page 2 for brief descriptors of the members new to the ERIEC board.
  2010-2011 ERIEC Board of Directors

  Jacques Pelletier, Chair (Lilydale)
  Brenda Nylund, Vice-Chair (workforce planning and development consultant)
  Don Matthew, Secretary/Treasurer (KPMG)
  Bob Mulligan (Royal Bank)
  Cindy Laporte (TELUS)
  Janet Seve (City of Edmonton)
  Jeffrey G. Sundquist (Zedi)
  Katy Campbell (University of Alberta, Faculty of Extension)
  Onkar Athwal (All Weather Windows)
  Manoj Mistry (Stantec Consulting)
  Sorin Mihailovici (OMNI TV)

  New board member overview:

  Onkar Athwal
  Vice-President, Human Resources with All Weather Windows

  Onkar recently moved to Edmonton from Vancouver. Onkar’s family immigrated to Canada when he was a child. Onkar is an enthusiastic supporter of ERIEC, ready to help reduce the barriers foreign-born residents face, especially the foreign credentials recognition process.

  Manoj Mistry
  Principal, Stantec Consulting

  Manoj immigrated to Canada from the United Kingdom in 2007 as a Temporary Foreign Worker and has overcome some barriers faced by new immigrants. Manoj feels strongly that ERIEC can help immigrants and their families integrate sooner – and would have appreciated such support on his arrival to Edmonton. Manoj joined Stantec Consulting as an engineer and is now a principal with the Buildings Engineering group.

  Jeffrey Sundquist
  Vice-President, Corporate Development with Zedi

  Through his position as founding chair of the Edmonton Chamber Workforce Diversity Committee, Jeff is well connected to the business and post-secondary institutions in Edmonton. Jeff’s position at Zedi, which provides technical support and monitoring to the oil and gas sector, gives him an opportunity to view the challenges and missed opportunities immigrants face in their job searches. Jeff also is interested in the foreign credentialing process as it affects immigrant employment.

  Sorin Mihailovici
  Lead for Community Liaison/Independent Productions, Omni TV

  Trained as a sports reporter and coming to Canada as a refugee, Sorin faced a common challenge of finding work in his chosen field. After searching for six years, he joined Omni where he and his colleagues offer effective leadership in promoting a diverse work environment. Sorin is passionate about helping solve immigrant issues and has already offered his expertise to ERIEC’s Marketing & Communications Committee.

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