General News
June 3, 2019
2019 Young Women In Leadership Program
On May 23rd, Haltech and TechPlace participated in the Young Women in Leadership (YWIL) Program. This program offers job-shadowing with local businesses in the Halton for young women and gender non-conforming youth currently in high school, pursuing post-secondary education or just starting out in their careers.
“By investing in young Canadians, we are helping them build a stronger future and obtain the skills and experience they need to contribute to our economic growth. We must commit to creating opportunities for women and girls to achieve and succeed by fostering systemic change and providing various forums for powerful female voices to be heard, like the opportunity to job-shadow in a local business, agency, organization, or government.” – Pam Damoff, MP
Haltech and TechPlace partnered up for the day to deliver the most engaging agenda possible to the young women. YWIL Student’s Allison and Huda started off their day attending an engaging seminar presented by Rick McCutcheon, Dynamics 365 CE/CRM MVP Expert, who spoke about CRM and sales strategies followed by learning more about business functions for non-profits and government entities. Students also were given the opportunity for one-on-one discussions with various strong women in our networks who showed how they were making strides in the fields. A big thank you is extended to Shann McGrail of Haltech, Anita Cassidy of BEDC and Doreen Sebben of Able-One Systems Inc. for taking the time to engage and inspire these young women. To end off the day, we ask the students to contribute to this blog post and share their experience about the program.
“Today I had a great experience with the Women in Leadership program with TechPlace partnering with Haltech. I was exposed to lots of new career opportunities in technology, marketing, and business. The staff and interns were very friendly and were not hesitant to share their life experiences. This program has helped expand my knowledge in business, especially in marketing, learning CRM (customer relation management) how technology, along with social has altered how we need to reach out to consumers. Overall this was a very educational experience that I think more girls should take advantage of to help expose them to more career opportunities.” – Allison (Burlington).
“Today, at Haltech I got an opportunity to listen to people who work in technology and business-related fields. I got the chance to hear the life experiences of these people and how they discovered their career path. It allowed me to understand the importance of choosing the right career path, so you can reach your full potential. My conversation with the staff exposed me to various career paths. Not only that but the staff was great as they were able to create an interactive environment, thus allowing me to feel comfortable and really enjoy my experience at Haltech. In a nutshell, I had to miss a school day to attend this meeting and it was worth it as I feel motivated and empowered.” – Huda (Milton).
The YWIL program is always looking for local businesses and organizations to mentor a female student for a day. To get involved as a mentor please contact Hilary Lawson at pam.damoff.a1@parl.gc.ca or by phone at 613-992-1338. Students who wish to participate as a mentee can fill out the application form here.[image src=”https://investburlington.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/IMG_5542-1024×698.jpg”]Top row left to right: Shann McGrail, Executive Director, Haltech, Pam Damoff, MP Oakville North- Burlington, Anita Cassidy, Acting Executive Director, BEDC. Bottom row left to right: Allison, Huda, Sylvia Kwiatkowska, Operations Analyst Intern, TechPlace.