work2future
United States of America
work2future is Silicon Valley’s Workforce Investment Network. It is a part of the national workforce development system as authorized by …
Good practice
Imported
★ 100
★ 91
★ 86
★ 86
MentorConnect (IEC-BC / City of Vancouver)
Canada · Vancouver · See the Canada profile · See the Vancouver profile
Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 54% 67/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice
Since 2011, the Immigrant Employment Council of BC has partnered with the City of Vancouver to pair skilled immigrant newcomers with local professional mentors for occupation-specific coaching -- over 75% of mentees go on to find work in their own field.
>75%
Participants finding meaningful employment
~200
Mentor matches, City of Vancouver partnership
Details
- Maturity
- Established
- Promoter
- Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IEC-BC) & City of Vancouver
- Period
- 2011-present
- Keywords
- Immigrant professional integration, mentoring, workforce retention
Context
MentorConnect pairs skilled immigrant newcomers to Metro Vancouver with established local professionals in the same occupation for up to 12 hours of coaching over roughly two months. In 2011 the City of Vancouver joined the Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IEC-BC) and settlement agencies ISSofBC, MOSAIC and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. to pilot the partnership, adapting the mentoring model pioneered by Toronto's TRIEC for Vancouver's smaller employer base.
Results
IEC-BC reports that more than 75% of MentorConnect participants go on to find meaningful employment in their field of expertise, many within six months of completing the programme. The City of Vancouver partnership has produced nearly 200 mentor matches, drawing mentees from countries including China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Spain, Syria and the Philippines.
Implementation
- Indicative cost
- Low (< €50k)
- Time to results
- Short (< 1 year)
- Staffing & skills
- IEC-BC programme coordinators, Volunteer professional mentors, Settlement agency partners (ISSofBC, MOSAIC, S.U.C.C.E.S.S.)
Conditions for success
- Public-sector employer partnership with an established immigrant-employment council
- Co-funding via a federal-provincial settlement partnership
- Existing mentoring model (TRIEC) adaptable to local employer base
Commonly funded by
National / regional programmes
Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.
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Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
- C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-07-20
- Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IEC-BC) & City of Vancouver — accessed 2026-07-20
- IEC-BC -- MentorConnect programme page — accessed 2026-07-20
- City of Vancouver -- Mentorship Program — accessed 2026-07-20
Attachments
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