By Lawson Hunter
Pam Damoff, MP for Oakville North-Burlington announced on International Women’s Day the resumption of her Young Women In Leadership’ (YWIL) program. Interrupted because of the pandemic, this will be the fourth session of this program.
Damoff is encouraging young women to gain work experience through a one-day “shadowing experience” with an older, accomplished mentor.
Women between the ages of 15 and 25, those still in school or just starting their careers, may apply to the program through Damoff’s website: www.mpdamoff.ca. The website application states, “It is a great way to learn about different career options, build confidence in a professional work environment and gain a mentor in an incredible local organization or business. One of the goals of the program is to enable young women to gain knowledge and experience of career paths that they would not otherwise have considered.”
The need for a career shadow initiative for young women came out of a roundtable on women’s empowerment hosted by MP Damoff on International Women’s Day in 2016. A conversation about the challenges of young women meeting other women professionals in all types of careers to see, speak to, and learn from, developed into the program that matches both for a job shadow day.
The program will run from May 23–26. Attendees must be available for either a half or full day and be able to travel within the Greater Golden Horseshoe Toronto Area, depending on where the mentor works. Most placements are within Halton.
The YWIL program is also seeking Halton businesses, organizations, and community leaders to mentor a student during the week of May 23. Mentors are expected to host a mentee for at least one day during YWIL week. Participants will be paired with an organization that relates to their career interests and aspirations.
The goals of the program are: to develop an understanding of different occupations in order to make informed career choices; increase knowledge of specific occupational skills and workplace settings; gain career readiness skills, including the “soft skills” that employers look for in entry level workers; and build confidence in professional environments.
“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,” said MP Damoff. “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.”
Past participants spent time with numerous Halton area companies and agencies, including: Oakville Fire, Oakville Hydro, City of Burlington, Halton Regional Police Service, LIUNA, EarthFresh, Haltech, Comtek, BMO, UPS, Oakville/Milton Humane Society, Oakville Chamber of Commerce, Heart and Stroke Halton, Oakville Soccer Club, Bandology, Joseph Brant Hospital, SAVIS, and Conservation Halton.
Interested mentors should email pam.damoff@parl.gc.ca or call (613) 992-1338 by March 17 to join the program. Youth wishing to become a mentee should visit www.mpdamoff.ca to access the application form and submit it by March 29.
