Community Connection Program

Practical experience in the workplace provides an important step along the path to career success. For many newcomers it can be incredibly challenging to gain work experience in Canada aligned with their long-term career goals.

What is this?

In this program, Columbia College will cover the employment costs for students to take on projects and provide support services to local community benefit organizations.

The impact of funds invested in this program is twofold:

- Aspiring newcomers to get valuable work experience, and build relationships, with local organizations
- Local community benefit organizations get additional staff support at no cost

Student Testimonials

"This is an amazing opportunity for students to step into the "real" world. The program enabled me to get hands-on experience in an office setting in a reputable organization. This program should be encouraged among students to smooth things out in their future careers as it did for me. The involvement and support of the coordinators were very helpful and much appreciated!"

"I first heard about the program from a friend and since I was interested in the NGO/non-profit field I decided to apply. The program is a great opportunity for international students to get involved in local communities and learn more about Canadian cultures."

"As an international student that doesn’t know much about Vancouver, this program provides me with an opportunity to understand more about the non-profits sector in Vancouver. This is a treasurable internship!"