What is mentorship?

‘Mentoring in the workplace involves partnering experienced individuals who have an understanding of the business world with highly motivated people that are new to the profession.  Mentoring allows for the sharing of knowledge and experience between mentor and mentee.'  (Making Connections: A New Model of Mentoring for Internationally Trained Professionals, St. Michael's Hospital, 2003)

How does COMP support IEPs?

COMP recruits volunteer professionals from SCO Health Service, Royal Ottawa Health Care Group and Algonquin College, and pairs them with IEPs.  Once paired, the volunteers act as professional mentors to the IEPs.  

What are the responsibilities of the volunteer professionals who act as mentors?

Mentors devote a total of 24 hours of their time to mentees over a period of six months.  This time may consist of regular meetings as well as various career related activities.  Mentors may help mentees in:  setting up networks and connections within the Canadian workplace; developing job search strategies; determining further education or job training options; improving language skills, enhancing self-confidence. (Making Connections: A New Model of Mentoring for Internationally Trained Professionals, St. Michael's Hospital, 2003)

How does COMP prepare the mentor/mentee once they are paired?

Learning from the best practices established by a mentorship project at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, the paired mentors and mentees complete a mentorship course.  By revising the course used by St. Michael's Hospital, COMP will create a new mentorship course that will be transformed into an e-learning option.  This course will subsequently be available throughout the college system for anyone interested in mentorship and will be recognized as a general education credit by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

Who can volunteer to be a mentor to an IEP?

COMP recruits volunteer mentors who are current employees at SCO Health Service, the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group and Algonquin College.  Mentors have Canadian work experience and are interested in introducing an IEP to the Canadian workplace. 

How can I refer an IEP to COMP?

COMP works in partnership with LASI (Local Agencies Services Immigrants) World Skills to recruit and screen IEPs wishing to enter into the mentorship program.  COMP's criteria regarding the eligibility of IEPs are based on English language skills and job readiness.  COMP seeks to match mentees appropriately with mentors who have similar backgrounds in terms of education, experience and career choice. 

When does COMP 's mentorship program start?

There are three rounds of mentorship during COMP's pilot-project; Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Winter 2007/2008. 

Are mentors or mentees paid? 

Neither mentors nor mentees receive any financial compensation for their participation in COMP .  They are volunteers who are willing to commit their time to a mentorship process in order to improve employment access for IEPs.  However, during this pilot project both mentors and mentees will receive the mentorship course free of charge. 

How is COMP organized?

COMP is an Algonquin College initiative based in the Faculty of Health, Public Safety and Community Studies.  It is managed by the Chair of Specialty Nursing Programs and Contract Training, Marlene Tosh, and is coordinated by Mary O'Donahue.  A Steering Committee comprised of COMP partners, Algonquin College representatives as well as various community stakeholders will provide advice and recommendations to the program.

What educational opportunities is COMP providing to IEPs?

In addition to the mentorship program and the development of a mentorship course, COMP has created two distinct courses that will be open to IEPs.  A 30 hours course named INSIGHTS is geared towards, but not exclusive to, internationally educated health care professionals.  INSIGHTS provide an opportunity for students to develop insights into their own feelings about culture, values, beliefs and attitudes regarding loss and end of life issues.  INSIGHTS is designed to be an interactive and transformative course that applies both group and individual activities in the process of learning, grief and healing. 

Secondly, a Mental Health Nursing Certificate program is offered to, but not exclusive to, Internationally Educated Nurses.  This certificate program provides Internationally Trained Nurses the opportunity to develop expertise in mental health nursing which will give them a competitive edge.

In the long run, how does COMP contribute to increasing access to employment for IEPs?

In addition to participants being tracked throughout the program, each component is evaluated at measured intervals so that ongoing data, final statistics and comparisons are available.  At the conclusion of the experience, Algonquin College will provide a tool kit, which will update and supplement St Michael's Hospital Connections How-To Manual.  These resources will be made available to similar mentorship programs so that the experience gained can be used to replicate and build upon this initiative at a broader scale in the region of Ottawa and throughout the province of Ontario.