Q & A with Connector Program Coordinators and Leaders
Connector Program Benefits for Organizations
The Connector Program is intended to positively impact the lives of newcomers to a new city, town or region, yet the program brings benefits in many other ways! It has been shown to benefit the organization delivering the program throughout its ten-year history across the country. I was able to discuss the impact the program has on organizations with the leaders of Connector Programs across Canada this past year. If you’re #ReadytoStart on your Connector Program journey, here’s our latest blog on the many ways that the Connector Program can benefit the organizations that exemplify them.
Alida:
You’ve all had Connector Programs at your organizations for quite some time. What is the Connector Program’s biggest benefit to your organization?
Sarah:
It has value as a tool to heighten what we are already doing and is so connected to everything that we do. It’s a very client centered program and that’s very important. The Connector Program puts us right in front of our clientele.
Vibha:
It’s so easy to customize to meet your needs. It’s a win-win. Plus, you get community connections for support and mentorship across Canada. All these colleagues become part of your network.
Shannon:
Our organization doesn’t do a lot of forward-facing work, so bringing the Connector Program to the organization has given it a place in the community – a profile that it never had before. It’s given people a platform to become involved in what they do
Monika:
The program serves as our donation to the community, to carry people forward with their pre-employment support.
Jennifer:
We recently completed our regional workforce development strategy and the Connector Program plays an important part in it as it is super complimentary and aligned to our organization.
Michael:
We want to connect people to jobs and the community and networking opportunities are a great way to do that. It helps us directly benefit the population we serve. Now more than ever, it’s a way for employers to connect to a community that they may never have considered in the past.
Doug:
It’s complementary to our services and once we determined this relevance, we thought it would be a nice thing to offer our clients. You can tailor the support to people and it uses people’s willingness to contribute time and service to our organization.
Alida:
It’s very aligned with your organization’s mandates and ways of working in the community. Even though you all have different focuses in your work and outcomes, the program fits well within your organizations.
Krista:
It doesn’t have to be large or small and it doesn’t have to look exactly like another community, it can be scaled to the size you need it to be in order to make it work for your community.
Sarah:
It’s such an adaptable tool to help a sector or community to get boots on the ground to produce insight without too much busy work. It’s purposeful and impact driven activity instead of a bums in seats activity.
Suzy:
Simply put, it’s a program you can very easily adapt to your needs.
Alida:
So, the program helps you deliver services and brings new people to your doors. It’s wonderful to see that the program you administer to help others can also, in turn, help you better serve your community! Thank you all for your input and for contributing to the program and your communities for so many years.
