Bridging the gap between dreams and careers

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This article was published 06/12/2021 (1507 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a wealth of information all around us that doesn’t exist behind a screen or even in a book. Yet it’s a resource that’s rarely tapped. Each of us is a walking encyclopedias, full of life and career information.

But, unless we know someone, we largely fail to learn from each other. Even more rare is the passing of wisdom and advice from our professional lives, despite the many lessons we’ve learned in our various careers.

But a made-in-Manitoba program is looking to turn on the taps of knowledge, allowing valuable information to flow from field experts to aspiring youth. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Winnipeg is connecting young people between the ages of 14 and 25 to working professionals, giving them twice-a-month access to a person whose steps they hope to follow.

It’s called Big Possibilities, a fitting name for a program that helps young people bring far-away goals into reach, and it’s brought to life through a partnership between the Better Business Bureau and the River East Transcona School Division, with the support of the RBC Future Launch Foundation.
Big Possibilities bridges the gap between career aspirations and career paths.

The high school curriculum doesn’t include lessons on plumbing, biomechanical engineering, or golf course management. It would be impossible to accommodate each student’s specific interest areas.

That’s one reason this mentorship program is so important. It allows individual students the opportunity learn about a unique profession. They can better understand the inner workings of each job, allowing them to make a more informed decision on what they want to pursue post-graduation.

If they do decide to pursue the same career as their mentor, the program gives the mentee a better understanding of what it takes to succeed in that line of work. A working professional can give valuable insight on the skills, knowledge, attitude and mindset demanded by their career. The mentor can then help the student prepare and develop those hard and soft skills. And that preparation works. Research shows that mentored youth are 17 per cent more likely to be gainfully employed and earn 13 per cent more money in those jobs than non-mentored young people.

For more information on this program, email bbbswpg@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca. For further information on other youth development programs supported by the BBB, visit www.bbb.org/Manitoba