Ashton College Announced Winners of Bursaries for Immigrants 2019

For many years now Ashton College has been offering bursaries to students who have recently come to Canada and who want to start building their careers in the new country. On the road to success immigrants often need to upgrade educational credentials that can help them adjust their knowledge and expertise to Canadian standards and secure stable employment.

Ashton College Bursaries for Immigrants are aimed to address the challenges faced by the newcomers, such as lack of Canadian credentials and work experience, little understanding of local business practices and work culture, and no professional connections. Career-ready education programs offered at Ashton help newcomers overcome these barriers to their employment and feel more confident on the Canadian job market.

The bursaries are offered every year to newcomers who would like to take full-time diploma programs at Ashton College in business, immigration, bookkeeping, human resources, finances and other professional fields. The candidates who want to receive a bursary need to apply on the Ashton College website. The applications and supporting documents are thoroughly reviewed by the college committee and the most deserving applicants are granted the bursaries.

Learn the stories of the future Ashton College students who won the bursaries in 2019.

Janpreet Walia

Before coming to Canada Janpreet has never considered the career of an immigration consultant. She earned Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Education degrees from Punjabi University and has been working as a teacher for many years. However, after moving to Canada, Janpreet couldn’t find a similar position to continue her career in the same field.

Eventually, her professional life changed completely, and for the better. It happened when Janpreet came across an opportunity to work as an office assistant in an organization that helps people immigrate to Canada. This is when Janpreet realized that she also wanted to work in this field and help other people make their dreams come true.

Janpreet is currently working along with her husband to support their two kids. Although they manage to provide for the family there is no extra money left that can be used to fund her education. This is why Janpreet decided to apply for a bursary at Ashton College that could help her take an Immigration Consultant Diploma program and start making a difference in people’s lives.

“The process of becoming a teacher enabled me to learn a great deal. I have learned to inspire, encourage people, correct individual flaws and broaden their perspective. Most of the skills and qualities I possess convince me that a career in immigration is my calling. I am the person who responds well to challenges because of my competitive nature”, says Janpreet.

Grace Nguyen

Grace started her professional career in hospitality before making a career change to the HR field. She realizes that HR plays an important role in supporting the organization to achieve its goals and strategies, thus creating substantial impacts to both employees and the organization. Grace has had nearly 8 years of working experience in Vietnam as an HR professional for multi-national companies. She was able to learn and apply various modern HR practices and initiatives.

Now, Grace is determined to continue her passion and develop her career further in human resources here in Canada, and especially in the Okanagan Valley region. She is currently working as an HR Coordinator at Okanagan Staffing Services Inc., one of the longest-standing employment services company in Kelowna. In her current role, she is able to help not only the workers but also the organizations that need skilled and motivated workforce.

“I can see that the labour market here in Kelowna, as well as in other surrounding cities, has a great diversity in industries, cultures and generations thus so much potential to offer. I believe that taking the Diploma in Human Resources Management online course will equip me with rounded Canadian HR knowledge and qualification that is essential for me to develop my professional career in this field”, mentions Grace.

Grace is a new immigrant under BC Skilled Immigration Program. She landed in Kelowna in 2018 together with her husband and their seven-year-old daughter who are also new immigrants. Therefore, Grace applied for a bursary as this financial aid would help her to settle in Canada and establish her professional career in human resources.