The CIPS Alberta ICT Mentorship Program for Immigrants creates mentorship relationships with Alberta immigrant Mentees seeking guidance in their Canadian IT professional career with experienced Canadian IT professional Mentors. This program is funded by the Alberta Immigrant Mentorship Innovation Grant.

Now seeking Mentees and Mentors! – Submit your Expression of Interest to join this innovative mentorship program! Please review the program benefits and eligibility below to confirm you qualify:

Advanced Mentorship Matching!

Harnessing the power of an intelligent mentorship matching algorithm Mentees are matched with experienced Mentors based on their skills and preferences for guidance in their Canadian IT professional journey!

Skills Assessment and Action Planning!

Mentees complete a skills assessment to discover their various skills, skill levels, and skills to develop, and are matched with Mentors based on their skills and preferences. Mentees can overlay various job roles over their skills assessment to identify skills gaps and required skills.

Action planning is used to plan and track the mentorship relationship between the Mentor and Mentee and to develop required skills.

Expand your Network and Skills!

Both Mentors and Mentees benefit from expanding their professional network by participating in the program! Participants enhance their communication and interpersonal skills and learn about other cultures and perspectives.

Mentees identify their professional strengths and learning opportunities, and receive guidance on the Canadian hiring process and how to create an effective resume. Mentees are provided with valuable tools, knowledge, and advice for their IT professional career.

Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA)

The international “Skills Framework for the Information Age” (SFIA) is used to help Mentees assess their skills and be matched with Mentors utilizing the CIPS skills assessment tool member benefit. Additional preferences can also be selected for mentorship matching to ensure participants get the most value from the program.

SFIA is an international framework consisting of over 120+ individual professional skills which are measured using seven levels of responsibility. Levels of responsibility and accountability are described in terms of generic attributes of Autonomy, Influence, Complexity, Business Skills and Knowledge.

For Mentees
Assessing your skills will help find a mentor match with a similar skill set. This means your mentor will have a better understanding of what employers are looking for on your resume, what work cultures are likely to be, and where you can meet your peers and do the best networking to help you learn about the Alberta work culture. The skills assessment will also help you find any gaps in your skills and your mentor can help you find the resources you’ll need if you want to close those gaps.

For Mentors
You will need to ensure you meet the “SFIA Level 4 in “Business Skills” mentor requirement so we know you are ready to communicate and share your experience with a mentee. This is the minimum you need to complete on the SFIA Skill Assessment. As a mentor you do not need to complete a full skills assessment, but we highly encourage you to, as your skills assessment is used to help match you with a mentee so you can provide the best guidance based on your experience.

Mentee Requirements:

  • Live in Alberta and have some post-secondary education and/or related work experience in IT
  • A naturalized Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or protected person under the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
  • Legally allowed to work in Canada

Mentor Requirements:

Interested in becoming a Mentor or Mentee?

Note: Expressions of Interest for Mentees to join the second cohort are now closed. Please check back soon to join the third cohort.