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COVER STORY Photo: Paul Darrow It was a great inspiration for my new small business as a makeup artist. I was able to start working just few months later and this event was a big open door for my career.” — Joelle Peskett, Makeup Artist This is a small, yet impactful, way of making connections in the business community. At our most recent Spring Dinner. We had a record 28 tables host ISANS clients for the evening.” YOUR NUMBER PROMOTIONAL ONE PRODUCT PROVIDER Purchase 20 dozen and get an additional STARTING AT $ 35 4 dozen FREE! * The last event back in April proved to be particularly memorable for Joelle Peskett, an aspiring business owner who emigrated from Lebanon in 2011. A graduate of the Christian Chauveau Artistic Make-up School in Paris, Joelle was delighted to join her “welcoming, supportive and friendly” hosts Mark Sidebottom and Karen Saunders at the Emera table. She went into the event ONALIZED PERSONALIZED R PERS YOUR LOGO HERE $ * PER DOZEN HEADLINEPROMOTIONS.CA 1-844-497-3449 BONUS! 500 FREE business cards with every order* *Offer valid until June 30th. While quantities last, certain restrictions apply. Minimum purchase required. Offer applies to Tour Preferred X, Tour Preferred and AeroBurner Pro logo golf balls only. Includes 1-4 colour imprint charge and set-ups, one location. 18 JULY & AUGUST 2016
COVER STORY hoping to “meet and interact with local business people” but the experience turned out to be life-altering. “I met the president of the Chamber of Commerce, a very beautiful, strong, kind woman by the name of Valerie Payn,” Joelle relates. “I did the makeup for her photo shoot and she was very pleased that I organized it in such a short period of time. It was a delightful experience and I consider it to be one of my greatest achievements in Halifax. It was a great inspiration for my new small business as a makeup artist. I was able to start working just few months later and this event was a big open door for my career.” The “Driving Diversity” program is just one initiative that the Halifax Chamber of Commerce has spearheaded to foster a welcoming and inclusive business climate for immigrants. The Chamber hosted a roundtable recently with the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration to “discuss immigration issues facing Nova Scotia and how the business community can help,” MacDonald says. She also notes that their annual pre-budget submissions consistently make a case for increased immigration which, in turn, has led to a strong working relationship with the provincial government on this issue. “Immigration is a key part of the Chamber’s plan to see Halifax become one of the top three growth cities in Canada by 2018,” MacDonald says. “To do that Halifax needs to be a more competitive city and in order to be competitive we need to grow, which means we need to attract and retain talent and keep them at the top of their game.” ISANS continues to do its part. Sherry Redden gives considerable praise to Paul Pickering “who does free sessions on workplace culture, diversity training, the challenges and benefits of hiring immigrants as well as the business support programs that encourage people to hire immigrants.” She also mentions the unflagging support of Atlantic Chamber of Commerce Vice President Glenn Davis, who “has been sending out information to all 52 chambers about our programs and services that promote hiring immigrants across the province.” Ashwin Kutty was scarcely aware of such resources when he founded WeUsThem a decade ago, but he’s since witnessed the benefits first-hand. Halifax needs to be a more competitive city and in order to be competitive we need to grow, which means we need to attract and retain talent and keep them at the top of their game.” — Melissa MacDonald, Communications Specialist, Halifax Chamber of Commerce “I was talking to someone who recently immigrated here to further his family’s education,” Kutty explains. “He was looking for some stable mechanism of employment or for doing business here. So I talked to him about what ISANS and the Chamber provides for networking possibilities.” After connecting with some executives in town and learning what the possibilities were based on his education and experience, they discovered that securing an official CPA and various other certifications was integral to moving on to the next step. According to Kutty, he’s “looking forward to pursuing that right now with the hopes of getting to a financial position with a local company” and, thanks to ISANS, “his wife is now working as a translator for Syrian refugees.” “That’s a story where learning occurred based on direct feedback from potential employers, from folks that can speak to what the requirements and needs are, rather than having someone guess their way through it,” Kutty observes. “I think if we focus on the specific needs of immigrants, and literally meet them as they arrive to tell them about all these different venues, I think that would be great.” BUSINESS VOICE 19
Page 1 and 2: DISPLAY YOUR PASSION Helping compan
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS } Demographically, Nova Sc
Page 5 and 6: PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE An introducto
Page 7 and 8: NEWSMAKERS NEOCON INTERNATIONAL An
Page 9 and 10: NEWSMAKERS MEMBERS IN THE NEWS How
Page 11 and 12: NEWSMAKERS DRESS FOR SUCCESS HALIFA
Page 13 and 14: dal.ca/execed/lpm LAW PRACTICE MANA
Page 15 and 16: COVER STORY on By Immigrants critic
Page 17: COVER STORY Photo: Contributed We d
Page 21 and 22: YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS Sean and James
Page 23 and 24: PROFILE management and concert prom
Page 25 and 26: WORKING FOR YOU Chamber appoints ne
Page 27 and 28: TRENDS Fairway courtesy The do’s
Page 29 and 30: Customer Connect A complete, direct
Page 31 and 32: dal.ca/execed/leadership CERTIFICAT
Page 33 and 34: CITY DESK Recognizing a great idea
Page 35 and 36: Join Forces and Network! DEFS event
Page 37 and 38: Nominations for the Now! Nova Scoti
Page 39 and 40: OPPORTUNITY KNOCKED. THEY ANSWERED.

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