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COVER STORY
Photo: Contributed
We do this in partnership with ISANS at our Spring Dinner. We reach out to our corporate
table purchasers and ask if they’d be willing to give one seat to an ISANS client. 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.”
— Melissa MacDonald, Communications Specialist, Halifax Chamber of Commerce
This sentiment is echoed by Sherry
Redden: “Often times immigrants can’t
get loans, so they have to find a job and
invest their own money to start a business,
which may be three to four years
down the road. They need a place where
they can get employment and language
services in addition to information about
laws and permits. They want a settlement
service that sees them as a whole
person.”
According to Redden, ISANS has
“taken this to heart” and developed a
curriculum that addresses these specific
requirements. Clicking on the “Do Business”
tab of the ISANS website reveals
a slew of valuable resources, including
information on market research, import
and export laws, financial institutions
and sources for community support. In
addition to their comprehensive, 67-page
Connections guide, ISANS also hosts an
ongoing series of free seminars about
such diverse and practical topics as business
plan creation, developing communication
skills, job search strategies, details
on provincial employment standards and
growing awareness of cultural sensitivity.
All of this, according to Redden,
forms a “holistic package” designed
to get people as “settled” as much as
business-savvy. It’s a strategy well in-step
with Ashwin Kutty’s philosophy: “We
need to understand the basics of what
people actually require. We need education
for our children, a roof over our head
and food for our family. And those three
components are served by the Chamber
through their networking opportunities
or they can go to ISANS and develop their
language skills or build a business plan
to position themselves for some level of
success. Not to just go through the immigration
process but to communicate with
people locally.”
HOST TABLE
One unique communication opportunity
is the Host Table program offered
by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce
through their Driving Diversity initiative.
“We do this in partnership with ISANS
at our Spring Dinner,” says Melissa
MacDonald, Communications Specialist
for the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.
“We reach out to our corporate table
purchasers and ask if they’d be willing
to give one seat to an ISANS client.
BUSINESS VOICE 17