Navneet Thind graduated with a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) degree in 2012 but it took her close to six years to find an industry job in Canada. A few months after graduating from Punjab Technical University, she immigrated to Winnipeg with her family.

Navneet started working on her plans for higher education soon after she moved to Canada. She went to Manitoba Start, a non-profit that connects skilled newcomers and employers, for advice. They recommended she get a certification from Winnipeg since she didn’t have any work experience. They recommended programs at local universities and colleges but none of the options worked for Navneet.

“I’ll study if I have to study something, but I am not going to study for four years again. Why would I study it in India if I have to do it over here again?” she says.  

A few months later, her cousin’s friend who worked in the STEM field, recommended Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba – an association Internationally-Trained Engineers or Geoscientist must register themselves with to work in their field.  

They asked her to enroll in the Internationally Educated Engineers Qualification (IEEQ) Program at the University of Manitoba. In order to qualify for the written exam and an interview, Navneet had to reach a certain level of English proficiency in the Canadian Language Benchmarks Placement Test (CLBPT).

It took Navneet two years to reach a CLB Level high enough for the program. She attended the free English classes two days a week and worked part-time as a Team-Member at Tim Hortons and security guard at a local company to support herself. When she had time, she did data entry and other odd jobs for a family member that owned their own business. 

After waiting for nearly two years to qualify for the program, the pressure of working two jobs and attending classes started to get to her. 

“I thought that at some point I would have to quit,” Navneet says. 

With her family, especially her father’s support, she started the two-year foreign credentials recognition program, IEEQ, in the fall of 2016. She also left her jobs and started working part-time at Starbucks on Main & Murray Winnipeg, a position she holds to this day. 

Navneet says her job at Starbucks played a big role in improving her self-confidence. She met University students and people working in business every day and exchanging ideas and conversation. Some of her customers told her manager that they loved visiting that branch because of Navneet.

“They say that you’re always smiling whenever we come, even if you’re tired,” Navneet says with a laugh. 

It was this combination of “aptitude and attitude” that got her a job as a Database Analyst at The Great West Life. 

After finishing the academic portion of the IEEQ program in April 2018, Navneet started to look for a co-op placement online. She went for a few interviews but didn’t get placed because of a “lack of experience.”  

Nusraat Masood, the director of IEEQ, told Navneet about Maven and she began attending events. Last July, at a Maven event, Nusrat introduced her to her current Director at Great West Life and Maven Committee member Anne Daeninck. They chatted about Navneet’s qualifications and exchanged contact information so she could submit her resumé. 

The next day, Anne forwarded her resumé to her colleagues and they set up an interview on Friday of the same week. 

“I was like, oh my god, that’s so quick. Just yesterday, I was looking for a job. All that in one week,” Navneet says. 

At the interview, the hiring team told her that they had recently finished interviews for co-op positions but were interviewing her because their manager had forwarded Navneet’s resume. One of the questions asked was how she would approach learning something new. 

“I just want learn. So, I said that if I don’t know something, I will ask someone or I’ll just be observing or learning things by looking at websites,” she says. 

The next week, Navneet found out she had a four-month paid co-op position, which turned into a full-time job by the end of her term. In a team of people with 10-15 years of work experience, Navneet was the first person hired straight out of a co-op placement. 

Navneet thinks that the first three years she spent trying to get admission could have been avoided if there was more information and resources available for immigrants in technology. Manitoba Start helped her with career development but didn’t have information about the IEEQ program – a program that legitimizes their previous education.

Understanding the unique challenges South Asian women in technology face is also crucial. Navneet’s family was supportive but for many women coming from a conservative, patriarchal society, it is a struggle to continue working after you’re married. 

Navneet recollects a recent meeting with a female engineering graduate who she’d met while working at Tim Horton’s. Her friend was studying engineering at Red River College but had to quit after her wedding because of family responsibilities. They ran into each other and Navneet found out that she now works at Winnipeg Transit.  Meeting Navneet, inspired her friend to continue her studies and try for a career in technology again. 

Navneet feels that more girls should just try things instead of thinking too much about their decisions.

“When I was compared, I always thought that if boys can do it, why can’t we do it?” she says. “Don’t hesitate.”

Originally published on ICTAM

Thankfully for her, she was lucky enough to land a job as a technical services representative here in the city; something related to her degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering but not exactly the right fit. After working there for a few years, she and her husband had their third child in 2009. It was while on maternity leave that she came across her bachelor’s degree from back home. At that time her degree was nothing more than a piece of paper filed amongst others in a file folder, but at that moment something changed for Ethel. After reading through the degree in its entirety, word by word, line by line, she reflected on how hard her parents had worked to send her to university and to get her degree. Much like the sacrifice she made for her children in moving to Canada, her parents had also sacrificed a lot for her attend university. That’s when she knew it was time to have her education and experience formally recognized here in Canada.

Shortly after contacting Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba, Ethel applied to become an IEEQ student here at the University of Manitoba. Weeks and months passed until one day, her husband phoned her while at work.

“I remember my husband calling me at work telling me there was a ‘big envelope’ for me from the University of Manitoba. I knew then it was from the IEEQ program and knew that if it [was] a ‘big envelope’ that would mean I was accepted into the program.” stated Ethel, “What else could be in there, surely there wouldn’t be a package of rejection letters, right?”

Ethel was right, she had been accepted into the IEEQ program and was to begin studies in 2011. She came home from work and read through the enclosed documents which were the key to her unlocking her full potential as an engineering here in Manitoba.

“It was one of the happiest moments of my life – it gave me hope and started my journey to P.Eng.”

Unlike the many other choices she made in the years previous, Ethel’s choice to join IEEQ was a simple one. Some of the reasons were obvious, such as the co-op component of the program which would enable her to get first-hand work experience in her field for the first time in Canada, as well it would allow her to build her network of contacts. Her time in the program also allowed her to update and upgrade her existing engineering knowledge and learn about Canadian workplaces, customs, and culture.

But perhaps the most important reason was to experience a graduation ceremony. When she first graduated university in the Philippines, she couldn’t go to her convocation as just three days earlier, she gave birth to her son. Her IEEQ graduation, on the other hand, was attended by her family and the feeling of walking across the stage, knowing that they were watching was a feeling unlike any other. She says that walking across the stage was not just a celebration of her accomplishments, but it was an opportunity to show her children that if they work hard and stay focused, they too can achieve anything. 

“I wanted to show my children that age is not a hindrance to go back to university and in pursuing your dreams.”

Ethel Fernandez (second left) joined with Faculty, University and external partners to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the IEEQ Program at U of M on September 27, 2018. (Photo: Dylan Hewlett)

Five years later, Ethel has not only achieved her P.Eng. credentials and a career in her field working for the Royal Canadian Mint, but she has also found time to give back to the province and the community that helped her reach her dreams.

She has gone on to become the first female president of the Filipino Members Chapter here in Winnipeg, has her own column in the Pilipino Express where she writes about topics that are of interest and inspiration to Philippine-trained engineers, and now volunteers with Engineering Geoscientists Manitoba – the very organization where her journey began.

While her time as an IEEQ student may be over, Ethel says she still remembers her time in the program well and all that it taught her. She credits the program for her success today and her story continues to inspire many students both inside and outside the program. As for how she feels about her own story, she said she is “truly humbled and honoured” to have her remarkable story told.

“It’s an honour and privilege to be a part of such a meaningful program. Each alumni of the program is remarkable.” Nusraat Masood, Director, IEEQ Program

The evening program was led by IEEQ Program Director, Nusraat Masood and included congratulations and reflections from past Director Dr. Marcia Friesen, Grant Koropatnick, CEO & Registrar of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba and IEEQ program supporter, James Sinnock, Human Resources Advisor at Manitoba Hydro.  Ethel Fernandez (P.B.Dip.Eng., 2013), spoke at length to those gathered about how she felt when she first arrived in Canada and not being qualified to obtain work in her field. Coming from the Philippines, Fernandez praised the IEEQ program and staff for their help and guidance throughout her time at the University. She said both the academic and cultural components of the program changed her life.

Dr. Jonathan Beddoes, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering described the IEEQ program as “imaginative and unique” and also praised the program for allowing new Canadians to obtain work in their field faster upon arrival. He said the stories he heard from alumni were inspiring.

The program’s former Director, Dr. Marcia Friesen said that she has seen continual growth since 2003 when the program was first launched at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Friesen, who was in attendance at the event, said, “It was wonderful to see so many years of IEEQ alumni attend the homecoming and to hear of the exciting developments in their professional lives, their involvements in service to the engineering profession, and to see the community that they’ve developed with one another.  It’s truly a pleasure to have been a part of the program for so many years”

For more information on the IEEQ Program visit us online at umanitoba.ca/engineering/ieeq

Application Deadline for new applicants is November 1.