I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the WorkBC Whalley office. Without your program, I could not have achieved this training on my own financially. In addition, I want to commend Rosita Bernardo for all her help and encouragement. She is an asset to WorkBC. She is a hardworking and dedicated employee. This is Rhealyn Ulangca, and this is the story of my success.

Due to lack of Canadian certification and instability at my previous jobs in Canada, my self-confidence was very low and I was confused and badly in need of skills that were required for jobs at that time. I decided to shift my career and decided to opt for a health career assistant course. My counselor helped me choose the best course that aligned with my interests.

I am Cornelia Dequilla, and this is the story about my life-changing experience.

With the help of my counselor, I applied for my skills training funds and luckily got the approval for my grant! I was also approved for some living supports during my 4 weeks of intense on the road class 1 driving training so that I get some time to myself and not worry about my basic expenses.

When the pandemic hit, I got laid off from a job that I thought would position me towards becoming an educator. I was heartbroken. I did not know how and where to start looking for another opportunity. Then came WORKBC WHALLEY. What perfect timing! I feel grateful to have discovered WORKBC's program and to have been connected with a superstar Case Manager - Rosita.

I came to Canada as a caregiver in April 2017. I worked as a nanny for over two years until I received my immigrant status in December 2019. At that time, I lost my job. I applied for EI benefits and tried looking for work as well. But then, COVID-19 came in 2020; the position I found only lasted for two weeks as we went into a pandemic.

In order to gain Canadian work experience, I volunteered as an Admin Assistant for three years. During the same period, I got my Grade 12 Graduation, which allowed me to take an Accounting course. I came to Surrey-Newton WorkBC Centre a few months before I completed the Accounting course. Since I had no relevant work history; I felt that I was stepping into unfamiliar territory and needed help with job search skills.

Thank you WorkBC, WorkBC Guildford staff and Sunnie Song. You did a great job for me to land this wonderful job by providing appropriate info, service and good advice at my difficult time of unemployment. Thank you so much again, I really appreciate it.

I would highly recommend Surrey-Newton WorkBC Employment Services since they really go above and beyond to help their clients get sustainable jobs. Not only that, they are going to guide newcomers and people who have no clue as to what they want to do when arriving in Canada, providing them with financial supports as well.

With COVID 19 hitting Canada and all over the world, both my husband and I were laid off last year. I applied for many jobs but didn’t get any response. I was very worried about my family situation and my future career, and I didn’t know at that time I was uncertain about my future.

I am so glad that I reached out to WorkBC Surrey-Newton, who got me my first job despite having several barriers to finding employment. Even after completing one whole year at the daycare, I am successfully employed and choose to remain in the same industry and with the same employers for a long term to get more experience and knowledge of the Canadian market.

"It was very encouraging for me to be at a workplace. It boosted my confidence and self esteem. Thanks to WorkBC Surrey Newton for their ongoing support after my placement as well"

Throughout my time at WorkBC, my counsellor remained in contact, encouraging me to never give up. I got the training, I got the job, and I got my confidence back. I did my best and WorkBC did the rest!

My name is Izee and I am very glad that I had the opportunity to work with WorkBC Whalley and my  Employment Counsellor Svitlana. She is a wonderful person, a professional in her field, and thanks to her, my life has completely transformed. In 2019, I started my journey with Work BC Whalley, while I was on my maternity leave.  The cleaning company I had worked for had shut down and I did not have a place to return.  Though I had extensive experience as a seamstress in Ukraine and Canada, but I knew  that I didn’t want to return to it, as it would not serve my family needs. 

My name is Sim and I came to Canada in 2016. I possess a bachelor’s degree and had four years of work experience at a finance company as an administrative assistant in my country.  In Canada, I started working as a server at a restaurant and worked for f4 years. Due to the pandemic, I was not able to work as much as I used to before Covid-19. Therefore, I was in financial difficulty and wanted to change my career. 

I am Aynaz, a single parent from Iraq with 2 kids. I came to Canada in 2017 as a refugee with my children aged 2 and 3. When I came, it was all so new for me. I did not know anybody. I was rejected for work because of poor English and I had no Canadian experience. So, I took a 3 month course to improve my English language skills, and started looking for a job but that was extremely hard because when I used to apply, I would be asked for Canadian experience and my resume was not appealing either.

I was able to discover a new career for myself and completed one year diploma in Early Childhood Education, all funded by WorkBC. I hope my story can inspire someone else to reach their career goal and use the resources available at WorkBC.

I heard great reviews about Surrey-Newton WorkBC from some other immigrants I befriended in my job search process, who mentioned about the constant support offered and how the team here goes out of its way to help their clients find a job that is suitable for them. I am so glad I made my choice and decided to come here.

The timely support of Sunnie Song and having the Security System Technician certificate increased my confidence in security installation and troubleshooting and gave me the knowledge base to support my ideas.

At Newton WorkBC, staff continued to encourage and motivate me to pursue my career reminding me not to give up. They referred me to the ACCEP program, which confirmed my eligibility for wage subsidy through a letter of support for employers; this immensely increased my chances of getting a job.