Omaya’s Story: From Determination to Employment
When Omaya arrived in Canada from Lebanon in 2023, she had a fierce determination as a single mother to build a better future for her children. But even with 14 years of experience as a Medical Radiation Technologist, navigating the Canadian healthcare job market as a newcomer proved more challenging than expected.
By 2024, Omaya had settled in Guelph and passed her exams to become recertified to work in Canada. All she needed was to find a job. That’s when a referral to Starling Employment Services changed everything.
"At that time, someone from Immigration Services referred me to Starling,” she recalls. “We worked on my resume together. I knew it was good, but looking it over with a specialist, there were things he helped me adjust. And he told me the importance of tailoring my resume to each specific job description, writing cover letters, and following up with HR several weeks after an application.”
Omaya soon got an interview at a local Medical Imaging Centre. She wanted to be sure to put her best foot forward, so her employment specialist helped to prepare her with a mock interview.
“It was my first time doing an interview here in Ontario, and the mock interview really helped,” she says. “Because I am not a native speaker, it’s hard for me to do an interview in English… Starling helped me gain more confidence in speaking, and how to include real-life examples in every answer to a question.”
Omaya landed the job and has been settling into her new role. Looking back, she is grateful for the professionalism and knowledge that Starling offered her. “I would tell anyone looking for help getting a job to go to Starling,” she concludes. “Even now, after I’m employed, my worker still tells me to reach out any time. I am so happy with my experience there.”
Community Impact
Helping Businesses Invest in Their Workforce
Businesses know that investing in workforce training can increase job quality, improve business performance, create advancement opportunities, and create a more satisfied workforce. For the past few years, Starling has helped businesses and employers navigate the Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) application process to provide up to $10,000 per employee to train new and existing staff members. Last year, Starling approved 59 COJG applications to help train 239 workers in Waterloo Region and Guelph.
Guelph Office Expansion Meets Growing Needs
As a result of the success of our Newcomer Support Services and Employment Ontario programs, Starling’s Guelph team has grown significantly over the past two years. To accommodate the growing needs in our physical workspace, Starling expanded its lease from the third floor to include the second floor of our Wyndham Street North location. The additional space allows us to have all staff together onsite, enhance internal coordination, and increase availability to meet with clients in person, an improvement that directly supports our commitment to providing high-quality, responsive community services.
Partnership with Muslim Social Services
During the Summer and Fall of 2024, Starling’s Employment Services collaborated with Muslim Social Services (MSS) to deliver a series of pre-employment workshops and a hiring event. MSS invited youth ages 15 – 30 years old to attend the workshop sessions hosted by a Starling Employment Advisor. Youth learned about goal setting, creating resumes and cover letters, how and where to job search, how to network, and interviewing skills. All of this prepared them for the public hiring event hosted in October. Representatives of employers as well as social service organizations and resources for high school-aged youth were present, sharing opportunities and resources.
“From the moment I started my journey with Starling Community Services, I’ve felt a strong connection to our values and goals and been able to form strong relationships with colleagues. I’ve been fortunate to be able to impact hundreds of clients during my three years at Starling. It has been incredible to see them succeed in their employment after supporting for such a long time through the highs and lows. Helping others towards their goals is what drives me each and every day, and being able to live out Starling’s values has been inspiring. I am proud to say that I work at Starling!”
"I never expected Starling could help me so much, but once I met their staff, I knew we would be okay. Having a job is everything; I don't go hungry, I have my self-confidence back and most importantly, my son and I are happy."