Academic and Career Counselling and Mentorship to Black Canadians

The Mentorship Program is being delivered annually to BIPOC Canadians enrolled at, or recently graduated from, Canadian post-secondary institutions. The Mentorship Program is approximately four months in duration and has two primary components:

  1. a webinar series during which Black Canadian professionals share their experience overcoming systemic racism and other obstacles in their career path (the “Webinar Series”); and
  2. small group mentoring sessions with successful Black Canadians already working in the participant’s desired industry (the “Mentorship Sessions”).

A. Webinar Series

Many BIPOC individuals lack access and exposure to key Canadian industries that influence and shape Canadian society, including business and technology, education, government, arts and entertainment, health care, family and sports. The Webinar Series exposes BIPOC post-secondary students and recent graduates to career opportunities in these industries.

The Webinar Series are composed of four, hour-long Webinars, which occur monthly for the duration of the Mentorship Program. The following topics are addressed during the Webinar Series are:

  • Webinar #1: Black Canadian history, life skills and work skills essential to career advancement, including timeliness, money management, mental health and presentation of self.
  • Webinar #2: Working in business and technology, education and government.
  • Webinar #3: Working in arts and entertainment and health care.
  • Webinar #4: Working in sports and family.

B. Mentorship Sessions

In addition to the Webinar Series, The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism organizes Mentorship Sessions for participants enrolled in the Mentorship Program. During the Mentorship Sessions a mentor meets with two to four post-secondary students and recent graduates to discuss their career development as a racialized person. Currently, Mentorship Sessions are taking place online via video-conferencing due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the future the Mentorship Sessions may be held in person.

The Mentorship Sessions are an hour in duration and occur on a monthly basis for the duration of the Mentorship Program. During the Mentorship Sessions the mentor and participants will engage in an open discussion about navigating employment landscapes, career progression, leveraging networks, and shared lived experiences of racism across various environments.

Eligibility and enrollment

The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism provides notice of the Mentorship Program’s availability (including information on the process and deadlines for applications) through posts on our website and social media accounts and through information shared with Canadian post-secondary institutions. Eligible candidates will apply to our Mentorship program in writing, on a form established by the Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism. We will evaluate each candidate based on:

  • academic standing; and
  • personal circumstances
  • expressed desire for career advancement.

Successful candidates will be enrolled in the Mentorship Program at no cost.

The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism seeks to advance education by organizing and delivering structured lectures, summits, conferences, seminars and presentations (collectively referred to as the “Education Events”) on topics related to systemic racism affecting Black Canadians. The goal of the Education Events are to highlight the prevalence of this ongoing social issue in Canada while also teaching the public how to address and combat this form of systemic racism.

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