This week’s Spotlight on Tech is focused on Make A Change Canada, a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing persons with disabilities and those facing other challenges with the skills and training they need to be successful in today’s workforce. Read on to learn more about them!

 

Describe your company and your primary product(s) and/or service(s). Make A Change Canada is a pan-Canadian, accredited nonprofit organization with charitable status. We currently offer two online skills training programs: IBDE Web Essentials/Web Advanced and Business Abilities. We train and upskill individuals facing challenges to employment, and through our work we are helping to build diversity in the technology sector.

 

Ten plus teaching faculty and educational support staff.

 

Where are you located? We are a virtual organization registered in Nelson, B.C., with offices throughout B.C., Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick. Our client base stretches from coast to coast.

 

Our culture is quirky, outspoken, and somewhat nerdy, yet we remain grounded in quality and caring as our foundation. We are an exacting, “two spaces after a period organization,” yet revel in spontaneity and new opportunities. Thought-driven, we regularly reflect as a team on our clients’ career journeys.

 

Even though we are separated by great distances, our leadership facilitates impromptu meet-ups and scheduled meetings to keep everyone aligned. We also meet in person, usually once a year for a planning session. Our leadership is able to offer a flexible work environment in which employees are valued and trusted as professionals in their own right.

 

When your employees talk about your company, what do they brag about?

• We value our freedom to work remotely from home.
• We are the pioneer in providing supportive, online training since 2005.
• We have the privilege of connecting with our clients at a personal level and seeing them overcome challenges to improve their lives.

Describe your most recent achievement/ milestone as a company. How did you team celebrate it?

In 2015 we celebrated our 10-year anniversary with a live extravaganza through Ustream. Through story and song, this was a celebration of people from across Canada overcoming their challenges, and the organizations and people who support them. We also marked 2015 by gaining accreditation under the Imagine Canada Standards Program.

 

Are you hiring? Why should a candidate apply to your company? What are the benefits of working for you? Check out our career page for current opportunities and information on what it is like to work for us.

 

Our organization attracts those who value working remotely and helping others overcome personal difficulties to find value and new purpose in their lives. Our team consists of leaders, innovators, and skilled and caring individuals of the highest calibre.

 

During 2017 and 2018 we will work actively to expand the reach of our IBDE Web Essentials/Web Advanced program through the development of new educational, industry, and supporting partnerships, leading to a doubling in the number of new graduates. We will also welcome new partnerships with technology firms aiming to diversify their digital talent base.

 

There is always that person in any organization who you will never forget. At Make A Change Canada we work with one amazing individual who infuses our organization with humour and intrigue. Full of surprises, our team leader and business coach, Douglas Tardif, has the following credits to his name: he has travelled with Richard Branson, sung with Anne Murray, acted with Gene Hackman and Tom Cruise, and has worked overseas for the United Nations. Doug is an accomplished actor, writer, and singer. See him in action here.