The college has introduced the Lynda LinkedIn Ambassador Program which gives an opportunity to students to connect with world professionals that have excelled in their fields.
Lynda is a joint program in partnership with the Ministry of Advanced Education and eCampus Ontario aiming to help students develop skills that will guide them to career success.
“Having the support of your college with dual support from the LinkedIn organization is helpful to people in a certain program having different skills and confidence,” said Reggie Hanson, a customer success manager for the Lynda LinkedIn Program.
Since 2017 the Ontario government provides Lynda.com to students in the 44 colleges and universities around Ontario.
“Our goal is to help students find their confidence, build their portfolios, their careers and enhance their academic excellence,” said Hanson. “Ambassador Program is a partner of the student — being one more resource to work with — (and) showing new paths and a new way of developing their selves.”
That’s also a goal of Gabriela Castro, who, as one of the 62 student ambassadors, hopes to help students build a local network and find a good job.
She got her job through LinkedIn; She is a project manager at Brookfield Renewable now. She wants her colleagues and students to explore how Lynda.com can help them find a good job, how they can research the skills employers are looking for, and how they can build a local network and take advantage of that.
“As a project manager I know how important it is to connect with people and to make everybody understand the goals of the project,” said Castro. “I truly believe that the LinkedIn Ambassador program helped me to develop these skills by connecting with the people around.”
Brittney Worrall helps students to manage the ambassador program.
She is a LinkedIn Student Learning Ambassador who would search the library archives for helping students with research; she helps students to book rooms for presentations, and if they need other learning support, she can provide that.
“We made sure there should be someone on campus for students if they want any support or services,” she said. “I’d like to see it extended, and see students work on transferable skills that we like to tell students in employment support centre; because, it gives you an edge when you graduate.”