Hye Jin, KoreaFront Desk Agent (Hospitality Internship)

Hye Jin is from South Korea, and she participated in our Hospitality Internship Program in Canada. She did her hotel & hospitality internship at a hotel conference centre located in North Vancouver as a front desk agent.
“Working in a hotel can be a demanding job, however the steep learning curve will definitely prepare you for your career in hospitality in the future.”

Emily, TaiwanCook

She originally came to Vancouver, Canada to take part of a Study & Work Program at one of our ESL school partner. After completing her study portion of the program, she came to see us so we could look after her international work experience portion. After reviewing her experience and preferences, our placement coordinator arranged an interview in a very famous crepe restaurant chain in Vancouver. She did a great job during her interview and got a job on the spot!
Although she did not have experience as a cook, they hired her and trained her to be a “crepe-maker“. She now works part time at their busiest spot in Vancouver located at the corner of Granville street and Robson street. Emily told us her English has improved dramatically since she started working. And she appreciates having friendly relationships with her co-workers, which – according to her – is something very rare in Taiwan.

Inna, UkraineWaitress

Inna is a student coming from Ukraine currently involved in our Study & Work Program. As all of our participants in the Study & Work Program, Inna wanted to improve her business English level; both speaking and writing skills. Being employed as a sales manager in Ukraine, her employer informed her that if she did, she will be promoted at her return. Her adventure in Vancouver began by attending a Top ESL school located in the downtown neighbourhood. She needed to focus on her customer service related vocabulary in order to be able to pass the job interviews that would allow her to get the experience she was looking for.
Consequently, during her first consultation with a STEPWEST placement coordinator, it was agreed that a waitress or hostess position would be a perfect fit for her. After revising her English resume, and attending interview preparation seminars, Inna was ready and thus sent to interviews at restaurants and cafes. She managed to obtain a waitress position in a restaurant right in the middle of the financial district on Burrard Street. Besides her co-op part time job position, Inna is still studying in the morning so she keeps improving her English on a daily basis! Even if sometimes, she finds it hard to combine studies and work as it does not give her much time for social activities.