Mentor programs in Toronto

If my goal is to make Toronto the mentorship capital of the world, it would be a good idea to take inventory of what already exists. Mentorship programs abound in the city and you can find one suitable to your current life stage or situation. While this is not yet an exhaustive list, feel free to send an email to me luki@focusinspired.com if you have any additions or updates.

Students and Youth

Newcomer youth can take advantage of facilities like:

IYC (Immigrant Youth Centre) http://www.cicsiyc.org/
- With various locations around the city, they offer free programs for youth ages 13-24 with a focus on Permanent Residents (PRs) but they won’t turn away citizens or visa students. Well equipped with computer labs, games and various opportunities to learn skills and connect with other Youth. And did I mention it’s all free? Feel free to tell them that Luki sent you.

University students: you have to be a registered student at the school and there are different programs for different campuses, faculties and other demographics. Take a look to see if there’s one for you.

University of Toronto
- Scarborough
  - All UTSC students: PIL (Partners In Leadership) http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~advancement/alumni/partnersInLeadership.html
    - Available to all students, mentors are provided from the Alumni network.
  - First years: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/studentlife/first-year-experience-program
  - IMANI: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/studentlife/Imani-academic-mentorship-program
    - For black youth
  - Management students: MVP (Most Valuable Protege) http://mvprotege.ca/
    - Available for 1st year management students to be mentored by upper year students
    - Various events are run and upper years provide mentorship guidance to first years
  - Entrepreneurs: The HUB https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/projects/thehub/
    - If you have a start-up idea, the HUB offers space, a mentor and various other resources to get your venture going
- St George
  - Mentorship & Peer Programs https://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/mpp
    - Has a database of mentorship opportunities (need a UTOR ID) and other resources
  - Department specific
    - Engineering: http://alumni.engineering.utoronto.ca/future-alumni/alumni-mentorship-program/
    - Computer science: http://web.cs.toronto.edu/program/ugrad/mentor.htm
- Mississauga: has a plethora of mentorship programs with different focus areas
  - Alumni mentorship: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/utm-engage/leadership/alumni-mentorship
    - Mentorship from alumni
  - Dept of Geography mentorship: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/sage/mentorship-program
    - Mentorship specifically for those in the department of geography
  - AccessAbility: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/accessability/leading-towards-inclusion-mentor-program
    - Mentorship for those with accessibility concerns
  - REACH: https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/transition/upper-year-students/reach-upper-year-program
    - For upper year students to provide to the community and get mentorship
  - iCONNECT: https://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/cie/iconnect
    - An inter-cultural mentorship program
Ryerson / Ted Rogers School of Management (TRSM)
- General: http://www.ryerson.ca/career/students/meet-employers/mentoring/
- Trimentoring program: http://www.ryerson.ca/studentlife/trimentoring/
- International students: http://www.ryerson.ca/studentlife/internationalsupport/events/mentoring/
- Engineering innovation & Entrepreneurship: http://www.ryerson.ca/ceie/mentorship/
- Later year TRSM students Top 200: http://www.ryerson.ca/trsm-careers/top-200/

New comers

Canada has immigrants as a major contributor to its workforce with more skilled coming workers coming every year. If that’s you, finding a mentor can be an accelerator to find that job and getting that coveted Canadian experience.

TRIEC TMP (Toronto Region Immigration Employment Council – The Mentoring Partnership) http://triec.ca/our-initiatives/mentoring-2/
- Long name, but a very useful resource for mentors
- I’ve mentored there for a number of years, so you be lucky to be matched with me!
PIN (Professional Immigrants Network) http://www.networksforimmigrants.ca/directory
- A director of various newcomer networks that identify themselves with a particular ethno-cultural group or industry
UnstoppableMe: http://unstoppableme.rocks/
- A member organization to PIN, I support them with various speaking events and they are an awesome group of helpful people

Platforms

Various mentoring platforms or platforms that promote connections that are useful to find mentors exist. Two that are based out of Toronto are:

MentorCity http://mentorcity.com
- A platform that allows you to match based on dimension of mentorship. Whether you want to find a mentor in a particular industry, or for a start-up or something else, you can probably find someone.
TenThousandCoffees https://www.tenthousandcoffees.com
- While not a mentoring platform per say, you have an opportunity to make many connections. And if you can build meaningful connections then you’re bound to find mentors

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