Collaboration allows Southern Victoria High School students get career advice
In an era where digital presence increasingly defines professional opportunities, Southern Victoria High School students received a career-boosting experience on Wednesday, May 28, through a collaboration between Kyndryl Canada and LinkedIn.
The two companies hosted a hands-on LinkedIn workshop designed to teach students how to build polished, professional online profiles and effectively network for future job opportunities.
“Giving back early enough that you could still influence their profile on a professional basis, so that they could be applying for jobs that are most relevant to them, helps everybody,” said Mark Matheson, Vice President at Kyndryl Canada and executive sponsor of the company’s Indigenous Working Group.
Many students at the workshop said they thought LinkedIn was similar to social media such as Instagram or X, as opposed to being a professional social media platform.
“They didn’t really understand the value that it could have for their careers,” said Matheson.
Matheson says it was not the first time he’s encountered people who don’t know how LinkedIn works.
Last year, Kyndryl hosted its first-ever LinkedIn workshops at Carleton North High School and Hartland Community School. Matheson was struck by the number of students and teachers who were lost when it came to LinkedIn.
“The teachers had no idea about LinkedIn either, because it’s not a profession that uses it. They don’t typically change very often. Very few teachers seem to have LinkedIn profiles. So like students, they were associating it with social media,” said Matheson.
Although Matheson believes schools are doing a good job helping students create resumes, he says the workshops are assisting students to become working professionals.
Not only did the workshop introduce many students to LinkedIn, but Matheson says the workshop helped the students understand how their extracurriculars translate into job-ready skills.
“They [students] don’t recognize the value of some of the extracurricular activities that they do for employers. You develop a lot of skills through these activities that they just don’t necessarily associate [with the workforce],” said Matheson.
These workshops have led Matheson to believe that more companies should get involved in youth career development, particularly in digital literacy and networking.
He says that with job markets tightening and digital branding becoming essential, the Kyndryl-LinkedIn partnership may offer a valuable blueprint for preparing students for the professional world.
“I just think that the education of the youth needs to be a collaboration with schools and industry…teachers can’t be good at everything, right. And industry needs the right level of talent to be coming out of these schools,” said Matheson.
