Viji Narayanan

Chemical engineer from India reacts well to new life in Alberta

Vijayalakshmi Narayanan from Chennai, India wants people thinking of immigrating to Canada to know that Alberta is the best place to live and work. She chose to move to Edmonton, Alberta in 2006 after marrying her husband, Krishna Kumar Soundararajan. He had been living in Canada since 2003, and had moved to Edmonton in 2006.

Now a permanent resident of Alberta, Viji, as she prefers to be called, was sponsored by her husband to come to Alberta. In Canada, there are two processes for sponsoring family members. One is used for sponsoring a spouse, conjugal or common-law partner and/or dependent children. The other is used to sponsor other eligible relatives.

When Viji first settled in Alberta she says she found it a bit difficult to adjust. A chemical engineer with a bachelor’s degree in science, Viji was looking for work in her field but initially had trouble finding the help she needed to find a chemical engineering position.

Her husband suggested she contact federal and provincial government programs designed to help newcomers with job search strategies, including Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. From there, Viji learned about the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers. She enrolled in the centre’s Bridging the Gap program, which helped her learn about Canadian workplace culture and gave her advice on how to search for a job, write a résumé, and succeed in a job interview.

Viji also had her education credentials approved through the Alberta government’s International Qualifications Assessment Service to ensure they were the equivalent to provincial standards.

After three months, Viji moved from her transitional job as a technical support representative in a call centre to become a Junior Piping Designer at SNC Lavalin Inc. in Edmonton. Unfortunately, with the recent economic downturn in Alberta, Viji was laid off from this position, but she was told she may be called back to work.

“I am not discouraged by my current job situation,” said Viji. “I see this as an opportunity for me to pursue my master’s degree in chemical engineering and I am currently looking into enrolling at the University of Alberta. I am very thankful to the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers and the provincial and federal government because I have received a lot of valuable support and advice since I came here, and I now feel very comfortable living in Alberta.”

For Viji, the best things about Alberta are the welcoming environment, the availability of supported training and bridging programs for newcomers, and that it is a safe place to raise a family. “I really like Canada because it is a peaceful country and very nice place for working and living,” she said. “To people considering moving to Canada, I say come to Alberta because there is a lot of support to help us find work and feel settled.”

Date Updated:
RDP:1129