What’s it like to come to Canada as an international student when you’re already a highly educated lawyer and business services manager with international work experience and four children?
Uzoaku Ike can answer that question. She trained as a lawyer and practiced law in Nigeria from 1998 until 2010 when she left for the Netherlands with her three children and husband, who had transferred for work.
“It was supposed to be a four-year work assignment,” said Uzoaku, who was pregnant with her fourth child and had never been to the Netherlands, where she would reside for the next eight years.
She initially struggled to find work in a country that didn’t speak English as a formal language. To continue practicing law, she would have to repeat law school and rewrite the bar exam. But even before that, she would have to learn the language and become proficient in it.
After careful consideration, Uzoaku decided to change her career. She completed a master’s degree in international public administration, and got a job as a program manager with an international childcare organization where English is widely spoken. Fast forward three years, and she had been promoted to a business services manager, and around that time had sent her eldest daughter to Canada to finish high school and start university.
A lot had happened in those eight years in the Netherlands. She had another child, started a new career, gained citizenship, and obtained a European Union passport.
“I thought I had established myself there. I had a good job, bought a house, and considered that country my new home.” Her eldest son was finishing high school, and her husband’s job transferred back to Nigeria.
“It was now a case of sending my son to join his sister in Canada while my husband went back to Nigeria, with me staying in the Netherlands with my two other children. At this point, we had to make a family decision. Do we run three homes in three countries? Or do we all stay together?”
They decided to move to Canada together, where Uzoaku planned to return to school and retrain for a new career and a new life. She asked herself an honest question. If she was going to study again—what would she like to learn, considering she hadn’t practiced law in over eight years and had subsequently gained managerial experience in the childcare sector.
She knew she had to find her true passion. After researching careers in Canada, she realized that working in social services would be the right fit. Uzoaku enrolled for the two-year Social Service Worker diploma at Sheridan College, and arrived in Canada in 2017 to start the program.
“I was a mature student with much younger students in my class who had come straight from high school. But that did not matter to me as I am the type of person who can bring myself to everyone’s level and relate to them.”
During her studies, she did a placement with the Centre for Skills Development in Burlington, Ontario, and continued there as an evaluation specialist upon graduation. This led to a job offer for her current position as a caseworker with Employment & Social Services at the City of Toronto.
This was in February 2020, a few weeks before the COVID lockdown came into effect, and meant she had to complete her training online and transition to work remotely.
While studying at Sheridan College, Uzoaku also gained the opportunity to volunteer as a campus ambassador for guard.me International Insurance, helping other international students adjust to a new country and culture.
“I came here with a lot of experience, but I didn't have the Canadian work experience I needed to join the workforce. Being a campus ambassador helped me understand the work culture and put Canadian work experience on my resume to start my job search.”
After nine months of volunteering in this role, she describes the most important requirement as having empathy for international students living away from their home countries for the first time.
Today, she is happy and grateful that her children settled into Canada quickly and love the country and the opportunities available.
“If I knew then what I know now, I would have made the move to Canada earlier. I’ve since encouraged a lot of people to come here, especially career-minded women with children.”
The Ike family has now gained permanent residency in Canada, and Uzoaku’s eldest daughter is completing her final year at Ryerson University. Her eldest son is an engineering student at Guelph University, and her two younger children are in grades 6 and 12.
“I came here to support my children and to study and improve myself. I wasn't sure what to expect because I didn’t know much about the Canadian labour market. Getting to the level I am at now, working in a government job for the City of Toronto, is beyond my initial expectations.”
