Staying current

When social worker Babur Mawladin moved to Toronto in 2002, he wasn’t sure how he could put his skills to use. He wanted to update his training to Canadian standards, but wasn’t keen on investing significant time and money in a university education.

Friends referred him to Continuing Education at George Brown, where he discovered the Advanced Counselling Skills (Post-diploma) Certificate. Then a three-course program, it currently features five courses that help students with basic counselling skills learn more advanced counselling interventions.

The practical, experiential learning-based program seemed a great fit to Babur. As well, he liked that he could pursue the certificate during the evenings, around his daytime volunteering for a non-profit social services organization.

Babur found himself enjoying a curriculum that was both varied and thorough. “We looked at a lot of case studies and acted out scenarios to understand the lessons,” he says.

The opportunity to learn from seasoned industry professionals helped him better absorb what he learned. “The instructors were experienced and knowledgeable and weren’t just teaching us theories, but giving us relevant examples from their own work experiences,” he says.

In addition to learning new counselling techniques, Babur, originally from Afghanistan, also discovered an altogether new way of learning than what he had experienced back home. “The class environment was very relaxed,” he says. “People were able to express their opinions and views and there was much more opportunity to discuss and challenge ideas.”

After completing the program in 2004, Babur quickly landed a job in his field – one in which he could help newcomers such as himself adapt to life in Canada. As a settlement worker for the non-profit North York Community House, he assists newly immigrated elementary and high school students and their parents with a variety of needs, including housing, education and employment.

“The things I learned at George Brown have helped me a lot in terms of listening skills, communication skills and working with a diversity of cultural groups,” he says. “The training has helped me a lot in my daily interactions with clients, and I’m very happy with my new skills.”