A Nova Scotia startup has established partnerships with several organizations across the province as part of its goal to support individuals building meaningful careers.
Founded by CEO, Chantal Brine in 2018, EnPoint offers a mentorship platform that connects students, young professionals and those looking to transition in their career with a mentor within their company, school or organization.
“Oftentimes, people think [of] mentorship and they have a very specific vision of what that looks like in their head,” Brine said in an interview. “We’re kind of taking the concept of mentorship and playing with it a little bit.”
EnPoint has worked with clients like Digital Nova Scotia, East Preston Empowerment Academy and EduNova to develop customized mentorship programs tailored to each of the organizations’ goals.
The company’s software provides client organizations, mentors and mentees with access to everything related to their customized career development program, Brine explained, including recruitment, matchmaking and relationship management.
“Most of the time … our clients are using it for structured mentorship programs over a period of time where they really are trying to guide individuals in building that relationship,” Brine said. “We do that with some gentle nudging through some automated touchpoints.”
Brine added that EnPoint’s clients get a schedule at the beginning of their mentorship program, which enables them to “set it and forget it,” as the platform automates the aspects of mentorship that don’t need to happen one-on-one.
“We had to meet our clients where they were,” Brine said.
When the pandemic hit, Brine said, EnPoint quickly shifted its focus from launching the latest version of its mentorship platform to “community projects,” like its Rethinking Employment collaboration with Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Volta, Halifax Innovation District, Halifax Partnership and Two Igloos. Rethinking Employment is focused on building solutions for the future of work in Atlantic Canada.
“We had to meet our clients where they were,” Brine said. “We put our hand up and said, ‘Look, we know that this is going to take everybody thinking creatively and differently and the business model that we thought was going to be the model for this year, we understand that may not come into play.”
Given the rapid changes currently happening in the labour market, Brine said, there will be plenty of opportunity for EnPoint to develop new mentorship solutions for its clients, particularly those related to reskilling, upskilling, recruitment and retention.
For now, Brine is looking forward to the next iteration of EnPoint’s Building Future Ready Communities Virtual Tour, in partnership with career-matching platform, Magnet and Future Skills Centre. The event will be hosted via Zoom on July 27 and will feature Nova Scotia business leaders, including Matthew Martel, COO of Black Business Initiative and Jill Provoe, executive director of human rights, equity and inclusion at Nova Scotia Community College.
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