Media Advisory - TO2015's Diversity and Inclusion Program Plants Unique Career Development Opportunities

TORONTO, May 15, 2015 /CNW/ - The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee (TO2015) is hosting an event to launch the SEEDS career development program. The SEEDS program will provide youth with a unique career development experience, including a short-term work placement with TO2015 and mentorship with an employee from one of TO2015's sponsors. The program will also provide jobs to 100 unemployed Ontarians who have faced multiple barriers to employment.

Hosted by the CBC's Dwight Drummond and Anne-Marie Mediwake, the event will feature a mentorship orientation session, where a number of mentors and mentees will meet for the first time, keynote speakers including SEEDS mentors and mentees, and other special guests who will share their inspiring stories.  

As one of the legacy components of the Games, SEEDS will provide employment and mentorship opportunities for young people who are in the early stages of their careers, as well as guide them towards experiences and relationships that will last well past Games time.

TO2015 has worked closely with the City's Partnership to Advance Youth employment (PAYE) and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) to recruit approximately 100 youth to fill SEEDS summer positions for the Games.

Successful SEEDS applicants will gain high-demand skills in project management, supply chain logistics, client relations and public speaking through roles in areas such as transportation, press operations and logistics. SEEDS participants will also develop an understanding of corporate culture and build networking skills through one-on-one mentoring with an employee from TO2015's, Lead Partner CIBC, and Premier Partner Chevrolet as well as TO2015 sponsors, Coca-Cola, General Motors/ and Loblaw Companies Limited.

When:	Tuesday, May 19
	9–11 a.m. (ET)
Where:	Corus Entertainment (in the building's atrium)
	25 Dockside Drive, Toronto
Guests speakers:	Dwight Drummond, CBC News Toronto host
	Anne-Marie Mediwake, CBC News Toronto host
	Mayor John Tory
	Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport
	Orlando Bowen, speaker, trainer, executive director at One Voice One Team

SOURCE Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games

Dayo Kefentse, Manager, media relations, TO2015, 416.957.2528, [email protected]