Written by Sharon Aschaiek

Workplace Communication Skills for Professional Managers

In 2021, Chairh Gueï immigrated to Canada from Côte d’Ivoire, and she and her family settled in Niagara Falls. Chairh sought to re-establish her career by building on her educational and professional experiences, which include a master’s degree in humanitarian project management, and five years of experience in the automotive business of a multinational conglomerate in roles such as project coordination, sales and administration.

What supported her employment journey was participating in the OSLT course Workplace Communication Skills for Professional Managers. Taking the course online two evenings a week at Collège Boréal, Chairh developed the language skills and cultural knowledge to effectively engage with colleagues, supervisors and customers in business and technology workplaces.

The workplace language competencies Chairh gained from the OSLT course resulted in Collège Boréal hiring her as its manager of continuing education and corporate training, and coordinator of its English- and French-language offerings of OSLT and FLAP (Formation linguistique axée sur les professions).

Here, Chairh shares her experience in the OSLT course.

What are some of the most useful things you learned in the course about workplace communications and culture in a business workplace?

We learned how to effectively interact with others in different ways, such as delivering a presentation and participating in a meeting. We also learned the right way to write a business email: using an appropriate subject line, organizing information properly, keeping the message concise and including a call to action.

How did the course enhance your understanding of workplace culture in Ontario?

In workplaces in Côte d’Ivoire, managers have a traditional leadership style that is more top-down. Here, everyone is more on the same level. It is participatory management, and everyone is welcome to give their input. I also learned about the importance of small talk — finding a connection with a co-worker rather than directly going to the main point. I found it to be a more human-oriented approach that helps to improve relations with others at work.

How beneficial was this course to supporting your career development in Ontario?

This course helped me improve my communication skills in the workplace — my writing is better, and so is my ability to interact with others. OSLT helped me achieve my career goals. In my current role as OSLT and FLAP coordinator, it is satisfying to help other newcomers as they try to integrate into the local workforce.