Rhea Bugarin is a lady with a plan. She is petite and somewhat soft-spoken, but while talking to her, you will realize that she is a person who has determination and a strong drive to succeed. Prior to coming to Manitoba, Rhea, a medical technologist, was already managing a hospital laboratory in the Philippines. But because she wanted more opportunities for growth and because her cousins did a good job of convincing her, she applied through the Provincial Nominee Program and landed in Manitoba in April 2013.

Horror stories

While Rhea was set on coming to the province because of the great things her cousins had told her about living here, she was also anxious because of the horror stories she had heard from other people. “Generally, they said it will be hard to get to the same level where you currently are at in your career. They said that life would be difficult in Manitoba. There will be discrimination and you could be stuck in survival jobs for the most part,” Rhea said. For someone who was very career-driven, this made her wary. However, it was this fear that pushed her to do more research and prepare thoroughly for her impending new venture.

Learning English and beyond

Foremost in her process of preparation was getting her language skills ready. “I thought that being very comfortable with English would help a newcomer succeed, so I made sure that it was on top of my ‘to-learn’ list before coming to Manitoba,” Rhea remembers.

She came across English Online in one of the documents CIC sent her. “I was amazed that Manitoba had a free initiative like that. Out of curiosity and backed with the goal of improving my language skills, I signed in.” But beyond developing her proficiency in English, what Rhea appreciates most were the courses that touched on settlement and career topics. “Aside from learning English, courses about workplace culture (and the culture of Canada in general), career advice, what to expect in Manitoba and how to make a Canadian-style resume, helped me a lot in my journey. Iwona, Natalia, Ianthe, Olesea and Blaine were among the dedicated people who facilitated these courses,“ Rhea enthuses.

“While the e-facilitators told us about the challenges we will be facing, they also assured us that Manitoba is a wonderful place and that the people are friendly. This helped me set realistic expectations before coming here. And when I came to Manitoba, I did see that people are friendly and that it is a wonderful and welcoming place”, Rhea continues. She was a learner with English Online for about a year before she came to Manitoba.

Rhea believes that research, planning and preparation made it easy for her to settle in her first few months in Manitoba. She didn’t find it too hard to adjust, even in the winter months, because she said that she knew what to expect and was set for it.

Land of opportunity

Today, Rhea is working at Manitoba eHealth, which provides electronic health systems to health care providers in the province. Her work has allowed her to shift into an IT-related field while still making use of her knowledge in the medical sciences. She has also obtained her medical technologist certification despite intending to shift careers when she got here. “I felt that I needed to achieve the certification as a fall-back in case my plan for a career shift is not successful,“ she said.

Aside from working full-time, she is also now an e-volunteer with English Online. Rhea believes that it is her opportunity to give back to the organization that was instrumental to her smooth integration process. She also wants to impart her experience and knowledge to help newcomers like her.

Words of wisdom

To other newcomers, Rhea has this to say:

“Prepare, do your research before coming to Manitoba. For those who are already here, never stop learning. Free resources are available, use them. Learn the language, it is the first step to understanding the work culture. Be open minded, think for example, discrimination does not really exist at all, that it could just be miscommunication . And most importantly, determine how you can overcome other expected hurdles, even better if you find ways to use them to your advantage, in a good way. ”

“Also, one needs to be flexible and adaptable. Although it is important to retain one’s culture, and Manitoba encourages multi-culturalism, you must also learn how to respect and manage to get along with people’s ways here. This is not just applicable career wise, but this will also make your life easier in general.”