Meet AICCC’s social media guru
Kevin McDougall enrolled in NorQuest College’s Transitions to Employment program (TEP) to learn how to deal with a wider variety of personality types.
Suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder, he entered the program thinking that enhancing his people skills could offer him a competitive edge in a tough economic climate. The 28-year-old could never have dreamed of just how people savvy he would become. And a big part of it is thanks to Facebook.
Since early January, McDougall – an Edmonton man with roots in the Dene Tha First Nation in northern Alberta – has been on a work placement with the Alberta Indigenous Construction Career Centre (AICCC). The placement program is a six- to eight-week portion of the TEP curriculum that each student must complete. Businesses hosting placement students are decided on an individual basis.
His job at the AICCC? To engage, befriend, and inform, possible AICCC clients via the most popular social media platform on the planet.
“Part of the reason I took the program is because there may be things you want, but aren’t necessarily good at,” says McDougall, the AICCC’s social media coordinator – at least until his placement is complete in mid-March.
“After some time in the program, the instructors thought I would be suited for this placement. I believe it is helping me. When I was young, I was very introverted and this is the first time I have used Facebook for this kind of interaction.”
The AICCC’s manager, Ruby Litttlechild, has seen a huge difference in the amount of engagement with the centre’s Facebook page since McDougall took over.
“We are a lot more active with people coming into the centre because, in part, our Facebook page is so active now,” she says. “We didn’t have the resources to keep the page busy before Kevin got here. And now, hearing from the public, they are getting a lot of information about us and the various construction-related job postings from our Facebook page.”
*The AICCC, located on NorQuest’s Edmonton Downtown campus grounds, connects prospective Indigenous workers with employers recruiting for construction-related careers. However, people of all backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to use the service.
Part of the reason I took the program is because there may be things you want, but aren’t necessarily good at. After some time in the program, the instructors thought I would be suited for this placement. I believe it is helping me.