Get to work on your great career
CPA Education Foundation initiative gives youth a chance to experience working with CPAs
Do you ever wonder how some people chose their career? You hear stories about those who knew exactly what they wanted to do since they were kids—like the one who grew up loving horses and became a veterinarian or the kid who built go-carts and is now a Formula 1 driver. But what about those who end up in a totally different career path than what they “knew” they were going to be?
As the charitable arm of the CPA profession in Alberta, the CPA Education Foundation exists to strengthen the future of the CPA profession in Alberta and believes in providing opportunities for young Albertans to learn more about careers in accounting.
That’s where the idea for the Sparking Great Careers Internship program was ignited. This new initiative will help remove barriers for disadvantaged youth while finding ways to introduce high school and post-secondary students to the CPA profession. Accounting may not even be a career path they’ve considered or are even aware of, in part because they may not have any personal ties to anyone who works as a CPA.
By providing high school and post-secondary students with paid opportunities to preview the profession first-hand and gain valuable workplace skills and job experience, the Foundation hopes more students will envision themselves thriving in the profession. The first round of placements began this past summer, with students working alongside CPAs across the province.
For Jann Thai, a University of Alberta business student, the chance to gain additional skills and experience was a no-brainer. “I actually learned about Sparking Great Careers about a week before the deadline,” she recalls. “And when I got the call, I was ecstatic to learn that I would have the chance to experience such a wonderful opportunity!”
Jann was the first student placed in the 2023 Sparking Great Careers Internship program. “It’s been great working with Recruitment Partners!” she says. “The atmosphere is very friendly, and while I was so nervous at first, everyone there made me feel very welcomed as an intern.”
And Jann is enjoying the work too: “Despite it only being a few weeks into the internship, I’ve already learned a lot about what it is like in the workplace as an accountant working on, well, accounting tasks.”
“That’s the goal of the internship program,” says Erin Schwartz CPA, Director of the CPA Education Foundation. “We really wanted this to be a hands-on experience—to have the students working alongside actual CPAs doing actual accounting tasks, not just being coffee-runners!
“We’re thrilled to hear it’s been working out for Jann and the team at Recruitment Partners. I know all the employers I’ve spoken to are equally thrilled to do their part to help spark a great career.”
If you are interested in learning more about the Sparking Great Careers Internships available for high school and post-secondary students in summer 2024, visit our website.
The CPA Education Foundation is passionate about helping students reach their CPA designation goals and recognizes education is a significant financial investment. That’s why the Foundation offers a variety of awards to help ease the financial barriers of higher education for students at all stages of their educational careers, from high school to post-secondary and through to the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP).