“I chose PACE because I was looking for a course that could take me to the next level in my career,” says Sandra Alencar, who earned her Human Resource Management Diploma from UWinnipeg PACE in 2021. “I had some experience in human resources and wanted to get the education behind it.”

Prior to studying at PACE, Sandra held a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from the – Federal University of Ceara, in Brazil.

Sandra completed her program with PACE online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It took resilience and courage to walk through all that and hold on until the end,” says Sandra. “It was worth it. At the time the world was facing its worst moment, we were together giving each other support to move on and pursue our dream.”

Sandra completed the 4-week internship at the end of program. By the end of her four weeks, she’d landed three job offers. Sandra is a Talent Acquisition Coordinator at Canadian Western Bank, a diversified financial services organization providing specialized services in banking, trust and wealth management.

“My job is to help find top talented candidates to be part of our workforce,” she says. Her job includes full-cycle recruitment from communicating with candidates and reviewing resumes, to checking references and communicating with the hiring manager.

“Even though I had some experience from my home country, PACE gave me the tools to succeed in the Canadian market. As an international student that was very crucial,” she says. “When I was a student, we had a subject named Recruitment and Selection, the instructor was a very experienced recruiter that shared valuable knowledge with us. Even today I am able to apply their lessons in my job.”

“PACE was a life-changing experience for me. It was my steppingstone into the Canadian job market and thanks to the great instructors, amazing material, and all the companionship we developed with our classmates, I was able to make my biggest dream come true: start my career as a recruiter in Canada.”

Sandra Ferreira Alencar Dos Santos
Talent Acquisition Coordinator
Canadian Western Bank