Bridging Experience and Environment: How PACE Launched Olufemi Dada's Career in Canada

Olufemi Dada did not arrive in Canada as a beginner. He arrived as an experienced project management professional looking for a way to apply what he already knew in a new country, a new climate, and a different professional context. 

PACE's Advanced Project Management and Technology program gave him exactly that bridge. Today he works as a Project Manager at JPH Consulting, doing the work he was trained for, in a place he now calls home. 

Filling the Gaps That Experience Alone Cannot 

Coming into a new country with an existing professional background is not the same as being ready for that country's job market. Olufemi understood this. His years of project management experience were an asset, but they needed a framework that fit the Canadian environment. 

PACE's program provided that framework, adding structure and depth to the theoretical knowledge that underpins project management practice at a professional level. 

"The PACE program puts details around the theories that govern project management. It helped me fit into the Canadian environment and have the progress I have been able to achieve so far." 

That combination of existing experience and new context is what prepared him for the role he holds today. 

Putting Learning Into Practice 

As a Project Manager at JPH Consulting, Olufemi draws on both what he learned at PACE and the years of experience he brought with him. The two now work together in a way they could not before the program. 

"It's been a lot of doing the things that we were taught in class, and of course implementing some of those experiences I've had over the years, but in a different climate, in a new place, and with a different set of people." 

That is the practical outcome PACE is designed to produce, not just a credential, but the ability to actually do the work in a new environment. 

A Community That Supports You 

For newcomers to Canada, the professional transition is only part of the challenge. The social and personal adjustment matters just as much. Olufemi found that PACE addressed both. 

"PACE offers an environment that creates a family-like sensation. You want to be in that place where people tell you where to go and what to do." 

That sense of belonging, of having a community around you while you navigate something unfamiliar, is something Olufemi points to as one of the defining features of his PACE experience. 

Advice for Future Students 

Olufemi's message to anyone considering the program is direct: come. Winnipeg is welcoming, PACE is supportive, and the program will give you what you need to move your career forward in Canada. 

Explore the Advanced Project Management and Technology program at PACE and take the next step in your career. Book a meeting with our recruitment coach today: https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/UPACERecruitment@webmailuwinnipeg.onmicrosoft.com/?ismsaljsauthenabled=true

Olufemi Dada

Assistant Project Manager,

JPH Consulting Ltd