For Salim Janmohamed, the son of a single mother who sought safe haven in Canada, choosing a career started with one pragmatic question: will I get a job?
Occupational therapy fit the bill. With Canada’s aging population, demand for health care was sure to grow. The program only took three years to complete, so he wouldn’t rack up big student loans.
“I also wanted to find something that would make a difference in people’s lives,” he said.
It’s a choice he has never regretted, especially since starting to practise in the area of vocational rehabilitation.
“To help people get back to that important part of their lives, where they can provide for their families … was really powerful for me,” he said.
Janmohamed also found he was well suited to working in the business side of the field. At Community Therapists, he has decreased corporate overhead from 31% to 20%. Since 2006, the firm’s headcount and revenue have doubled. The company now has 90 staff throughout B.C.
He counts securing several large contracts with WorkSafe BC and developing a pediatric clinic for children with autism to be two of his biggest recent achievements. He has also focused on hiring the best and the brightest.
“We’ve done some things like incorporating intelligence testing and collegial interviews … . That’s really helped us identify people that could live up to the challenges of working in this very dynamic industry.” •
