The Connector+ app helps soon-to-be and recent graduates (Connectees) grow their professional network in Nova Scotia by connecting them with experienced professionals (Connectors) in their local area.
Build your professional network and make connections with the official Connector Program app from Halifax Partnership. Whether your career is just getting started or well underway, Connector+ will match you with experienced professionals in your field or new talent looking to build their network.
ASCEND is an interactive employment readiness program created by Immigrant Employment Council of BC (IEC BC) that supports newcomers to identify, develop and demonstrate their soft skills for Canadian employers. ASCEND was developed by the Immigrant Employment Council of BC in partnership with Canadian employers and HR experts.
You can watch this demo video about the app:
Description
Signal is a digital messaging app that uses end-to-end encryption for privacy and security. This means that no one, including Signal, can read your messages or listen to your calls. Features include text messaging, making audio and video calls, send audio/video messages, and create group chats
Current known uses in the sector
Video overview
Pricing
Signal is free. However, you need a Wi-Fi or data connection in order to use it.
Ease of use & Accessibility
Easy to use (if you use WhatsApp, it’s very similar). Signal doesn’t have information about accessibility on its site.
Mobile friendly
Signal is a mobile app for Android and iOS.
Privacy/security features, including data security and message encryption
According to Signal, “Signal conversations are always end-to-end encrypted, which means that they can only be read or heard by your intended recipients.”
Multilingual capabilities
You can change the default language on Signal.
Additional resources
Description
Facebook Messenger is Facebook’s digital messaging tool. It has text, voice, video calling and group video chat features.
Current known uses in the sector
Video overview
Pricing
Facebook Messenger is free.
Ease of use & Accessibility
Messenger is easy to use. Accessibility information about Messenger can be found in the general Facebook help information about accessibility.
Mobile friendly
Messenger is primarily used on the Android and iOS app, but can be used through the web browser as well.
Privacy/security features, including data security and message encryption
Facebook Messenger conversations between staff and clients must be in “secret” mode to ensure end-to-end encryption. To learn how to set up secret conversations, visit this link.
End-to-end encryption for Facebook messenger is only currently available through the Messenger app for iOS/Android and not through website/desktop access. If you are seeking to have secure contact with Newcomers, you should only communicate with clients via Facebook Messenger using the app on smartphones. Communication with clients using Facebook for desktop (user-to-user messages or other methods of communication through the platform) or Messenger.com for desktop is not secure. You should take every reasonable measure to ensure that clients are aware that they are not communicating through a secure channel and to remind clients not to share personal information through these means.
Multilingual capabilities
You can change the default language in Facebook/Messenger.
Additional resources
Description
Viber is a secure digital messaging app you can use to send messages (text, photos, videos, & voice), make audio and video calls, have group chats and calls, and join public groups.
Current known uses in the sector
Video overview
Pricing
Viber is free. However, you need a Wi-Fi or data connection in order to use it.
Ease of use & Accessibility
Viber is easy to use. Viber does not appear to have accessibility information on their site.
Mobile friendly
Viber is primarily a smartphone app you can use on Android and iOS devices.
Privacy/security features, including data security and message encryption
Only 1-on-1 and group chats are fully secured by end-to-end encryption.
Multilingual capabilities
You can change the default language on Viber.
Additional resources
Description
Telegram is a digital messaging app that you can use for 1-on-1 and group text chats, as well as 1-on-1 audio and video chat. You can also create broadcast messages, known as channels on Telegram. Groups have up to 200,000 people and can include group voice chats.
Current known uses in the sector
Video overview
Pricing
Telegram is free
Ease of use & Accessibility
Easy to use (if you use WhatsApp, it’s very similar). Telegram doesn’t have information about accessibility on its site.
Mobile friendly
Telegram is a mobile app for Android and iOS.
Privacy/security features, including data security and message encryption
Telegram has some privacy/security features, but it is important to be aware of what is and is not fully secure on the app. Secret Chats are end to end encrypted. Group chats (text or voice) are not. Telegram writes that they “support end-to-end encrypted voice and video calls.”
Multilingual capabilities
According to Telegram the app “is officially available in English, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Korean, Malay, Russian and Ukrainian on most platforms, and we are gradually expanding the list of languages built into the apps.”
Additional resources
Description
WeChat is a multi-purpose instant messaging, social media and mobile payment app used primarily (but not exclusively) by Chinese Newcomers. You can use text, photo, voice, video, location sharing, create group chats with up to 500 members and group video calls with up to 9 people.
Current known uses in the sector
Video overview
Pricing
WeChat is free to use.
Service Context and activities with descriptions about how it could be used in each context – from simple uses to more complex
Ease of use & Accessibility
WeChat doesn’t have information about accessibility on its site.
Mobile friendly
WeChat is primarily used through mobile apps, but is also available for Windows, Mac, and web access.
Privacy/security features, including data security and message encryption
WeChat is not considered a secure platform to use to share personally identifiable information with clients. However, like Facebook, it can be used as part of the service continuum.
Multilingual capabilities
You can change the default language in WeChat. However, WeChat indicates that “Hebrew, Hindi and Polish are no longer supported.”
Additional resources
Description
WhatsApp Business has the core functionality of WhatsApp, but with additional features such as quick replies that let you save and reuse messages you frequently send (i.e. form messages), and automated messages that can also be tied to office hours you set in the app, which allow for out of office auto-replies, vacation auto-replies, etc. Just like WhatsApp, you can share text/voice/video messages, photos, videos, make voice calls, share attachments, such as documents, status updates, create groups (up to 256 members) and broadcast lists.
Current known uses in the sector
Video overview
Pricing
WhatsApp Business is free.
Ease of use & Accessibility
Easy to use (if you use WhatsApp, it’s very similar). WhatsApp has information about accessibility settings on its site.
Mobile friendly
WhatsApp Business is a mobile app for Android and iOS.
Privacy/security features, including data security and message encryption
WhatsApp Business is end-to-end encrypted, which means “your messages, photos, videos, voice messages, documents, status updates and calls are secured from falling into the wrong hands.”
When you use WhatsApp Business the people you message with can see your phone number. This means that it is not a private app.
Multilingual capabilities
Additional resources
Description
WhatsApp lets you share text/voice/video messages, photos, videos, make voice calls, share attachments, such as documents, status updates, create groups (up to 256 members), and broadcast lists.
Current known uses in the sector
Video overview
Pricing
WhatsApp is free.
Ease of use & Accessibility
Easy to use. WhatsApp has information about accessibility settings on its site.
Mobile friendly
WhatsApp is a mobile app for Android and iOS.
Privacy/security features, including data security and message encryption
WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, which means “your messages, photos, videos, voice messages, documents, status updates and calls are secured from falling into the wrong hands.”
When you use WhatsApp the people you message with can see your phone number. This means that it is not a private app.
Multilingual capabilities
Additional resources
Description
Padlet is a virtual bulletin board in which collaborators can simultaneously create and organize posts of any content type, whether it be text, documents, images, videos, audio, or links.
Current known uses in the sector
Video overview
Pricing
A free account allows you to create 3 padlets with up to 20MB file size per upload. Padlet has additional paid personal and organizational accounts.
Ease of use & Accessibility
Padlets are easy to set up and use.
Padlet admits that “accessibility is an area we are behind in.” However, they are working to improve this.
Mobile friendly
Padlet is accessible on mobile devices through the web browser.
Privacy/security features, including data security and message encryption
Free and individual accounts allow your padlets to be public or secret, available only to those you share it with. You can find out more about privacy features in this help article. They should be used for activities where no personal information is shared.
Premium accounts offer additional privacy and security settings. For example, for educational settings:
“All padlets, by default, are only visible to the people in your school. All this without compromising on the ease of sharing with others, including sharing outside the school when you have to.”
“If your school is the type that likes to limit access to its content to the walls of its campus (firewall, if you will), we can do that. This is on top of our already sweet security – our servers are well protected; we use SSL to transfer data between your computers and our servers, the same technology used by banks; we backup your data every day.”
Multilingual capabilities
Padlet supports a number of languages.
Additional resources