Manjit Bains knows what it’s like to start from the bottom, and she worked hard to reach the top.
Bains, now the vice-president of Consumer Protection BC, started off at Camosun College in the ’80s and graduated with three business diplomas, in finance, accounting, and general business. From there she trained in leadership and corporate governance. To add to her large list of credentials, she also obtained a designation as a Certified Management Accountant, which she used to open doors of opportunity in government.
“I’ve gone from being a file clerk and a courier to processing travel claims, to working in a court system, the criminal justice system, the information technology world, finance, and now I’m in consumer protection,” says Bains.
Bains says she’s happy where her education, experiences, and career have taken her. She helped build Consumer Protection BC into the organization it is today and is proud of how that vision has taken form by helping consumers and businesses.
“It really comes down to helping those people who need help,” she says. “It’s protecting the rights of consumers, but at the same time you’re also levelling the playing field for businesses, which is the heart of what my training is all about. So it’s a nice balance between consumers and businesses.”
Bains’ passion for helping the community doesn’t stop there. She’s heavily involved with multiple charities and organizations and is currently on the board of directors for the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.
“I am a firm believer of volunteering, not only to build a network, but I think we all need to be responsible for the communities we live in,” she says. “I feel as business leaders in the community you need to have a balance with your personal life the career that you choose, but you have to give back to the community.”
Bains says Camosun helped her on her career path to get where she is today. A lot of that help came from Camosun instructors, whom Bains respects immensely.
“They inspired us with the fact that they were not just teaching the academics; they were actually teaching us real-life experience,” she says. “They had instant credibility in our eyes, in that they could take something that was very hard textbook learning and convert, and transition, and translate that into a way we could understand by providing us with those real-life examples.”
With so much experience under her belt, Bains is able to share a valuable piece of advice with the students at Camosun.
“If you can build on your network very early on it’s going to help you in all kinds of ways,” she says. “So don’t always focus on the academics, but learn that you’re in an environment at Camosun that’s so invaluable, it’s important as you move forward. Because those people that are in your classroom are going to be the future leaders. They may be the future leaders who are going to hire you, or are going to help you get that next job.”