Beyond the Classroom: PinballACCELERATOR Cohort 5 Career Week Opens Doors to Salesforce, LinkedIn and MLSE

What does it actually look like to build a career in today's workforce?

During PinballACCELERATOR Career Week, participants had the opportunity to find out firsthand, stepping beyond the classroom and into the workplaces of Salesforce, LinkedIn and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE).

Each visit offered something different: an introduction to emerging career paths and practical learning tools; an inside look at personal branding and the hiring landscape; and candid conversations about resilience, equity and navigating a career that doesn't always go according to plan.

Together, the experiences gave participants something that can't always be taught in a workshop: proximity to professionals, workplaces and possibilities they can begin to see themselves in.

Salesforce: Turning Career Exploration into Action

At Salesforce, participants were encouraged to think beyond job titles and explore both the technical and human skills behind some of today's in-demand careers.

Over lunch, students connected informally with Salesforce and Genforce employees, creating space for genuine conversations about roles, aspirations and career possibilities. Salesforce professionals then introduced three high-demand roles in the Canadian market through quick "day in the life" snapshots. In small groups, participants joined Salesforce employees to explore the human skills that make technical work possible—from communication and collaboration to problem-solving and adaptability. Salesforce leaders also shared their own career journeys, focusing not simply on where they are today, but on the pivots, unexpected opportunities and decisions that helped them get there. The experience ended with participants taking action on what they had learned. Students created their own Salesforce Trailhead accounts and identified specific Trailmixes connected to roles that interested them.

Rather than leaving with only a list of potential careers, participants left with a learning path they could continue on their own and their first Trailhead badge already in progress.

LinkedIn: Understanding Branding and the Hiring Landscape

Most young professionals know they should have a LinkedIn profile. Career Week challenged our participants to think more deeply about how they use it.

At LinkedIn, Matt Almeranti, Global Client Executive, and his team pulled back the curtain on how the platform operates within today's talent landscape. Working at the intersection of talent, technology and global opportunity, Matt partners with some of the world's most influential companies. That perspective gave participants an opportunity to understand both sides of the hiring equation: how employers search for emerging talent and how young professionals can position themselves to be discovered. Participants learned how to strengthen their profiles, communicate their skills and experiences, build meaningful professional networks and engage with LinkedIn more intentionally.

More than a platform tutorial, the session offered participants access to the people who understand the LinkedIn talent ecosystem from the inside—and practical strategies they can put to work as they begin their own job searches.

MLSE: Resilience in Real Life

Career paths rarely move in a perfectly straight line.

That was at the heart of the conversation when PinballACCELERATOR participants visited Scotiabank Arena for an opportunity to hear from MLSE leaders Angela White and Naz Ansari.

Angela shared a perspective shaped by her commitment to equity and fairness in the workplace, offering participants insight into leadership, advocacy and the importance of building environments where people feel seen, valued and supported. Her career journey, shaped by unexpected pivots and bold decisions, demonstrated that a change in direction isn't necessarily a setback. Sometimes it can open the door to an opportunity you hadn't imagined.

For young people preparing to enter an evolving workforce, their stories reinforced an important message: resilience and adaptability aren't simply qualities that help you overcome challenges—they are career skills.

Access Creates Possibility

PinballACCELERATOR is designed to prepare young people for meaningful employment through career preparation, mentorship and exposure to the world of work. Career Week brings those elements together.

When young people can walk into a workplace, sit across from professionals, ask candid questions and hear the real stories behind successful careers, roles that may once have felt distant become more tangible. Participants didn't just hear about opportunities at Salesforce, LinkedIn and MLSE. They experienced the environments where those opportunities exist, connected with people doing the work and walked away with practical knowledge they can apply to their own journeys.

We are incredibly grateful to Salesforce, LinkedIn and MLSE, and to the professionals who gave our participants their time, attention and insight. These experiences remind our young people that careers aren't built by having every step figured out from the beginning. They're built through learning, relationships, resilience, curiosity and the willingness to keep moving forward.

That's what PinballACCELERATOR Career Week is all about: opening doors, expanding what's possible and helping young people take their next step with confidence.