Driving to work last Wednesday morning, Dawn Sweany listened to an Iraqi refugee on CBC Radio talk about the challenges of learning English and finding a job in Calgary.

"I was just impressed with her dedication" says Sweany.

The refugee was Zainab Al Qaisi, who arrived in Calgary a year ago and has devoted 27 hours a week to learning English.

​"I was thinking about how difficult it would be to find a job that would be flexible to the hours so she could stay in school and not feel conflicted," says Sweany, who is the director of Human Resources with Trican Well Service Ltd..

"And then I started thinking: We have that role."

So Sweany got in touch with Al Qaisi and offered her part-time, temporary work helping Trican deal with a backlog in filing.​

Al Qaisi started on Friday.

"I had given up, I don't get a job. Just go to school. When I get this call from you, oh my god. Like something very big is happen to me."