When Kelly Campagnola was growing up in South Porcupine, a small Northern Ontario mining town east of Timmins, she would often walk past the local TD branch.

Fast forward a couple decades and now Campagnola spends her days in the steel and glass tower of TD Centre, in the heart of Toronto's financial district.

Campagnola, who is of Métis heritage, is an articling student in TD's Legal Department following receipt of her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Ottawa earlier this year. She will be called to the Bar in June 2015.

She says landing at TD was a natural fit.

"While doing research online for a completely unrelated school project, I came across a TD Economics article debunking the myths surrounding Canada's aboriginal population that put some common misconceptions to rest," says Campagnola, who earned an Honours BA in environmental studies from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2011. "I was really impressed by that. As for the job itself, the fact that there was a posting for aboriginal students also gave me the incentive to apply."

As Canada's population gets older, there will be increased demand for educated young people to fill the talent gap, and aboriginal people represent a growing source of that talent.

New statistics from Canada's 2011 National Household Survey reveal that 1.4 million people reported an aboriginal identity in 2011, up 20 per cent from 2006. Aboriginal people now comprise 4.3 per cent of the country's population, up from 2.8 per cent in 1996. And the aboriginal population is young, with almost half under the age of 24.

Companies like TD understand that tapping into every available talent pool results in better candidates from which to choose. In fact, TD recently brought veteran talent scout James Mckay on board as a recruiting specialist dedicated to aboriginal talent.

"My role is to build awareness about TD and to attract aboriginal talent to consider a career with us," says Mckay. "I work closely with the business recruiting groups to understand their talent needs across all areas of TD in Canada, promote those opportunities in the marketplace and provide guidance and support to aboriginal candidates throughout the hiring process." 

For Campagnola, Mckay was a big help in the job search.

"He was an excellent resource for me during the application process, which really gave me confidence once it came to the interview," says Campagnola.

Since she arrived, Campagnola has been proactive in getting involved in the aboriginal employee online community, known as the Aboriginal Circle @ TD.

"I joined my first day at work," she says. "During my interview, I asked if there were any community groups for aboriginal employees and was very pleased to hear about the Connections Community, which is an online social media, news, and networking tool for TD employees. I welcome the opportunity to share information with other aboriginal employees. I've already invited two people whose careers I admire for coffee through the online Aboriginal Circle @ TD!"

Mckay says part of his challenge is persuading aboriginal candidates of the growth opportunities available at the bank.

 "I tell aboriginal candidates there is a wide range of careers you can pursue," he says. "There are so many fields, including information technology, investment banking, retail branch banking, human resources, business banking, legal, and analyst roles of all kinds across the various lines of business."

 TD's campus programs have many opportunities, all of which can be viewed via TD's campus landing page or contact James Mckay directly by email.