Aron Kim - Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada
Trade Commissioner
Government
Who do you currently work for?
I work for Trade Commissioner Service, which is a department that belongs to Global Affairs Canada, which is the foreign affairs arm of the Government of Canada. The vast majority of my work revolves around international trade although there are various other types of work available in two other large streams - international development and consular services. Including all the embassies, consulates and trade offices, we have offices in 160+ cities, which all respectively have established a wide network of potential buyers, investors, and partners of Canadian companies. As Canada-based staff, I work with my overseas colleagues to facilitate international business development of Canadian companies.
What is your role at the Trade Commissioner Service?
I help Canadian businesses expand internationally. Many Canadian businesses have a lot of talent and innovative technologies that can help myriad problems in a diverse set of sectors. For quite a number of them, expanding their business into other countries is challenging due to limited knowledge of foreign markets, regulations, cultural differences, and so on. My job is to help these businesses meet the right people and gain relevant knowledge in new markets that they aspire to successfully enter.
How the MFRE helped in your career path?
Given the importance of having overseas experience to get a job with my department, I think my sojourn in India during the summer semester helped me in a certain aspect. As I move into a new role that's more geared towards economic analysis, I'll be able to apply MFRE concepts and hit the ground running right away.
What are your professional interests?
I love learning new things, and this job kind of helps me satiate my curiosity (sometimes in a very overwhelming manner when your sectors change too abruptly... I started with medical cannabis and then 4 months later moved onto very techy sectors such as fintech, IoT, and telco. Learning the process of building and negotiating FTAs seems to be quite interesting, but that's an experience I will hardly get while working in Vancouver. Working overseas is also an option/ perk of working with GAC, so maybe that could be another interesting prospect yet to be entertained.
Who do you currently work for?
I work for Trade Commissioner Service, which is a department that belongs to Global Affairs Canada, which is the foreign affairs arm of the Government of Canada. The vast majority of my work revolves around international trade although there are various other types of work available in two other large streams - international development and consular services. Including all the embassies, consulates and trade offices, we have offices in 160+ cities, which all respectively have established a wide network of potential buyers, investors, and partners of Canadian companies. As Canada-based staff, I work with my overseas colleagues to facilitate international business development of Canadian companies.
What is your role at the Trade Commissioner Service?
I help Canadian businesses expand internationally. Many Canadian businesses have a lot of talent and innovative technologies that can help myriad problems in a diverse set of sectors. For quite a number of them, expanding their business into other countries is challenging due to limited knowledge of foreign markets, regulations, cultural differences, and so on. My job is to help these businesses meet the right people and gain relevant knowledge in new markets that they aspire to successfully enter.
How the MFRE helped in your career path?
Given the importance of having overseas experience to get a job with my department, I think my sojourn in India during the summer semester helped me in a certain aspect. As I move into a new role that's more geared towards economic analysis, I'll be able to apply MFRE concepts and hit the ground running right away.
What are your professional interests?
I love learning new things, and this job kind of helps me satiate my curiosity (sometimes in a very overwhelming manner when your sectors change too abruptly... I started with medical cannabis and then 4 months later moved onto very techy sectors such as fintech, IoT, and telco. Learning the process of building and negotiating FTAs seems to be quite interesting, but that's an experience I will hardly get while working in Vancouver. Working overseas is also an option/ perk of working with GAC, so maybe that could be another interesting prospect yet to be entertained.