Taking a Chance...Twice: How Ali went from Job Seeker to Opportunity Builder

One of the privileges of working at Momentum is staying connected to participants after they graduate. Every now and then, these long-time connections turn into full-circle moments.

Ali Kajangwe and I both started with Momentum in 2009—he in a program, me as a staff member. After leaving Rwanda with his family, Ali lived in several cities before finally landing in Calgary as teenager. Ali and his family worked incredibly hard but still struggled living on a low income. In those early years as an adult in Calgary, Ali had trouble finding steady employment and a direction for his life.

After enrolling in our Trades Training pre-apprenticeship plumbing and pipefitting program, he graduated and went on to complete his apprenticeship. Step by step, he built his skills and a successful career as a journeyman pipefitter, working primarily in the energy industry. Things were coming together!

And then COVID arrived. Ali lost his job.

Instead of waiting for the industry to recover, Ali pivoted. Ten years after first walking through our doors, he returned. This time? To start a business. He enrolled in Momentum’s Self Employment program — fully online during the COVID era — to develop his business idea.

In this phase, Ali was guided by a powerful goal: Train and equip others who had faced barriers to getting jobs in the energy trades. Ali knew what it felt like to be searching for an opportunity. And now through his business, FlexTrades, he was creating it for others.

Fast forward to 2025.

Momentum donors had fully funded a new Welding Trades Training program. But, to get it off the ground, we needed a hands-on, technical training partner.

Enter—you guessed it—Ali.

The same person who came to Momentum for skills training was now training others to build their skills. Check out the full story about FlexTradez here.

Ali and I started our Momentum journeys in the same year. We’ve both grown as individuals alongside this organization. Seeing him return, not just as a success story, but as a community partner and business owner, provides a vivid example of our mission coming alive.

A highlight for me in the fall was attending the graduation of the second welding cohort along with Ali. Since graduation, 86% of participants in the cohort have jobs in their field. Those grads are earning income, strengthening their families, and contributing their skills to Calgary’s economy.

Ali’s story reminds me why we do this work. Momentum isn’t just about training programs or self-employment courses. It’s about people — their potential, their resilience, and the community created when we work together. 

In 2009, Ali took a chance on himself.

In 2025, he helped others do the same as our community partner.

And I couldn’t be more proud to walk this journey alongside him.

Learn more about our trades and self employment programs here.