Gina Rowley is one of the volunteer image consultants on hand to help women pick outfits. (CBC)

Immigrant women in Calgary are tapping into a program that helps them find the right clothes for the job.

The Walk-in Closet is part of the free Making Changes program, which teaches low-income women, many new Canadians, how to find a job and put together a resume.

The "closet" is actually offices stocked with pants, shirts, shoes and jewelry. Women looking for work or starting a new job can pick four new or gently used outfits.

Gina Rowley, one of the volunteer image consultants on hand to help, said the right clothes can change attitudes.

"The confidence is what we're trying to bring to the women and it's the confidence to wear and look good in the clothes that will help them get the job, hopefully," she said.

Pre-school teacher finds a job

Alba Clavijo left Colombia two years ago with her husband and two children in search of more security. She wanted to become a pre-school teacher, just as she had been back home, but the biggest hurdle was English.

"It's frustrating," she said. "Your experience is not enough."

The Making Changes program turned that frustration into hope, she said. She is now teaching Spanish at a private school.

"I can start to work in my profession and I feel blessing about that because it's not easy," she said.

Romley hears a lot of powerful stories like Clavijo's at the Walk-in Closet. Romley immigrated from England nearly a year ago and hopes to get a permanent residency card so she can find a job and have her own tale of success to tell.

"Hopefully one day I will be helped," she said. "Eventually paying taxes and working. So I'm trying to give back before I'm given. Does that make sense?"