SfCeNews

Volume III.  Issue 04.  April 30, 2002

Skills for Change (SfC) is a non-profit agency based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Our mandate is to provide learning and training opportunities for immigrants and refugees so that they can participate in the workplace and wider community.

In this edition...

Pre-Apprenticeship Information Sessions

 

Information Sessions for

Construction and Maintenance Electrician Pre-Apprenticeships

 

George Brown College, in partnership with Skills for Change (SfC) and COSTI,  is offering a 34 week pre-apprenticeship program for immigrants interested in becoming construction and maintenance electricians. The program offers 22 weeks of technical training, 4 weeks of job search skills and employment counselling and 8 weeks of paid work placement. 

 

Information sessions will be held at SfC and COSTI during the month of May.

 

To be eligible, candidates must be immigrants, have exposure to the electrical trade, have the equivalent of Ontario grade 10 level maths and English and be eligible to work in Ontario and have residential status. For further information contact Faduma Muse 416 658-3101 ext. 229.

 

What do the Hudson Bay Company, the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) and Skills for Change have in common?

 

They all play a part in preparing newcomers to work in the retail sector. TCDSB provides participants with sector-specific training, the SfC Clerical Employment Services (CES) program ensures they receive counselling and support and the Hudson Bay Company gives them the opportunity to apply their learning on the job.

 

Working together benefits all the partners.

 

Corporations around the world are increasingly conscious of the benefit and of being seen as a good corporate citizen. What makes a good corporate citizen?

 

Socially responsible corporations actively contribute resources and knowledge as well as dollars to help build a better society. They involve their employees in their investments; in the case of the Hudson Bay Company partnership with Skills for Change, sales associates and human resources staff are very much involved in implementing and coordinating the program as well as mentoring, supporting and giving direction to the placement workers.

 

And, as donor-investors, they want a good return on their investment. Through its close association with the Employment Preparation for Retail Services Program (EPRS), the Hudson Bay Company has a highly skilled, employable pool of workers from which to select, minimizing the cost of recruitment and staff training.

 

In turn, Skills for Change and the School Board are able to achieve their training and employment objectives. Since March 2001, 45 people have graduated from the Employment Preparation for Retail Services Program. To date, over 50% of these graduates are employed by the Hudson Bay Company. For many of the learners this has been their first Canadian work experience opportunity.

 

For the 45 EPRS program graduates, the TCDSB and Skills for Change, who has been trying to build bridges between newcomers and the business sector for 20 years, this sponsorship relationship with the Bay has indeed made a difference.

Alumni News

 

2002 will be a busy year for the SfC Alumni Committee. In addition to organizing the Volunteer Recognition Evening in May, the committee will host a Networking Evening in June and participate in the agency’s United Way activities throughout the fall. The year’s events will culminate in a Holiday Party for the SfC family - students, graduates, volunteers and staff - in December.

New Pioneers Awards

10th. Anniversary Gala

Acronym Soup

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