SfCeNews

Volume III.  Issue 09. September 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...

 

Annual General Meeting
Farewell for Jane
United Way 2002 Campaign
Donate 2nd. Annual Indoor Flea Market
NPA Nomination Date Extended
Tech@Skills Course Calendar Now Available
Strategic Alliances
Program and Services Updates

2002 Annual General Meeting

Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Columbus Centre
901 Lawrence Avenue West
Reception 6:30 pm

Celebrating 20 years of providing learning and training
opportunities for immigrants and refugees

R.S.V.P.
by October 18, 2002
416 658-3101 ext. 499
or e-mail
 

Farewell from Jane

After just over two years at Skills for Change as the Manager of Programs and Services, I am moving on to another position in the community. I will be coordinating the Policy Development Roundtable on the Integration of Internationally Trained Professionals and Tradespeople at CASSA, Council of Agencies Serving South Asians.

The Roundtable is a two year initiative that aims to identify and advocate for the removal of policy barriers that prevent immigrant professionals and tradespeople from practising in their fields. Immigrants will provide the leadership for the project through the Roundtable.

The initiative is funded by Canadian Heritage through the Voluntary Sector Initiative. I am very excited about the possibilities offered by this project and am eager to be directly involved in advocacy work.

Despite my enthusiasm for this new opportunity, I am leaving Skills for Change with a very heavy heart. My time with SfC has been rewarding and enriching in a multitude of ways. I have been constantly impressed with the level of professionalism and passion shown by the staff and volunteers. Thank you to all of you for your endless commitment and hard work both to the agency and the immigrant community. I will miss everyone terribly. I will continue to be around, however, in many different forms!

Thank you to all the community partners whom I have had the pleasure of working with in my time with Skills for Change. I'm sure our paths will continue to cross.

All the best,

Jane Cullingworth

United Way 2002 Campaign

Skills for Change formally launched its United Way Campaign on September 12. On Sunday, September 30, over 40 volunteers and staff raised $200 for the Leaps and Bound walkathon.

Upcoming events the CN Tower Climb, will include bake sales by different programs, a flea market, a trip to Casino Rama, United Way Jukebox, Friday Dress down , Fifty Fifty and a Pot Luck for the staff served by program coordinators, managers and the Executive Director.

Donate to our 2nd. annual United Way FLEA MARKET

We are looking for donations of books, tapes, clothing, small furniture and other small items to our FLEA MARKET on Thursday, October 24.

More more information click here or call 416 658-3101 ext. 208.
 

NOMINATION DEADLINE EXTENDED


Nominate an outstanding immigrant
for the 2003 New Pioneers Awards!

Look around and you may find
next year's New Pioneers Awards recipient.

It could be your friend, colleague, employee, or employer.

This is a great way to publicly acknowledge and honour
a remarkable newcomer for his/her achievements in Canada.

Awards are presented in six categories:
arts, community service, entrepreneurship,
science and technology, youth
and the Skills for Change graduate.

Recipients will be honoured at a gala dinner
on Thursday, March 20, 2003
at the Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto.

Deadline for nominations: October 7, 2002.
 

2002 Fall/Winter Course Calendar Now Available

Tech@Skills specializes in hands-on, instructor-led training in the latest software applications. We offer instructors with years of real-world expertise in a fun informal setting.

Spaces still available in our popular 50 - 60 hour courses in AccPac 4.2, Quality Control and Assurance Training, and Accounting.

Sign-up for one of our mini, Tuesday/Thursday night 12 hour courses in Access 2000, Excel 2000, Word 2000, or Web Site Design (using Microsoft Word and Publisher).

For more information, click here.

Strategic Alliances
by Paula Green

What do HBC, CES, EPRS and TCDSB have in common?

They all play a part in preparing newcomers to work in the retail sector. Skills for Changes’ Employment Preparation for Retail Services (EPRS) program is a partnership between the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), the SfC Clerical Employment Services (CES) program and the Hudson Bay Company (HBC).

TCDSB provides participants with sector-specific training, CES with counselling and support and HBC assists clients with applying their learning through job placements.

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 SfC, 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 EPRS program, HBC has a highly skilled, employable pool of workers from which to select, minimizing the cost of recruitment and staff training.

In turn, SfC and the TCDSB are able to achieve their training and employment objectives. Since March 2001, 45 people have graduated from the EPRS 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 graduates, the TCDSB and SfC, 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.

Photo: Manuel Stanciu’s first job in Canada is in the Shoe Department at Bloor and Yonge.

Acronym Soup

Confused? Don't be. Here's a list of our agency acronyms, what they mean and (where applicable) a link to the program web page.
 

CES - Clerical Employment Services

EAS - Employment Assistance Services

EPRS - Employment for Retail Services

ERC - Employment Resource Centre

FOAP - Finance & Office Assistant Program

IAT - Intake, Assessment and Training

JSC - Job Search Centre

JSW - Job Search Workshop

LINC - Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada

NPA - New Pioneers Awards

STIC - Sector Terminology Information & Counselling

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