Skills for Change



SfCeNews
September 30, 2004
Volume 5  Issue 09
Circulation 6,347 Subscribers

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...

Business Community Partnership Awards
SfC is Hiring
Exciting Opportunity for Companies
Career Information Expo At SfC
SfC Participates in National Job Fair 2004
2004 United Way Workplace Campaign
In The Press
Celebrating Excellence in Mentoring
Launch of New Web Site
Consultation Centre @ SfC for Internationally Trained Teachers
Quality Assurance and Control Training
Public Mural at SfC
Evening and Saturday ESL Classes
Follow-Up 'Evening' Networking a Success!
What New at ONIP.online
Seminar for Internationally Education Engineers
Programs and Services Update

Business Community Partnership Awards

On September 14, 23 employers, several SfC Board Members and staff gathered together for a celebration of the 2004 Business Community Partnership Awards (BCP).

At the BCP breakfast awards ceremony, four companies were honoured for their partnership efforts to provide SfC clients with training and employment opportunities.

This year, the BCP awards were given in three categories and awarded as follows:
 

SfC is Hiring

Program Coordinator - Clerical Employment Services
Deadline: October 8, 2004

Facilitator/Counsellor STIC for Teachers Project
Deadline: October 6, 2004
 

Exciting Opportunity for Companies

Career Information Expo at SfC November 1

SfC Participates in National Job Fair 2004

Under a sponsorship provided by the Access to Professions and Trades Unit of the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Skills for Change participated for the second time in the 2004 National Job Fair at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, September 15 - 16.

The fair was attended by more than 20,000 job seekers with employers such as Radio Shack, Smart Set, Indigo Books & Music, Jetsgo, Town Shoes, The Shoe Company, Wal-Mart Canada, the Ontario Provincial Police, Toronto Fire Services and Toronto Police Services represented.

Educational and training institutions such as Skills for Change were also present to provide information on programs to improve employability. Given that many of the job seekers were foreign trained workers, SfC staff was kept busy providing one-to-one counselling about our programs and services to approximately 320 individuals. Many of these individuals indicated that they will enroll in a SfC program in the near future.

A highlight of the Job Fair was a speech by the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, the Honourable Mary Anne Chambers. Minister Chambers commented
on her Ministry’s new initiatives to assist skilled newcomers with labour market access
and congratulated programs like Skills for Change for innovative service delivery in this area.
 

2004 United Way Workplace Campaign

The United Way of Greater Toronto supports more than 250 agencies across the city. Skills for Change has been a United Way member agency since 1993. We have run successful employee campaigns each fall, through special events, employee payroll deductions and United Way annual events.

 

We proudly raise our banner at the Leaps and Bounds Walkathon. Each year a small group of us climb the stairs of the CN Tower - quickest person made the top in 18 minutes!

 

Skills for Change clients do their part by participating in casual days, bake sales and multicultural lunches. Helping Hands Day is a terrific way to educate people about how United Way dollars are so important and the impact the funding has on an agency such as ours.  The volunteers perform practice interviews with the clients and them give much appreciated feedback on interview skills and their resumes.

In the Press

The Voices of Visible Minorities
Speaking Out on Breaking Down Barriers [more]

This briefing (from the Conference Board of Canada) summarizes the key learnings from seven focus groups with visible minorities in management, supervisory or professional roles in Canadian public and private sector organizations.

Capitalize on immigrants' promise
Not recognizing newcomers' learning and credentials costs our economy as much as $5-billion annually, says DOMINIC D'ALESSANDRO [more]
 

Celebrating Excellence in Mentoring

Launch of New Web Site

Introducing …. Skills for Hire….
Canada’s recruitment portal for internationally trained professionals and Tradespeople

On September 14, the website and recruitment service, Skills for Hire, was publicly launched to a group of valued employers who have loyally worked with Skills for Change for many years.

Skills for Hire showcases the profiles and resumes of skilled professionals in the industries of Banking, Finance & Accounting, Healthcare, Administration, Trades, Computer, Engineering, Customer Service, Retail, Sales & Marketing, and Pharmaceutical.

All clients found on Skills for Hire have been working with an Employer Outreach Specialist and are screened for skills, experience and education, understand the Canadian workplace and are bringing concrete global skills to Canada.

This fee-for-service initiative allows employers to freely browse the Skills for Hire website for potential candidates and then to work with one of our expert Employer Outreach Specialists to make a satisfying employment decision for a fee that is very competitive in the Toronto recruitment market.

At Skills for Change, we are proud and confident that employers will embrace the opportunity to ease their recruitment needs and benefit from the global skills of our list of Internationally Trained Professionals and Tradespeople. Check it out today at www.skillsforhire.org.
 

Consultation Centre @ SfC for Internationally Trained Teachers

Internationally trained teachers require clear, timely, and detailed information about teaching in Ontario – before and after their arrival.

An 18-month project funded by the Ontario government aims to assist in the licensing and hiring of internationally trained teachers.

Teach In Ontario supports applicants and helps them to prepare for certification and find work in education that matches their skills and training.

Teach In Ontario also addresses the needs of Ontario schools for qualified teachers in high demand areas such as French, chemistry, physics, computer studies, mathematics, and technological studies.

Learn more here.
 

Quality Assurance and Control Training

Public Mural at SfC

When William Lazos moved with his family to Toronto from Cairo in 1964, he probably suspected that he would one day follow in his grandfather's footsteps as an artist. Only five years old at the time, he would later attend the Ontario College of Art, lecture at George Brown College and specialize in mural painting.

In late August he, and his crew of eight, started work on a 2,500 square foot mural at 791 St. Clair Avenue West - the home of Skills for Change.

The mural is being painted with the assistance of a grant from the City of Toronto Economic Development Division, training subsidies from Wood Green Youth Job Centre, in-kind donation of wall space by Skills for Change, a contribution from Councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21 St. Paul's), and contributions from businesses and property owners in the Hillcrest Village BIA.

William acknowledges that some of his other work around Toronto is short-lived, waiting for the next muralists' brush to cover it over. Other murals endure like his work at the Princes of Wales Theatre, the Scarborough Village Mall and Yonge and Wellington.

Official unveiling will take place Saturday, October 2 at 3:00 p.m. during the St. Clair Art Walk Festival Studio Tour.  In addition to muralist William Lazos and Jim Bravo, the mural designer, Joel Castillo, will be present.
 

Evening and Saturday ESL Classes - Spaces Still Available

The following weekday evening courses are available, most starting November 15:

ESL/Advanced Communication in the Workplace for Working People
ESL/Computerized Accounting
ESL/Communicating Clearly
ESL/Microsoft Office
TOEFL
ESL/Work Search for Internationally -Trained Engineers (Starts – November 2, 2004)
ESL/Keyboarding
ESL/Introductory Bookkeeping
ESL/Intensive English
Employment Preparation for Retail Services (Starts – October 25, 2004)

The following Saturday morning courses are available, starting December 11:

ESL/Intermediate Bookkeeping
ESL/Introductory Bookkeeping
ESL/Medical Terminology
ESL/Microsoft Word and Excel
ESL/Keyboarding, Word Processing

To apply, 416 658-7090, Monday to Friday between 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m., or Monday to Thursday, between 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. -12 noon.
 

Follow-Up 'Evening' Networking a Success!

Follow-Up Networking (F.U.N.) sessions are offered as post-program support to graduate students of the Sector Terminology Information & Counselling (STIC) program. These workshops cover important tips on Internet job searching, networking, workplace etiquette and Working a Job Fair.

From a tremendous desire to give back to Skills for Change, four accounting graduates of the STIC program, currently working in their field, attended a panel discussion on September 14 for the benefit of accounting graduates still looking for work.

The four graduates are holding senior positions with well-known Toronto companies and shared some of their own personal strategies for job searching. As well, they offered
tips around communication and management styles in the Canadian workplace.

As one client expressed, “I hope more of these kinds of activities can be held. I liked the stories they shared with us. They were friendly and nice and very willing to help and provide information.”
 

What's New At ONIP.online

Seminar for Internationally Educated Engineers

Language skills, and especially technical communication ability, have proven to be among the most important factors shaping the economic prosperity of skilled workers in Canada.

A recent Statistics Canada study indicates that "Working-age adults with weak level communication skills ... were far less likely to have been employed ... than those with strong level skills ...".

This seminar aims to highlight the English language areas engineers need to improve in order to succeed and grow in the Canadian engineering market. A list of language areas necessary for career growth will be discussed. Also, some information about an Engineering Communication course run at York Catholic District School Board will be provided. This seminar is highly recommended for the internationally educated engineers who have observed that English language skills are the key to their success.

Speaker, Ali Hadidi, a Professional Engineer and English as a second language educator with over 14 years experience in engineering and English language education, will be featured. He is an Executive Member of Professional Engineers Ontario, East Toronto Chapter and also trains ESL engineers for their communication skills at ESPE English for Specific Purposes Education - www.espeducation.ca

Programs and Services Updates

View our Programs and Services Calendar on line here

n Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC)
On September 17, xxx students went on a field trip to the Toronto Reference Library where students were given a tour of the facilities available to them. Students were taken to the fifth floor where the ESL materials are available to them to take out from the library. Students were also taken to the third floor Business Information and to the main floor and the basements where archive materials and International newspapers are located.

On Sunday, September 11, several students participated in the United Way Leaps and Bounds Walkathon.

LINC students also participated in a United Way Bake Sale on September 23 by bringing in baked goods and items for sale and by setting up and manning the tables. Students needed to speak in English and to deal with selling the products and making change. It was the first bake sale of the campaign and the students did a very good job.

The LINC classes resume with a new session starting Monday, October 25, 2004 and continuing until December 21, 2004.

To register call Skills for Change at 416 658-3101, ext. 0.

If you need a language assessment, please call YMCA at 416 925-5462 to make an appointment.
 

TechSkills Calendar

To register, call 416 658-3101 ext. 302 or 218, or,
register on-line with your Visa or MasterCard

Download application form in pdf format
 

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
CIS	Cultural Interpreting Service
EAS	Employment Assistance Services
EPRS	Employment for Retail Services
ERC	Employment Resource Centre
FOAP	Finance & Office Assistant Program
IAT	Intake, Assessment and Training
ITAB	Internationally Trained Accountants and Bookkeepers
JSC	Job Search Centre
JSW	Job Search Workshop
LINC	Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada
ONIP	Ontario Network for Internationally-training Professionals Online
NPA	New Pioneers Awards
STIC	Sector Terminology Information & Counselling

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