August 31, 2005
Volume 6  Issue 8
Circulation 6,780 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.

Download our
Programs and Services Calendar

In this edition...

SfC Executive Director
Annual General Meeting
'Riding the Waves of Change' Cruise
SfC Program Start Dates
Retail Program Starts September 6
New Pioneers Awards Nominations
Testing Your Microsoft Office Skills
Let OPTIONS Show You The Way
TechSkills

SfC Executive Director

Effective September 6, Jane Cullingworth is the new Executive Director of Skills for Change.

From 2000 – 2002, Jane was the SfC Manager of Programs and Services.

Since leaving Skills for Change, Jane has been involved with PROMPT (Policy Roundtable Mobilizing Professions and Trades), teaching at George Brown College and consulting.

Jane is looking forward to returning to the agency.

"Skills for Change is a great organization with valuable expertise and a rich history. We are an important player in the lives of immigrants and refugees. I am very excited about returning to the agency and providing strong leadership to enhance our work and our role in the community. Skills for Change is a very special place - I feel like I never really left!"
 

Annual General Meeting

'Riding the Waves of Change' Cruise

Join Skills for Change for a fundraising cruise - an evening of fun and dance on Thursday, September 8, 2005 aboard the "Northern Spirit".

Put on your dancing shoes and enjoy the dinner, live entertainment and the spectacular view of Toronto from Lake Ontario!

Location: Toronto Harbourfront at the Queens Quay Terminal Building (Intersection of York Street and Queen's Quay West).

Boarding time is 6:30 p.m., sailing 7:00 p.m. and docking time at Queen's Quay Harbourfront 10:30 p.m.
 

Contributing Sponsor www.canadapure.com

Buy your tickets NOW:
 

Order and pay for your tickets online using Visa or MasterCard, or,   Contact Arshia Raafat via email, or by telephone at 416-658-3101 Ext. 103 Ticket price: $100.00. Ticket purchasers will receive a tax receipt of $45.00 per ticket. All proceeds go to supporting Skills for Change programs for skilled immigrants.

SfC Programs Start Dates

Click link for course description and registration information.

A+ Certification Preparation September 10
AccPac for Windows September 10, 12, and 13
AutoCAD Level I TBA
AutoCAD Level II TBA
CCNA Certification Preparation September 10
Clerical Employment Services (CES) September 6
Employment Preparation for Retail Services (EPRS) September 6
ESL/Accounting and Computer Skills for Immigrant Women September 6 NEW!
ESL/Advanced Communication in the Workplace for Working People September 7
ESL/Bookkeeping (Intermediate) September 10
ESL/Communicating Clearly September 6
ESL/English for Academic Purposes September 12 NEW!
ESL/Intensive English September 6
ESL/Introductory Bookkeeping September10 and 13
ESL/Keyboarding September 7 and 10
ESL/Medical Terminology September 10
Information Session—Internationally-trained Accountants September 22
Information Session—Internationally-trained Engineers TBA

Information Session—Internationally-trained Accountants TBA

Information Session—Internationally-trained Accountants TBA
Job Search Workshop for New Immigrants Day October 17, Evening August 29
Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) TBA
MCSA Preparation September 19
MCSE Preparation September 19
Microsoft Access (Level 1) September 12
Microsoft Access (Level 2) September 26
Microsoft Excel (Level 1) September 13
Microsoft Excel (Level 2) September 27
Microsoft FrontPage – Build a Web Site September 24
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access) September 12
Microsoft PowerPoint September 17
Microsoft Word September 10
OPTIONS September 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29
PMP Certification September 10 and 24
Quality Assurance & Control October 1
Simply Accounting September 12
Software Testing & Quality Assurance TBA
Teach in Ontario: Bridge to Employment for Internationally-trained Teachers TBA
Teach in Ontario: Language Upgrading Course October 28
TOEFL Level 7+ September 12

Retail Program Starts September 6

EPRS is offered in partnership with...

Employment Preparation for Retail Services (EPRS) is designed for those who are interested in starting or continuing a career in the retail sector.

Participants will acquire retail and corporate terminology, learn retail skills and improve workplace communication skills as well as conflict resolution.

They will also gain Canadian work experience.

This program is 15 weeks long and it includes 6 weeks of placement at the Bay.
 

New Pioneers Awards Nominations

Testing Your Microsoft Office Skills

Skills for Change makes available to you state-of-the-art testing software to assess your ability in today's most popular desktop software, Microsoft Office.

Using SkillCheck, you perform tasks in any way the actual office software allows, giving you the most realistic view of your capabilities.

Testing is important for several reasons.

Using SkillCheck prepares you for testing required by temporary employment agencies. Temp agencies usually evaluate your skills with a series of tests. The minimum score expected by many temp agencies is 80%.

Testing helps you decide if you are ready for an office position and to evaluate your need to upgrade computer skills in order to meet employers’ expectations.

After each test, you will receive a printed report with your scores. Share this with employers during interviews to sell your skills with confidence, specifically for clerical, accounting and finance positions.

Tests available:

More information, click here.
 

Let OPTIONS Show You The Way    NEW!

 

Free Information Sessions at Skills for Change: Thurs, Aug 25 (7 pm) Free Information Sessions at CET: Wed, Aug 31 (10 am) To register for information sessions at Skills for Change, email sfc@skillforchange.org or call 416 658-7090 between 1 – 3 pm, Monday – Friday.

TechSkills  

TechSkills 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, teaching everything from basic web site development to more advanced accounting and database design.

Our courses are structured to encourage beginners and professionals to start at the level that matches their skills and to lead them progressively to more advanced topics. Because our classes are limited in size, students have more hands-on interaction with the instructor.

· Experienced professional instructors
· Small class sizes
· Quality training materials
· Competitive pricing

Registration
By phone - 416 658-3101 ext. 700
On-line - www.skillsforchange.org/register
Complete course listing - www.skillsforchange.org/techskills

Tuition tax credit forms will be issued. Some classes are held at another location. Additional materials or textbook fees may be charged for some courses. EI recipients welcomed.
 

Guest Speakers for September at DERC

Seats are limited. Pre-register at reception or call 416-516-4689 to reserve a seat. We are located at 900 Dufferin Street, Suite 101.

Creating Powerful First Impressions
First impressions play a very important role at the job interview stage. Are you leaving THE RIGHT IMPRESSION with Employers? Guest speaker is Renee Munro of Principal of Image Matters. Tuesday, September 13, 2005 @ 1 pm
 

Making Connections - The ABC's For Meeting New People
Guest speaker is Emmanuel Lopez. Thursday, September 15th, 2005 @ 1 pm

Meeting new people can be a frightening thought. This informative seminar will unleash your innate people skills, networking skills and tap into your hidden self-confidence. Discover how your passions and personal interests are fundamental elements in achieving your work or career goals. Participants will take away sure-fire methods and a sense of play to make connections with anyone, anywhere.

More Info? www.derc.ca 
Contact Us: t: (416) 516-4689  e: erc@skillsforchange.org
 

Correction

SfC Changes

We wish the following staff the very best in their new endeavours:

Elena Rossi, Coordinator of the Clerical Employment Services (CES) program
Angie Rubino, Bilingual Intake Consultant for Teach in Ontario
Jennifer Holder, FOAP and ITAB instructor
 

Programs and Services Directory

Download our
Programs and Services Calendar
 

Bridge to Success for Trades

Clerical Employment Services (CES)

Employment Preparation for Retail Services (EPRS)

Employment Resource Centre (ERC)

ESL Courses

Human Resource Services

Job Search Workshop (JSW)

Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC)

Mentoring for Employment

one2one COACHING

Ontario Network for Internationally-training Professionals Online (ONIP)

New Pioneers Awards (NPA)

Sector-specific Information Sessions

Sector Terminology, Information and Counselling (STIC)

Settlement Services for Newcomers

Teach In Ontario

TechSkills

Workplace Language Coaching for Working People

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