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July 31, 2007 · Volume 8  Issue 07
 Circulation 7,085 Subscribers
 
Ismael Cala Lopez Visits SfC
by Jane Cullingworth, Executive Director

Telelatino interviewer talks with Salsa on St. Clair emcee (and 2000 NPA Graduate Award Recipient) Ismael Cala Lopez, and SfC Executive Director Jane Cullingworth

During the recent Salsa on St. Clair event, Skills for Change was honoured with a visit from Ismael Cala Lopez – the New Pioneers Award Skills for Change Graduate recipient in 2000.

Ismael took English and computer courses at Skills for Change when he came to Canada in 1998. Ismael’s career has been eagerly watched by his admirers at Skills for Change – and he has been quite an inspiration!

Ismael, originally a journalist in his native Cuba, is a highly respected and popular TV personality, particularly in the Hispanic community.

Ismael hosts two TV shows in Miami – one called Calando Fuerte, and another called Calando A on TeleLatino.

Ismael came back to Toronto for the Salsa Festival to emcee the MainStage. During the event, Jane Cullingworth made a surprise presentation to Ismael of the recently published 15th Anniversary book, “The New Pioneers: Building a Strong Canada”. Along with 14 other New Pioneer Award recipients, Ismael is featured in this publication.
 
 
 
Salsa and Skills
by Arlene Willis, Resource and Development Unit

Dr. Giggles (aka Nelson Briceno) gives a Salsa dance lesson to Samantha Koon, SfC Fundraising Specialist who spearheaded our activities in the Salsa event.

Skills for Change was well represented at the Salsa on St. Clair event on Saturday, July 14.

Volunteers, many of whom were SfC staff, helped to make this day a success, acting as ambassadors for the organization and providing information on our programs.

Kids were lined up at our booth ready to take part in the bouncing castle and many more enjoyed the antics of Dr. Giggles!

We also received great media coverage through a local Hispanic radio station and an onsite interview conducted by TeleLatino’s Ismael Cala Lopez, a past client and NPA recipient.

Despite the rain a great time was had by all. A special thank you goes out to all of the volunteers who participated in the day.
 
 
 
Promoting Diversity in Banking:
Canada Trust Recruiters Meet SfC Clients
by Norma Bernal, Clerical Employment Services (CES)

Diversity promotion is a centerpiece of TD Canada Trust’s policy on human resources development and management.

It won a slew of awards, including the Canadian Business Magazine’s ‘2007 Top 50 Best Workplaces in Canada’. No wonder, many of our clients aspire to become part of the bank’s 50,000+ strong labour force.

At the same time, SfC has had a long association with the bank. The TD Financial Group is not only a supporter of the agency’s New Pioneers Awards (NPA), the Mentoring Program, and other endeavours, TD bank visits SfC on a regular basis to orient, interview, and recruit potential candidates. They know that SfC has a rich pool of educated, trained, skilled, and experienced professionals.

It is in this tradition that the Clerical Employment Services (CES) program, primarily its new Employment Outreach Specialist Sonal Singh and incoming Program Coordinator Corina Carvallo, organized a TD Canada Trust presentation and recruitment session for SfC participants on July 18th. Also present were Dave Lovelock, Resource Development Unit (RDU) Manager and Cristina Codreanu, Newcomer Professionals at Work (NPW) Coordinator who helped in coordinating the event.

Human Resources Professionals from the bank came for the session: Sadaf Sheikh Chaudhry, Assistant Manager, Diversity Recruitment, Human Resources and Linda Franker, Recruitment Officer, GTA Region. They gave an overview of the bank’s vision, guiding principles, services, career opportunities, and application process, including tips on what they expect to see in resume and cover letter submissions. They are looking to fill some 60 available positions in a variety of roles within the bank, including Customer Service Representatives (CSR), Financial Service Representatives (FSR), Telephone Banking Specialists, etc.

Seventeen clients of CES and NPW, with backgrounds in banking, customer service, accounting, and finance, participated. Most of them were interested in FSR and CSR positions and a few wanted to know about opportunities in accounting, finance, and telephone banking. Fourteen were interviewed and assessed after the presentation, 12 for FSR positions and 2 for CSR. The interviews served as a ‘pre-screen’ to see who are qualified and can be invited to participate in the recruitment process at the bank. To date, the recruiters have contacted CES to express their interest in the qualifications of some of the candidates. They will likely give feedback to individual participants in the next two weeks.
 
 
 
CASIP Logo Launched
by Jane Cullingworth, Executive Director

Skills for Change is an active member of CASIP - the Consortium of Agencies Serving Internationally-Trained Persons.

The eight agencies that make up CASIP have worked collaboratively since 1999: ACCES, COSTI Immigrant Services, Humber College, JobStart, JVS, MicroSkills, Seneca College and Skills for Change.

Recently CASIP held a contest through the Graphic Design diploma program in the School of Communication Arts at Seneca College to create a logo for CASIP. The winning logo was developed by Cory Shemuel.

Leolyn Hendricks (Chair, Workforce Development, Seneca College), Kay Blair (Executive Director, MicroSkills), Anat Werthem (VP Program Development, JVS), Roland Rhooms (Manager Programs and Services, Skills for Change), Sue Sadler (Assistant Executive Director, JobStart), Ed Kothiringer (Director of Employment Services, COSTI), Cory Shemuel (Graphic Designer), Allison Pond (Executive Director, ACCES), Jane Cullingworth (Executive Director, Skills for Change), Elana Lewis (Manager Government & Community Relations, Humber College)

Cory states, “When I set out to design the logo I wanted to create something that represented CASIP and what they do for people, and not to mention I wanted to make something that looks really good. The green circles are a symbol for growth and ascending to new heights, achieving the exact look and feel I was going for. More importantly the logo design fit the criteria that the CASIP members explained were important to the consortium and its success.”

On July 26th Cory was presented a cheque by the CASIP members to acknowledge his great work in developing our new logo. The logo represents the spirit of collaboration and coordination that is the cornerstone of CASIP’s work together.

The mandate of CASIP is to:

  • Improve service effectiveness through the sharing of best practices
  • Identify gaps in service and develop innovative initiatives
  • Coordinate employment services across the GTA, providing seamless service and increase our capacity to provide and offer services
  • Advocate as direct service providers on issues facing internationally trained persons and the service delivery network within the GTA
  • Share information on policy changes and funding opportunities to promote joint action
  • Engage the broader network of peer organizations and associations in common action
  • Collaborate and undertake initiatives in order to extend our ability serve, and
  • Increase employment opportunities for internationally-trained persons.
 
 
Confronting Conflict Workshop and Potluck
by Golnaz Fatemi, Patricia Robertson, Shabnum Budhwani - Teach in Ontario

On July 4, 17 Skills for Change staff and George Brown College placement students got together to discover whether they were more inclined to be rabbits, chameleons, pit bulls or worker bees.

As funny as it may sound, these animals actually provided the participants with a very good insight into their personalities and their individual approaches to confronting conflict situations. Did they avoid, adapt or constructively confront conflict and what was their style of problem-solving?

The whole idea came up over a lunchroom conversation of how to combine fun and learning activities through summer events.

Vimla Luchmun and Patricia Robertson, both Facilitators/Counsellors of the Teach in Ontario program, had recently become certified as Life Skills Coaches through the YWCA, Toronto. They were eager to share their newfound knowledge and skills and as a result decided to host the “Confronting Conflict Workshop” in order to benefit the rest of their colleagues and have fun at the same time.

Vimla and Patricia introduced and demonstrated the use of the Life Skills Model in delivering the workshop, using different methods such as Visual and Oral Cooperative role play scenarios, self reflection and group discussions.

The workshop provided the participants with an awareness of their individual styles and habits of dealing with conflict in various situations and contexts. They learned about approaches to keeping conflict constructive by

• Separating the person from the problem
• Entering their world
• Listening
• Focusing on improving relationships
• Being honest
• Generating a variety of options
• Discovering common goals
• Being informal, flexible and creative in their approach
(YWCA Discovering Life Skills – New Volume 2, page 62)

Needless to say, all of this food for thought made Skills for Change staff quite hungry! What could have been a more appropriate ending than a delicious multi-cultural potluck lunch? Over 50 staff participated in this lively and colourful buffet with an international flair. Research shows that sharing each others’ cuisines leads to better understanding of each others’ cultures. What a wonderful way to learn more about each other and socialize at the same time. Thanks to all of those who joined in and made this a memorable event in true Skills for Change style.
 
 
 
About Skills for Change
Established in 1982, Skills for Change (SfC) is a registered, non-profit agency providing "learning and training opportunities for immigrants and refugees so that they can participate in the workplace and wider community."

It is located at 791 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto, Ontario M6C 1B7.

We can be reached by phone (416.658.3101), fax (416.658.6292) or email.
 
 
 
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About our Programs and Services
 

Skills for Change
is a United Way Member Agency

Registered Charitable Organization #121471858 RR0001