When John finally met with an Employment Counsellor from Employment Assistance Services in August 2002, he was really desperate. He realized that he might have to try other areas of work, but did not know where else to look. His counsellor suggested alternate areas to explore, but wanted to get more ideas so she brought his concern to the next staff meeting. At the meeting, numerous ideas were brought up, including: private airline companies, Toronto Island airport and even switching to another profession such as automotive mechanics. John’s counsellor met with him again and set him on a path of researching these and other alternate routes.
The following week, an Employment Consultant from JVS Toronto called EAS and was desperately looking for an unlicensed automotive mechanic. The EAS receptionist, having attended the staff meeting earlier, knew of a potential candidate and quickly contacted John’s counsellor to tell her of this very rare opportunity. The counsellor called the consultant back to get more details about the requirements for the position. Although the candidate was not required to have worked as an automotive mechanic before, it would be good enough if the candidate at least had experience fixing cars as a hobby. The counsellor called John to see if he met the requirements. He told her that the last company he worked for had an automotive repair facility and he would sometimes assist his co-workers with car repairs when they couldn’t solve the problem. That was good enough. So, he interviewed for the position the same day, got the job on the spot and started work full-time as an unlicensed automotive mechanic the following Monday.
(* Name has been changed)
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