Your participation in the project- by reading the bulletins, participating in the college information events, attending the regional events, reviewing the action items and reports, by networking with your colleagues at your own college- will contribute to the overall success of your students and clients in Employment Ontario programs. It is hoped that better information and better networks will result in improved client and student referrals, better integration of services, more collaboration and sharing of resources and better program outcomes.
I wish to congratulate the members of the College Sector Committee for securing Employment Ontario Network Development funding to improve the integration of Employment Ontario programs delivered by Ontario's 24 colleges.
These programs and services, including apprenticeship, Job Connect, academic upgrading and employment assistance services, are an integral part of the colleges' mandate to equip students with the skills and knowledge that will help them achieve personal and career success.
I wish you the very best as you plan and implement the project's activities, and hope you will keep me apprised of your progress as your work unfolds. I commend you for your commitment to your clients and students, and to your colleges as you carry out this important work.
Sincerely,
The Job Connect program just passed its 10th anniversary last year! Currently 21 colleges are delivering the program with 57 sites located in colleges, malls, libraries and schools. In 2006-07 the college Job Connect sites helped over 12,000 unemployed people find jobs, placed 13,000 students in summer jobs, and helped 800 clients become registered and employed as apprentices. College Job Connect sites administer employment training supports to local employers, with approximately 21 million dollars in provincial funding and over a quarter of a million people using these free resource centres in 2006/07. The Job Connect College Sector- JCCS, represents all college Job Connect and EAS sites and is represented on SDAG, the provincial Service Delivery Advisory Group to Employment Ontario. The Job Connect program has recently held four regional provincial conferences and JCCS also took a lead in organizing the Employment Ontario Managers’ Forum in Toronto in December of last year. All Job Connect college sites look forward to continuing to build close working relationships with apprenticeship and academic upgrading staff, developing an improved referral process and understanding the connection of clients to each others’ services.
Apprenticeship is a hands-on training experience. About 80% of apprenticeship training is learned on the job with an employer. The remaining 20% is delivered at a community college or an approved training organization. Ontario’s colleges serve over 25,000 apprentices per year. This figure represents approximately 85% of all in-school training for apprenticeships in the province of Ontario.