The EEC Employment Beat - The Employment and Education Centre

The EEC Employment Beat
W I N T E R
2 0 1 4
W H AT ’ S
I N S I D E:

You
Unlimited:
focuses on
building
skills

Employers
wanted for
job placements
Members of the first-ever Investing for Digital Dividends Class at the Employment and Education Centre graduated
from the program in mid-December. From left is Program Coordinator for Connect Youth Elizabeth Mensen, IDD
Graduate Ben Shire, Henderson Printing General Manager Bob Pearce, IDD Graduate Kaitlyn Chow, Henderson
Printing Web Specialist Dwayne Jamieson, IDD Graduate Mattie James, Brockville Public Library Children and Young
Adult Coordinator Lisa Cirka, and IDD Graduate Jessie Gillard.
What do you get when you
take several young people,
a number of accommodating local employers and a
focus on building computer
technological skills to ensure employability in the
new economy?
If you’re the Employment
and Education Centre
(EEC), you get Investing
for Digital Dividends (IDD),
a cutting-edge program
which recently wrapped up
at the Brockville-area employment agency.
The graduation for the program was held in midDecember; the four local
young people who took
part were from the Brockville and Prescott areas
and faced barriers to employment.
Investing for Digital Dividends was a 29-week program; the first two weeks
were spent in-class at
EEC, then the participants
spent each Friday in-class
at the agency to learn and
practice a wide range of
digital skills. It was offered
by the agency in cooperation with Service
Canada
The young participants
spent the remainder of time
on placement at several
different companies and
organizations in the area.
Employ- Continued on next page
Continued from first page
“The Program
helped me
grow a lot! “
IDD participant
Mattie James
“It’s been a
life-changing
experience!”
Jessie Gillard, IDD
participant
ers
where the participants
did their placements
were Henderson Printing,
Future Shop (Brockville)
Brockville Public Library
and Connect Youth.
Laidy and Ray Consulting was another employer which participated in
providing a placement
with a young person who
did not finish the program.
Investing for Digital Dividends enabled the participants to learn to use the
full Adobe suite of computer programs, including, Photoshop, Premiere
Pro and InDesign. Delivering the program within
EEC were former Manager of Special Projects
Anne Marie Rolfe, Computers for Job Success
Facilitator Lesley Patry
and Employment Counsellor Cecilia Clapson.
“It was a really good experience for me,” commented Kaitlin Chow,
who noted she graduated
from university in 2011.
"I’m glad I got to be a
part of it.”
Chow did her placement
at Henderson Printing of
Brockville, where she
created videos for the
United Way of Leeds and
Grenville’s 2013 campaign in addition to many
other projects. “It was a
great learning experience,” she noted, adding
she hopes what she has
done will assist her in the
career she wishes to pursue of filmmaking.
Mattie James did her IDD
placement at the Brockville Public Library. It was
a particularly enriching
experience for her as
she, at 15, had never
held a job before.
“The program helped me
grow a lot,” she explained. “I was very awkward going in; now I am
less so.” Her placement
involved creating promotional materials (including
posters and brochures)
for library programs.
Ben Shire of Prescott
was placed at Connect
Youth, a not-for-profit
organization for vulnerable youth based at South
Grenville District High
School. Among the projects with which he was
involved included creating a video for the organization’s Annual General
Meeting.
Jessie Gillard came to
Investing for Digital Dividends after completing a
mission trip and was
looking for career direction. “It’s been a lifechanging experience,”
she enthused, noting that
her placement at Future
Shop in Brockville resulted in her getting a job
there once the placement
finished. Much of her activity at Future Shop was
concentrated on increasing the store’s online
presence. She added
that, through her efforts,
she was able to double
Future Shop’s Facebook
followers, from 500 to
more than 1000.
As good as the program
was for its participants, it
was also of benefit to the
employers who were involved. “I know that Kaitlin indicated that it was
one of her first positive
work experiences,” stated Bob Pearce, General
Manager of Henderson
Printing.
“Thank you for the opportunity to be involved,”
stated Elizabeth Mensen,
Program Co-coordinator
for Connect Youth. “I’ve
seen Ben (Shire) grow in
a huge way…He had to
learn a lot on his own.”
In addition to their work
placements, the IDD students also completed
numerous in-class assignments, including individual and group web
sites and projects which
utilized the full complement of Adobe CreativeSuite 6 software.
“I definitely
saw real
Member of the recent YOU Unlimited class at EEC. A total of 11 people of different age ranges and backgrounds took part in the
employment readiness program at the Employment and Education Centre..
Some participants were involved because they had
difficulty finding jobs. Others
had taken time out of the
workforce to care for children
or because of illness and
were looking to return.
But whatever the reason,
those who took part in You
Unlimited at the Employment
and Education Centre (EEC)
received an intensive sixweek course in how to approach the world of work,
how to decide on a job or
career path, and how to be a
productive employee.
A total of 11 people from
Brockville and the surrounding areas participated in the
program. The age of the men
and women who took part
ranged from early-20s to mid
-50s.
In addition to workshops
which focused on resume
and cover letter creation and
employment readiness, participants also took part in the
two-week Computers for Job
Success EEC Course to improve their skills with Microsoft Office programs.
Other courses which the You
Unlimited participants took
part in included WHMIS and
Customer Service Excellence.
However, perhaps the most
important lesson which the
men and women who took
part in You Unlimited learned
was one of confidence and
assertiveness.
“I definitely saw real improvements in each participant,”
noted EEC Employment
Counsellor Shelley Fenlong,
who coordinated the program. “Several members of
the You Unlimited group
came in after never having
held a job before or having
been away from the workforce for a length of time.”
After completing the program
in late December, the participants took part in a brief
graduation ceremony. Several of the participants spoke of
how the program has
changed their lives in positive
ways. Gardner Bell, who is
looking to get back into a
career in computer technical
support, commented that
perhaps the most important
aspect of the program for him
was interacting with other
people after having been off
work for a while.
Other participants comment
Continued on next page
improvements
in each
participant,”
noted EEC
Employment
Counsellor
Shelley
Fenlong,
I was told
(by YOU Unlimited participant Martha Lawson)
I was told “you can’t” today
The child inside me cried, and my heart felt
broken.
I was told “you can’t” today
The light in my soul dimmed once more, my
spirit felt weakened and shaken.
I was told “You can’t” today
The person inside of me felt angry , fought
back against the tears of defeat.
Through the clouds the sun shone today
The woman in me smiled and I cried
My spirit and heart felt happy.
I was told “you can’t” today
But the light in my soul shines bright, and the
person in me said “Yes, you can.”
I was told “Yes you can today.”
I replied “Yes I can..”
And I will.
Continued from page 3
ed that the social interaction as well as classes
and workshops which taught skills to enable
job readiness were what make the program
good.
“Everyone who took part really came a long
way,” Fenlong emphasized. “It was really great
to see!”
(right) Members of the You Unlimited program have fun during
the Personality Dimensions workshop which was given during
the course.