First Work May E Bulletin:

May 2017

Did You Hear About Amplify?

On May 8th, 2017 First Work: Ontario's Youth Employment Network held its Leadership Summit - Amplify at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, in Toronto. During our early consultations with the network's Leadership, they reported that they wanted their summit to provide new and engaging topics. They wanted to be challenged and empowered to address emerging issues within the field. Based on the feedback and survey result, members were very pleased with the presentations and discourse on critical issues affecting youth employment. First Work, through Amplify, was able to bring together leaders from various sectors including employment, government, education, technology, and business to discuss concerns that have been raised by our members. The key topics were Decent Work, Financing Fundraising, Improving Industry Knowledge within the Employment Sector, Data Talks - Communicating Success, School to Work Transition and Effective Program Design.

We know that it was important for our members to hear directly from Ministry Representatives and be able to ask them questions. Accordingly, we responded by ensuring that the Hon. Minister Deborah Matthews, the (A) Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM), Shelly Unterlander and Manager, David Cronin from the Ministry Advanced Education and Skill Development were able to address the Leadership and hear their concerns, especially around the recent budget cuts and its effects on the sector. We were so pleased to have the opportunity to hear from both the Minister and the ADM as they gave their personal commitment to improving communication with the sector and being open to input and feedback for improvements. Members can now look forward to much more positive engagement with the Ministry as we move ahead together!

PROGRAM DESIGN

Our program Design Lab was facilitated by Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation. They challenged leaders to re-imagine youth employment programming by moving beyond program guidelines and focusing on the real needs of the youth we serve.

Key learnings from this session included:

Youth focused programming is individual to the specific youth being served.
We need to meet youth where they are in their path.
Ensure flexible service offerings that increase access to youth.
We need to consider wrap-around services models.
Success metrics should be milestones in the clients' path towards their goals.
Online and technology based programming should be considered.
The duration of the pre - employment intervention should be based on clients' needs.
It may be more effective to take a collaborative approach to determine what effective programming looks like and provide joint feedback on specific guideline adjustments to the Ministry instead of voicing individual complaints.

Disruptive Conversations

FINANCING FUNDRAISING

Key outcomes from this session included:

Potential strategies to optimize fundraising efforts and help organizations boost revenue to support their programs.
Appreciation of the need to strengthen the capacity of the network to attract investments for advancing youth employment interventions.
Clear and practical step leaders can take to weave fundraising into their daily work and raise their organizations’ profiles and resiliency.
Invest time and focus in the right areas such as creating a fundraising culture, developing staff in the area of fundraising, equipping staff to share the stories of the good work that organizations do.

GET INVOLVED

To ensure ongoing support for the great work we do, we must invest in our collective capacity to tell our stories, show evidence, and demonstrate impact.

Let us know what you are doing so we can spread the word across the network.

DECENT WORK FOR ALL

Key outcomes from this session included:

Acknowledgement of the need to further explore the notion of the Decent Work concept
Commitment to adopt Decent Work Charter across the network
A definition for the network and consider adapting the Decent Work Charter within their organizations and communities.
Foster opportunities to inform and educate frontline staff on the notion of Decent Work to advocate for fair and equitable wages within safe work environments.
Explore ways to educate youth on the principles of decent work and how to seek/contribute to such opportunities.

LEARN MORE

To learn more, please check out the Better Way Alliance http://betterwayalliance.ca/ and specifically the employer videos.
Ontario Nonprofit Network also has great information on the Decent Work movement within our sector:http://theonn.ca/our-work/our-people/decent-work/

STRATEGIC NEED TO IMPROVE INDUSTRY EXPERTISE

As employment service providers, we are required to make effective linkages to the business community and develop meaningful work opportunities for youth and others. Being results oriented, we are all working diligently to understand the needs of our clients and carefully job match according to the requirements of the employers. However, understanding the symbiotic relationship between employers and services providers, have we taken the time to get to know our business partners, what their HR and recruitment strategies are, what they need help with, what initiatives are might be pursuing to fill their skill gaps? A collaborative and strategic partnership is required to be able to support our employer partners in order to scale up recruitment support on a wider scale. Our facilitators were members of First Work's Industry Advisory Group who took the time to share the realities recruitment across sectors and how much collaboration with service providers is desired as a critical solution.

Key Learnings from the session included:

Employers are open to partnerships and designing recruitment solutions with service providers.
Employment Sector is not aware of the recruitment and training programs available across sectors.
There is a need to educate ourselves and our youth about career laddering in various fields.
Employers need help to better navigate programs - support and access need to be consistent.
Employers are willing to hire for attitude and aptitude and will train for skills.
Entry-level and mid-level positions are most difficult to fill.
Businesses are coming together to share common recruitment tools so youth can be screened into best-fit roles across sectors.

SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION

This session was designed to connect the dots and bring School to Work Champions together to inform the discourse on this missing piece of the puzzle.

Key outcomes from this session included:

There are current School to Work Programming available that organizations can partner with to support youth in this transitional phase.
Businesses, Education and Service Providers alike currently engage in School to Work Transition but they cannot successfully do it alone, they need to collaborate on strategic initiatives in order to make a meaningful impact.
There is an opportunity for policy improvement within the Ministry of Education and MAESD to better integrate School to Work Transition in the current systems and to create the required links between them both.

LEARN MORE

RBC has made a significant investment in improving School to Work Transition and has created a toolkit for youth, managers and HR professionals to be better equipped when supporting youth with School to Work Transition: http://www.rbc.com/launchingcareers/

DATA TALKS: UNDERSTANDING IMPACT and COMMUNICATING SUCCESS

Telling our story and the impact of our work has never been more important. Our facilitators took the time to help us define success in the employment sector and consider ways in which we can influence how success is being measured and shape the narrative about the positive impact being made in the employment sector.

Key outcomes from this session included:

Revisit mission, vision, values and ensure that the service delivery data is reflective.
Leaders need to tell their stories to staff to foster a better understanding of the bigger picture.
Develop a culture of practice rather than compliance.
Consider in-house databases that reflect all that you do and not just what is required by funders.
Open data should reflect mission, vision, and values when supported by a culture of practice.

COMING UP...

FUTURES 2017: CALL FOR PRESENTERS

Submission Due Date Extended to June 16, 2017!!!!!

The 29th Annual Futures Conference is will be held on Tuesday, September 26th to Thursday, September 28th, 2017 at the Blue Mountain Resort in beautiful Collingwood, ON.

This three- day professional development event attracts over 400 delegates from 100 youth employment counseling centers, colleges, the private and public sectors, as well as other community- based organizations.

Have an idea valuable to the employment and training community? Then you’re invited to get involved and share your experience. First Work is seeking high-quality content and presenters whose focus is the needs of employment and career development professionals.

http://www.firstwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Futures-2017-Call-for-Presenters.pdf

REGISTER FOR FUTURES 2017

29th Annual Futures Conference
Blue Mountain Resort Collingwood, ON

To Register:
Email futures@firstwork.org:
* Agency Name
* Name of Attendees
* Email and Phone Number
* Membership Status

BOOK YOUR ROOM TODAY
Accommodations for the Futures Conference 2017 can be booked directly through Blue Mountain Resort by calling 877-445-0231 or by making an online reservation at www.bluemountain.ca.
You must mention the Group Code: GRP114808 or group name: First Works 29th Annual Conference 2017 to access special rates.

What you will experience at FUTURES:

Interactive workshops.
Personal and Professional Renewal.
Inspirational Speakers.

What you will gain at FUTURES

Networking contacts across the youth employment sector.
Sharing of strategies and experiences with other Futures participants.
Updates from government agencies on current youth initiatives.
Opportunity to motivate each other to ensure that our youth gain access to meaningful employment.

Employer Engagement

First Work member agencies looking to engage employers in their communities will benefit from the new Retain and Gain: Career Management for Small Business Playbook. Published by CERIC, the Playbook identifies 40+ low-cost tips, activities and actions that small business can take right now (some in only 10 minutes a day) to attract, retain and develop staff.

Written in an innovative “travel guide” format, author Lisa Taylor includes special sections on new graduates, the aging workforce and family enterprises, and provides planning templates and links to unique resources.

The Playbook is of particular value to job developers, presenting innovative ways to build and maintain strong relationships with employers. Job developers can distribute the Playbook as a marketing tool for their services or use it in partnership with employers to create effective retention and training plans.

Given that most agencies are themselves small- or medium-sized enterprises (fewer than 500 employees), agency directors and managers would also find the Playbook relevant to apply with their own staff. Furthermore, with the fact that 99.7% of all businesses in Canada are SMEs, this Playbook offers helpful insights on the workforce needs of SMEs, where the vast majority of clients will be employed.

Supported by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Ryerson University, TD Bank and others, the Playbook is available to purchase (English and French versions) in print for $15.95 (get a 30% discount on bulk sales) or for free download at www.ceric.ca/sme.

**If you have news, events, research, or success stories that you would like us to share in our newsletters or on our website, please submit them to info@firstwork.org. For newsletter items, please submit by the first week of every month, so we can include them, space-permitting. Thank you!**

Copyright © 2017 Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres, All rights reserved.

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First Work May E Bulletin:

PROGRAM DESIGN

FINANCING FUNDRAISING

STRATEGIC NEED TO IMPROVE INDUSTRY EXPERTISE

SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION

FUTURES 2017: CALL FOR PRESENTERS

REGISTER FOR FUTURES 2017

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