Duane Hicks
Local agencies are here to help employers in the hunt for new employees.
During the “Recruiting, Retaining and Motivating Employees in Small Businesses” workshop last Thursday at the Copper River Inn here, both Northern Community Development Services (NCDS) and Shooniyaa Wa-Biitong noted they can–and do–help connect employers and employees.
“We’re here for you guys in the community–the employers,” stressed NCDS job developer Tim Spence.
“A lot of times are focused in on the job-seekers but I concentrate on employers 100 percent,” he noted.
Employers should know the NCDS can print job ads, collect résumés on the employer’s behalf, assist with interviews and help create questions, and even mediate interviews.
NCDS case managers have a total of roughly 130 clients at all times, and are in a great position to match clients with employers, Spence added.
He noted if an employer decides to hire an NCDS client, that client also may be eligible for some sort of training support or placement services.
“It’s an easy process,” Spence remarked. “There’s not a lot of paperwork; I do all the paperwork.
“It’s a service out there I think everybody should look into,” he added.
Another program is Youth Job Connection (YJC).
Starting last year, it replaced the Summer Jobs Service (SJS), which used to offer a $2/hour subsidy that enabled employers to hire students who were returning to school in the fall.
Now with YJC, NCDS will pay youth aged 15-29 to take pre-employment workshops (they take 60-90 hours of workshops, which aim to prepare to them to be work-ready).
After the workshops are completed, NCDS finds placement for them.
“The subsidy during this program can be quite substantial, and we work with you during the placement to ensure that there’s no issues,” said Spence.
“What we’ve found with YJC after year one is that we’ve made positive impacts both with the employers and the clients, and provided the employers with ready-to-work clients and an attractive subsidy package,” he noted.
A sub-program is Youth Job Connection Summer (YJCS), which targets youths aged 15-18 looking for summer jobs or part-time jobs during the school year.
This program has 20-30 hours of pre-employment paid training.
The last program is Youth Job Link, which is aimed at youths aged 15-29 who have never had a job before.
It aims to help students who are better-positioned to find employment on their own but maybe need a service (such as help creating that first résumé) or support (like a first pair of work boots or dress clothes).
Spence said one of the most exciting programs that came out in the last 18 months is the Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG).
It provides an opportunity for employers to invest in their workforce with funding from the government.
The job grant will provide direct financial support to individual employers who wish to purchase training for their employees.
The training costs are split three ways between the province, federal government, and employer (COJG can provide up to $10,000 per individual).
Find out more about any of these programs by contacting NCDS.
Meanwhile, Dana Bridgeman-Cross, who runs Anokiiwin Job Connect for Shooniyaa Wa-Biitong, said she’s also ready to help Treaty #3 clients and area employers.
“The vision for Shooniyaa is to make sure there’s trained aboriginal people working within the communities that we support and service,” she explained.
Shooniyaa focuses on training, education, professional development, and employment opportunities (much like NCDS), and supports individual-based training opportunities for clients, individual employer opportunities, youth programs, disability programs, self-employment, and apprenticeships.
The Anokiiwin Job Connect database was established in 2011.
“One of our biggest partnerships locally has been New Gold,” said Bridgeman-Cross, noting that in the past two years, her office has placed about 100 First Nation self-identified people in jobs working for contractors or New Gold directly.
“We’re really proud of those numbers,” she added. “Without our support, we don’t think that they would have had the confidence to apply.
“We don’t think that they would have been able to put their experience on paper, or sit across the table from an employer like yourselves and answer their interview questions.”
Bridgeman-Cross stressed Shooniyaa is here to help employers–just drop by the Anokiiwin Job Connect office at 401 Mowat Ave.
