Wednesday, November 4th 2009 HOLD THE DATE! ENSURE THAT EVERY CHILD PARTICIPATES IN THIS NATIONAL ONE-DAY EVENT Celebrating its 15th anniversary, Take Our Kids to Work™ is a one-day job-shadowing experience that is delivered across Canada. It’s a chance for students to connect what they are learning in school with what happens in the workplace. Students also have an opportunity to see how a parent or another adult spends his or her day. Take Our Kids to Work day starts young people thinking about the many choices available to them after high school.
Mark Your Calendar
Last year on Take Our Kids to Work™, hundreds of thousands of Grade nine students across the country spent the day at various workplaces. These students were able to gain insight on what it’s like in the working world, and begin considering their own career options. In our community alone, employers opened their doors and provided placements for over 4900 Grade nine students. Mark it on your calendar: November 4th!
Take Our Kids to Work™ November 4, 2009 Careerapalooza March 30, 2010 Partners in Education Breakfast May 6, 2010 Lifelong Learning Week— Adult Basic Education September 21-27, 2009 James North Art Crawl (Second Friday of each month) Canada Career Week November 1-7, 2009
Did you know... There is a Summer Jobs Service funded by the Ministry of Training, College, and Universities to support employment for students from April to August. This gives young people between the ages of 15-24 who plan to return to school in the fall direct access to summer jobs offered by participating employers.
There are incentives for employers who choose to participate! Participating employers receive a wage subsidy and access to students who are ready and willing to work in the summer.
For more information, please call (905) 575-2368 or email sjs@mohawkcollege.ca.
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The Speakers Bureau is an initiative that strives to educate and inspire elementary and secondary school students about education opportunities and career choices by inviting employers to speak to them about their careers. The Speakers Bureau motivates students to continue their education, consider various career opportunities and ways to reach their goals. Volunteer speakers can also benefit from the Speakers Bureau by highlighting their organization as employer of choice, and drawing more attention in their sector. There is also the ‘feel-good’ benefit of being an inspirational figure for youth, and making a positive impact on the community. Our role is to provide the link between the speaker and the classroom. As an educator, all you have to do is view our listing of available speakers and provide a date and location and we’ll handle the rest! This way, you can invite a variety of speakers from different career sectors to motivate your students. Easy! As an employer, we invite you to participate in our initiative. Our schools need you! Getting involved is as easy as getting in touch with the Industry-Education Council of Hamilton. For further information, feel free to contact us by email at speakersbureau@iechamilton.ca or via phone at 905.529.4483.
The Workplace Tours program is an initiative that has a unique way of inspiring and educating elementary and secondary school students about the variety of career sectors out there. The Workplace Tours program motivates students to enhance their career development by allowing them to see and learn first hand about different sectors, and observing operations and activities at local businesses. By experiencing how a workplace operates, students are inspired to consider a variety of career options and motivated to continue their education to reach their goals. Being able to observe activities on-location allows for students imaginations to flourish, as they can see clearly in front of them what they can accomplish. The Workplace Tours program strives to connect students with role models and mentors and identify the education or training needed for their desired occupation. As a teacher, you can join your students and watch them learn and get inspired! As an employer, we invite you to participate in our initiative. Our schools need you! Getting involved is as easy as getting in touch with the Industry-Education Council of Hamilton. For further information, please contact us by email at workplacetours@iechamilton.ca or via phone at 905-529-4483.
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March 10th, 2009 marked the day of the revamped Careerapalooza. As a fresh and interactive approach towards aiding the youth of Hamilton through career exploration, this year’s Careerapalooza evolved to be more than just a regular career expo and job fair. The innovation and creativity behind Careerapalooza attracted over 2500 youth, all eager to explore their future prospects. One of the many wonderful things about Careerapalooza is that its goal to assist Hamilton’s youth in exploring future opportunities is not limited to only students – all youth (ages 15-30) in or out of school are eagerly invited to attend. The secret ingredient behind this year’s Careerapalooza that made it stand out among past Careerapalooza events was mostly the creative new format. Careerapalooza 2009 was hands-on, interactive, interesting, and most importantly – fun. After all, the future should look exciting to youth instead of being a dull prospect. Among the many exhibitors representing a wide variety of career communities, there was also the unique approach of having presenters and workshops. One of them was Interview Idol in which students were tested and trained in how to handle job interviews. Youth were given the opportunity to interact with all exhibitors and presenters, and participate in workshops. By having such high levels of interaction teamed with enthusiasm and high energy, the youth of Hamilton were engaged and also enthusiastic about their future options. The next element in what made this year’s Careerapalooza so successful was the huge amount of participation from the community of Hamilton – all the exhibitors, presenters, media attention, volunteers, teachers, and of course, the youth. This is a wonderful thing because strong participation from the community only ensures more awareness being spread about the variety of career options out there, and more youth hopping on board to seek out their futures. This year’s Careerapalooza sent the message to the community that Hamilton is ready for business and the youth of Hamilton are eager and excited about their future. Next year? Careerapalooza will only get better. For 2010, we aim to have even more exhibitors and presenters and make them even more accessible to the youth. In partnership with the Youth Employment Network, we would also like to give a special thanks to the Careerapalooza Advisory Committee. For more information, please contact Beth Gibson at bethgibson@iechamilton.ca.
In partnership with the Youth Employment Network, The Industry-Education Council of Hamilton would like to thank the following sponsors of Careerapalooza:
Without you, Careerapalooza could not have been possible! Thanks again!
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Partners in Education Breakfast It seems fitting that Hamilton’s current economic issues were brought to light during the Partners in Education Breakfast. The theme of this year’s breakfast was focused on lifelong learning, in relation to our latest project, Rebound: Mature Workers Back in Action. Rebound was a one year research study, community consultation and report to determine the myths and realities surrounding the employment of mature workers. Paul Muller, the program manager of Rebound presented the findings of the project. He explained how the goal of the project was to discover how mature workers 45-plus could be assisted by the overall community to re-enter the workforce. The results of Rebound found it essential for mature workers to continue their education and strengthen computer and communication skills. Just like the slogan of this year’s breakfast stated, “Career changes and lifelong learning go hand-in-hand.” Two important speakers were present at the breakfast to provide empowering speeches. One was the Honourable John Milloy, the Minister of Training, Colleges, and University, who offered a solution for workers with Second Career, an Ontario government program designed to help workers who have been laid off to find new careers. Another speaker was Dr. Nancy Irwin, who offered hope while sharing inspirational stories from her book, YOU-TURN: Changing Direction in Midlife, featuring stories of real people over 40 who made significant changes in their lives. Dr. Irwin herself is no stranger to mid-life career changes having started out as an opera singer, then switching to become a stand-up comedian before choosing to pursue a doctorate in psychology. The motivational breakfast also included the traditional Excellence in Education Awards ceremony. The Educator Award recognizes local excellence in education. It is meant to celebrate the extraordinary educators who go truly above-and-beyond in educating our youth. The winners of this year’s Educator Awards were: Nancy Castura, St. Mary Catholic Secondary School Art Heidebrecht, McMaster University Stan Hunter, Orchard Park Secondary School Sarah Kondo, Adelaide Hoodless School
Professor Ray Louter, Redeemer University College Brian, Minaji, Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology Mark Mitchell, Hillfield Strathallan College
Heidy Peragine, Hillfield Strathallan College Dorothy Spence, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Congratulations again to the winners!
Teacher Spotlight We would just like to congratulate Vesna Pankerichan for winning the Award of Excellence in Cooperative education. This award is donated by Career/Life Skills resources and was presented at the Ontario Cooperative Education Association (OCEA) Annual Spring Conference. Vesna is a very deserving recipient of the award, and we are so happy for her! On that note, it should come as no surprise that Vesna was also awarded a $500 prize by the IndustryEducation Council of Hamilton for assisting with securing the most exhibitors at Careerapalooza 2009. Congratulations, Vesna on your amazing achievements!
As Pictured Above: Beth Gibson, Vesna Pankerichan
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McKinnon Hair Design Inc. has been an outstanding business in Hamilton for over 27 years. Chris and Andy McKinnon attribute their success to providing respect and the highest level of service possible to insure client satisfaction and guarantee their return business. Denise Vedell, their salon manager, has over 25 years of customer service behind her, thereby furthering the McKinnon standards of client relationship building by providing that “extra” effort to rise above the normal level of expectations. McKinnon Hair Design has been using ApprenticeSearch.com since around 2000, and regularly posts job openings for quality hairstylists. In the past year, they have signed on Sonja and Pavielyne, and share these successes with other business associates. They find the website is easy to use, time efficient, and one of the most valuable tools for quality job seekers in their field Since the salon is becoming even busier, they will use our pre-screening service to assist their search for those extraordinary employees. Denise feels that every employer should use this website as a major resource for finding the level of experienced stylists required for the job. Through respect and continual training of their employees paid for by the salon, McKinnon Hair Design retains them and this consistency of service provision insures the continuing success of this iconic Hamilton Salon.
As Pictured Above: Pavielyn, Denise Vedell
For more information, please contact Sharon or Lorraine at hamiltonadmin@apprenticesearch.com.
Student Spotlight We would like to thank Erica Manherz for her impressive contribution to Careerapalooza 2009. Erica went above and beyond by presenting us with a beautiful mural that transcended anything our imaginations could have conjured up. In March 2009, We approached Westdale Secondary School to enlist one of their Specialist High Skills Major Arts & Culture students to design a mural for our Careerapalooza event. Our request was simple… a modest banner with career communities labelled which would, in turn, be a place for students to sign their name. Almost immediately we were provided with a student’s name—Erica Manherz—and her interest in volunteering for this unique project. She had a rather tight deadline of one week to complete this task...did we mention that work was completed after school hours? In any event, the day prior to Careerapalooza we went to Westdale to pick up the mural. To our surprise and delight, Erica provided us with not only a place where students could sign their name, but grey and white paintings depicting each career community! Erica took a rather basic request and transformed this into a work of art! As mentioned above, Erica is enrolled in Westdale Secondary School’s Arts & Culture Special High Skills Major program. Her talent and initiative is a clear indicator that she has a bright future ahead. Thank you Erica! We are grateful for your time, effort, and talent put into the development of this amazing piece of art.
As Pictured Above: Erica Manherz
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Employer Spotlight George Kapetan-Georgiou is no stranger to being in the position of authority, and using discipline. The former army sergeant now works at Chris’ Garage, and has been taking in co-op students for the past 19 years. Some characteristics from his previous career just might have carried over to how he handles his co-op students, including features like perseverance and dedication with a vision in mind. He refuses to accept anything less than a job done well (and done right), but steadfastly holds onto even his uncooperative co-op students in his mission to train them right. And train them right, he does. George refuses to give up on his co-op students. Instead, he perseveres until he gets his message across. This technique obviously works for him – George hires the majority of his co-op students permanently and he has been doing it for 19 years. With his high standards for what he expects from his employees, he wouldn’t hire anyone less than ideal. In the fast-paced world we live in today where employees may seem almost disposable, students may benefit in unimaginable ways from his resolute faith in them and refusal to quit on them. His open-mindedness towards taking on co-op students may also be another way of handing these students a map to a different road they didn’t know existed. By offering these students an opportunity to experience co-op, it potentially offers them a better future. There is also the benefit, he finds, of being able to work with young kids and steer them in the right direction. If anything, it opens their eyes and helps them prepare for what could be ahead of them. He has found satisfaction in succeeding with co-op students, and helping out with his community. He also thinks it’s great to be able to challenge the youth to get them to meet their potential, while passing on his knowledge and training.
As Pictured Above: Tyler Baldwin, George Kapetan-Georgiou, Sean Phommavong, Selmir Hamzic
Follow George’s example and get involved today at
“It doesn’t cost anything but a few minutes of your time” George adds. Why not take on a co-op student?
Student Spotlights Nick, IEC co-op student Personally I felt I wasn’t getting enough of what I wanted from school. By taking on co-op, it opened up my eyes to what I can achieve. Co-op gave me full hands-on experience to the career sector of my choice. By doing so, I saved a lot of time and money. Co-op gave me the chance to decide whether or not it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Co-op gave me great experiential learning and experience. It’s great that I got to skip ahead and find out if the career I chose was right for me or not. In my opinion, more places should take on co-op students because it’s so beneficial for both the organization and the students.
Shannon, IEC co-op student I still remember my first day going to co-op, expecting to do very little and gain very little. It turned out I was completely wrong. Since the day I started as a co-op student, I have learned a huge amount of things. Thanks to my mentor and everyone else in the office, I now know how to work on so many new programs. It has also improved my confidence because this placement made me feel that I played an important part in all of their events. Before this placement, I would have never thought of going into the marketing industry or anything that has to do with a group. Now my horizons have been broadened and my choices in a career.
As pictured above: Nick
As pictured above: Shannon
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Skilled Trades Statistics Canada reported that in 2007, over a million Canadians worked in skilled trades. Since the decline in the 1990’s, employment growth has been an average of 2.2% a year which is actually higher than the non-trades growth of 2.0%. This evidence suggests that employment in the skilled trades is growing quite steadily, a trend that we all hope will continue. However, one might question if this trend can possibly continue in this economic recession we’re all currently facing. With the recession, building and construction projects could be decreased which could result in less need for skilled trades workers. Statistics Canada does show that in the recession of the 1990’s, the unemployment rate of skilled trades was particularly higher than for other occupations. It was only after the recession that the employment rate for skilled trades began to steadily climb. From this evidence, one can conclude that all the growth in skilled trades may only drop sharply in the near future. But wait! Evidence suggests that this time around, skilled trades occupations can survive – and possibly even thrive – during this economic downturn.
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Baby boomers are retiring, which leads to more openings in all areas of employment including skilled trades. More room for Canadians to fill in the spaces of skilled-trades occupations could offset the negative effects of this recession.
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The 2009 Ontario Budget invests $700 million over two years in new skills training and literacy initiatives and increases to existing programs. These measures are designed to respond quickly to the immediate challenges of the global economic slowdown while preparing the province's workforce for the new economy.
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Since 2001, the Ontario government has been investing in apprenticeship through the Apprenticeship Enhancement Fund and the Ontario Skills Training Enhancement Program to ensure apprenticeship growth. The government is investing $55 million over three years for infrastructure, and equipment at community colleges and training centres - so that apprentices and journeypersons can train in state-ofthe-art facilities.
It is important to work on fighting the pattern of the previous recession, and continue to grow our skilled trades sector! With all the hard work being put into evolving our skilled trades sector, it is obvious that skilled trades workers are quite important. It has also been stated by the government of Ontario that the government strongly believes that a strong and modern skilled trades sector is vital to Ontario’s economic prosperity.
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According to Statistics Canada, self-employment is a growing phenomenon amount tradespersons. In 1987, only 9% of trades workers were self-employed; by 2007 this increased to 15%.
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Statistics Canada shows that in 2007, employees in the trades averaged $22.36 in hourly earnings which is 6% higher than $21.02 for other occupations. The highest earners were electricians ($25.26), crane operators ($24.61), and plumbers ($24.10).
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Statistics Canada also shows that there is an increasing number of females in trades occupations. There was an increase from 3.7% in 1996, to 28.9% in 2006.
As Pictured Above: HamiltonWentworth District School Board’s Technological Education Skills Contest, April 2009— Mohawk STARRT Centre
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Future Jobs In the May 2009, the Hamilton Training Advisory Board’s ‘Workforce Focus’ publication looked at promising occupations in the future, provincial trends, and local opportunities.
Recession Resistant Sectors A look at expanding sectors in Ontario from December 2007-2008:
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Ambulatory Health Care
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Nursing Residential Care
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Social assistance
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Food Services and Drinking Places
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Food and Beverage Wholesalers
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Food and Beverage Stores
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Building Material and Garden Equipment Dealers
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Health and Personal Care stores
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Construction of buildings, heavy and civil construction and specialty trade contractors
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Food manufacturing
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Miscellaneous Manufacturing (such as medical equipment, jewelry and silverware, sporting goods, and office supplies)
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Waste Management and Remediation Services
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Couriers and messengers
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Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (such as legal, accounting, architectural, engineering, computer systems, scientific R&D, and advertising)
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IEC Board of Directors BOARD EXECUTIVE Marcel Castura, Director, Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board Cheryl Jensen, VP, Technology, Apprenticeship and Corporate Training, Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology Tim McCabe, General Manager, Planning and Economic Development, City of Hamilton Beryl Roberto, Retired President and CEO, Teachers Credit Union Pat Rocco, Superintendent, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Mark Zega, Barrister and Solicitor, Evans, Philp
Nancy Di Gregorio, Superintendent, Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board Diane Dent, Professor, Faculty of French, Redeemer University College Lloyd Ferguson, Ward 12 City Councillor, City of Hamilton Art Heidebrecht, Executive Director, Bachelor of Technology Program, McMaster University Lily Lumsden, General Manager, YMCA Career Development and Learning Rick McClure, Training Manager, US Steel Canada Ron Rambarran, Vice Principal, Columbia International College Angelo Ricci, Manager, Bank of Montreal
DIRECTORS Ron Bailey, Team Leader Human Resources, Professional Development, ArcelorMittal Dofasco Shawn Chamberlin, President, Light Computer Centre
Chris Spence, Director of Education, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Louise Taylor Green, Vice President, Human Resources and Organization Development, Hamilton Health Sciences
Special thanks to our valuable sponsors: ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc. CHML Radio City of Hamilton
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology Ontario Ministry of Education
Columbia International College
Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities
Employment Ontario
Ontario Trillium Foundation
Hamilton Community Foundation
Redeemer University College
Hamilton Spectator
Service Canada Teachers Credit Union
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