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EMPLOYMENT ONTARIO |
Why set up a Partnership?In today's increasingly complex world, it is difficult to be all things to all people. It is better to do one or two things very well than to try to tackle everything. Literacy learners often come with a variety of needs, and it is not up to the literacy program to address all of those needs. Within the new Employment Ontario environment, a case management approach is strongly encouraged, and partnerships can be a very effective way to achieve this. Case management means that all of the agencies and programs involved with helping clients reach their goals work together, rather than independently of each other. This could mean, for example, that a literacy learner will work together with the staff at the literacy agency, Ontario Works, a career counselling agency and other support agencies to develop a comprehensive plan; together they work to help that learner achieve the goals identified in that plan. When agencies work independently of each other, clients can fall through cracks and not get the complete range of services available to them or from which they may need or benefit. When partnerships between agencies are established, however, it is more likely that learners will receive the full range of services that best meets their needs. In this way, each agency contributes its own strengths and services to best work with learners, and learners receive the best possible service, knowing they have a team working with them. This can lead to positive outcomes for the clients but also for the agencies working with them. Ultimately, the goal is that through Employment Ontario, clients will be able to walk into any Employment Ontario agency knowing that they will be referred to the most appropriate organization(s) to help them reach their goals. They will also know that each of these organizations is one part of a comprehensive system developed to meet their training and employment needs. Each partner organization will bring its own skills and expertise to achieve the outcome of learner goal achievement and success. Success ScenarioBob Smith walks into his local community employment counselling program. He knows that he would like to be an electrician, but he has not finished high school. He has had this goal for a number of years, but he had to go to work at a young age and has not been able to pursue it. Now he is determined to do so. The employment counsellor meets with Bob for an initial assessment. Bob has some trouble with parts of the assessment, so he is referred to a literacy agency for an in-depth literacy assessment which shows that Bob has some skills in the LBS Level 2 range and some skills in the Level 3 range. The literacy agency recommends that Bob spend a year upgrading his basic skills so that he can attend college and complete the Academic and Career Entrance (ACE) Program, after which he can enrol as an apprentice. The employment counsellor reviews options and timelines with the literacy agency and the college and also contacts the Apprenticeship office to gather the information that she needs to help Bob develop his learning and training plan accordingly. |
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CLO gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by the Ontario Government under Employment Ontario and the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES) and the technical support provided by the National Adult Literacy Database in developing this web site.
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