Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Developing Skills through Partnerships Symposium
I attended the Developing Skills through Partnerships Symposium, put on by the Ontario Network of Employment Skills Training Projects (ONESTEP) on Friday, November 24.
The Symposium brought stakeholders together in Toronto from various sectors, including trades, non-profit and public training sectors, and provincial and federal government representatives to discussing how we can best “build Ontario’s Workforce for the 21st Century through a Client-Centred Training and Employment System.”
Honorable Chris Bentley, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, opened the conference with a rousing speech, noting that only 30% of people in Ontario qualify for EI and therefore only 30% can access programs funded through EI.
He called for the federal government to honour the LMPA so that Ontario can better serve people who do not qualify for EI. Notably and quotably, Minister Bentley said this:
…to which ACTEW says “here here!”
Also worth mentioning, the conference featured presentations from the governments of Alberta and Quebec, provinces that have had LMDAs in place for close to ten years now.
In particular, I was impressed with the fact that the Quebec model has advisory committees for equity groups, and yes, actually has a women’s advisory committee. This is the first province that I’ve heard of that recognizes women’s specific employment and training issues through a formal group.
Does anyone know of other provinces that has a similar mechanism for women or other equity groups?
You might want to check out the web site www.skillsthroughpartnerships.ca, which will post the presentations given at the Symposium.
Deanna
The Symposium brought stakeholders together in Toronto from various sectors, including trades, non-profit and public training sectors, and provincial and federal government representatives to discussing how we can best “build Ontario’s Workforce for the 21st Century through a Client-Centred Training and Employment System.”
Honorable Chris Bentley, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, opened the conference with a rousing speech, noting that only 30% of people in Ontario qualify for EI and therefore only 30% can access programs funded through EI.
He called for the federal government to honour the LMPA so that Ontario can better serve people who do not qualify for EI. Notably and quotably, Minister Bentley said this:
Ontario will never reach its potential until everyone in Ontario reaches their potential.
…to which ACTEW says “here here!”
Also worth mentioning, the conference featured presentations from the governments of Alberta and Quebec, provinces that have had LMDAs in place for close to ten years now.
In particular, I was impressed with the fact that the Quebec model has advisory committees for equity groups, and yes, actually has a women’s advisory committee. This is the first province that I’ve heard of that recognizes women’s specific employment and training issues through a formal group.
Does anyone know of other provinces that has a similar mechanism for women or other equity groups?
You might want to check out the web site www.skillsthroughpartnerships.ca, which will post the presentations given at the Symposium.
Deanna
Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Meetings_and_Events, MTCU_Updates
