New activities and new locations are now part of the operations of the School of Academic Support and Preparatory Studies of Conestoga College.
Job Connect, in which the College has participated for several years, is a service mainly for out-of-school, unemployed young people ages 16-24, to help them find and maintain employment. Conestoga operates Job Connect centres in Cambridge, Guelph, Fergus, Kitchener, Stratford and various Perth and Huron county locations.
Recent Job Connect initiatives include participation in the Shelldale Centre in Guelph. Located in the former Shelldale School, the centre is a neighbourhood-based mix of health, recreation, social, employment, educational and preventive supports for families needing such assistance. Job Connect staff regularly meets with local youth at the Shelldale Centre, aiding in referral to employment services.
Job Connect also participates in the Employer Recruitment Strategy Task Force (ERSTF), which works locally in support of promoting priority consideration of apprenticeship education. Also represented on the ERSTF are Skills Canada, the Apprenticeship Branch, the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), the Business Education Partnership, the Waterloo Wellington Training and Adjustment Board, and Human Resources Development Canada.
In addition to these activities, the School of Academic Support and Preparatory Studies now operates a new career development service, Career Employment Services (CES), located at 409 Weber St. W. in Kitchener. CES offers free career exploration services to unemployed members of the community referred by Northern Lights Vocational Service, an assessment and case management service also located at 409 Weber. CES provides its services through workshops or individual appointments with one of its facilitators. The service also assists EI-eligible clients in applying to Human Resources Development Canada in order to pursue training and/or training-related funding.
CES is funded by Human Resources Development Canada.
Job Connect is funded through the Workplace Preparation Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Conestoga College delivers Job Connect services to more than 1,100 individuals annually in the Waterloo-Wellington-Perth-Huron area. In Waterloo and Wellington, partner agencies include Lutherwood-CODA, Second Chance Employment Counselling and the John Howard Society of Waterloo-Wellington.
CONTACT: Sherri Tryon, 519-748-5220, ext. 3669, stryon@conestogac.on.ca