In April, Conestoga campuses in Guelph, Waterloo and Cambridge will offer
a free preparatory skills program called 
Employment/Training
Readiness (E/TR), an eight-week daytime program.
Conestoga College is midwestern Ontario's most comprehensive post-secondary educational institution, serving all sectors of the population in meeting their needs and aspirations related to career education. Among Conestoga's goals is providing practical educational opportunities that give individuals the skills and confidence to enter or re-enter the job market, or to prepare for further, specialized career education.
Likewise, Ontario's Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities has created Employment Ontario, an employment and training network to serve as a one-stop shop for information on training services and programs of benefit to employers, employees, apprentices and job seekers: www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/tcu/etlanding.html.
Employment/Training Readiness is part of the Employment Ontario concept.
Participants in E/TR work individually and in groups to focus on assessing and enhancing skills in a number of areas: mathematics, communications, goal setting, educational/job plan development, problem solving strategies applicable to family, self, work and leisure situations, computer basics and even a two-week period of work shadow experience in actual employment settings.
Completion of the program can lead directly to a job search or to possible further education and training.
The program is open to applicants who are age 19 or older, whether or not they have a Grade 12 diploma, and who successfully complete a program suitability interview, but the enrolment capacity is limited.
Individual campuses are planning information sessions prior to the program start.
Interested persons may contact Conestoga College at 519-824-9390, ext.
347 (Guelph), 519-885-0300, ext. 243 (Waterloo) or 519-623-4890 (Cambridge).