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By Brenda Burman

Georgian College Announces Adjustment Services Initiative in Dufferin County

Georgian College’s Centre for Career & Employment Services in Orangeville, Ontario has launched a new initiative to assist individuals who are laid off, or with notice of lay off, as a result of the downturn in manufacturing, tourism, agriculture and forestry. The affected workers will have access to the services they need to strengthen their ability to secure new employment in the town of Orangeville and surrounding area of Dufferin County.

By Robert Manolson

“The term ‘career’ is a continuous process of lifelong learning, growth and development in all aspects of our life, whether it’s paid and unpaid work, learning, and the range of roles we undertake in our life. ‘Careers’ involve the balance of work experiences, family, community involvement, interests and hobbies, training and education and more, much more.”

By Erin Leach

When I meet my fellow Career Practitioners and describe my job as an e-Facilitator, the most frequent response is, “So you really never meet with your clients face-to-face? How does that work?” Two years ago, when I started my online client work, I had similar questions. In past Career Practitioning roles I enjoyed greeting my clients in person with a smile and a handshake. When a client was in my office, their body language and expression told me almost as much as their words. As a new e-Facilitator I wondered how I could build a strong relationship with clients if they didn’t see me. Would I be able to pick up on subtle clues to my client’s thoughts and feelings through our online interactions? Now that I have assisted close to 200 online clients with their career concerns, this way of connecting with people has become natural and just as satisfying as my past face-to-face work.

From British Columbia

Don’t Miss the Internationally Trained Professionals (ITP) Conference

On June 11th, join ENET for the Internationally Trained Professionals (ITP) Conference in New Westminster, British Columbia.

Delegates will have the opportunity to:

• Share client success stories
• Discuss the challenges experienced by many internationally trained professionals
• Identify best practices for supporting these clients regarding settlement, credential recognition, developing Canadian job search skills, and skill upgrading
• Learn about changes in regulations that might help and/or hinder foreign workers

The Keynote Speaker for this year’s ITP conference is Naeem “Nick” Noorani who is the Founder and Publisher of the Canadian Immigrant Magazine and author of “Arrival Survival Canada”.

To find out more about the 2008 Internationally Trained Professionals Conference, visit www.enetsociety.com/itp_conference.cfm.

From Ontario

Job Fair at CNIB

by Carolyn MacDiarmid

Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work’s WESP employment program is holding its first annual job fair at CNIB in Toronto – 1929 Bayview Avenue, north of Eglinton. WESP (Workplace Essential Skills Partnership) is implemented in partnership with CNIB and is an employment program for job seekers with any type of disability living in the GTA. We are expecting over 20 employers at the event who are seeking to employ persons with disabilities (thus far 17 have confirmed). While we are targeting this stakeholder group, this event is open to the general working-age public. Have your clients join us on May 14 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. for job searching and fun. They will be eligible to win one of 12 fabulous door prizes!

Carolyn MacDiarmid has been employed with the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW) for 11 years. She has worked in various capacities, supporting the organization’s mission of promoting and supporting the meaningful and equitable employment of persons with disabilities. As a published author, she has written material that emphasizes the abilities and “employability” of job seekers with disabilities.

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By Khaled A. Islaih

Technology is changing the way we live and learn. Over the last few years, technology has induced many drastic changes in family, workplace and community life. For example, the number of people hired, and even married, through electronic channels rose significantly over the last few years. In our daily life, checking e-mail has become an important habit for most of us. In education, computer assisted learning is now considered as a fundamental requirement for better learning outcomes. Unlike traditional instruction, technology facilitates collective learning, breaks cognitive barriers between learners and educators and opens new learning pathways. It allows educators and learners to explore new learning pathways.

By Marc Verhoeve

There has been a great deal written in the past few years about professional networking. Because of the physical and time demands of today’s workplace, it is increasingly difficult to nurture a Face-to-Face (F2F) community. Therefore, the effective use of the Internet has provided a powerful vehicle for creating a virtual professional community. This article is an examination of the electronic backbone to an effective professional community.