tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-342853692009-06-26T15:26:46.289-04:00How policy affects women's training & employmentActewnoreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-23938373575013099272009-06-23T09:45:00.008-04:002009-06-26T15:26:29.901-04:00

Issues discussed at this meeting included the role of specific client groups in MTCU's proposed service delivery model for EO, the EO funding model, a call from the Service Delivery Advisory Group (SDAG) for MTCU to update employment agencies, and MTCU's overview of the provincial budget.A General Update:By early 2009 MTCU had hoped to announce the results of the October 2008 survey of service

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-86916409199799666152008-09-18T15:12:00.003-04:002008-09-18T15:22:32.533-04:00

Mary Cornish and Fay Faraday remind us that from today, September 17, to the end of the year, women are working for free. We are 71% of the way through the year, and a woman makes 71 cents to every dollar a man in equal work makes.Read their article on gender-based pay discrimination in the Toronto Star:http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/500415See ACTEW's resource, Women in the Canadian

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-40181144793055836572008-09-03T12:17:00.002-04:002008-09-03T12:38:57.540-04:00

The Service Delivery Advisory Group met with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities on Aug. 28. The Employment Service Performance Management System presented by MTCU sets out the "service quality dimensions of success" which weigh effectiveness and customer service heavily against efficiency/funded activity. The agency's capacity and contractual compliance are understood to be the

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-79581194631734027662008-07-25T10:36:00.004-04:002008-07-25T12:19:41.293-04:00

On July 24, ACTEW's Pamela Seto attended the launch of a new report on housing issues for mothers living in Canada. A lunch and learn based on the report took place at the YWCA Woodlawn site in Toronto. The panelists included the authors -- Emily Paradis, Sylvia Novac, Monica Sarty, and David Hulchanski – as well as women from the study and social service practitioners. There is a general

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-27338793968533168822008-07-21T15:33:00.004-04:002008-07-21T15:48:49.466-04:00

"It is so important to help individuals navigate the system because so many get lost and say, I have been passed on to 12 different agencies already and who else am I supposed to talk to?"ACTEW and the Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres (OAYEC) release their latest study: Advancing Referral Processes. Twenty-nine employment referral practitioners working in agencies serving women and

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-42257701920280946692008-07-08T17:21:00.004-04:002008-07-10T12:36:36.762-04:00

Paula Wansbrough attended the Service Delivery Advisory Group (SDAG) in-person meeting on June 19 and the continuation of this meeting in conference calls on July 4 and 10. A teleconference meeting of the SDAG community members only was also held on July 9. According to MTCU, there will be slide decks and other information on the issues outlined below on the EOPG web site in the coming

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-73862704033703843162008-07-07T15:22:00.004-04:002008-07-08T12:50:19.474-04:00

ACTEW made its submission to the Ministry of Labour Consultation on "Work through Temporary Help Agencies" on July 7. With one third of Ontario workers engaged in temporary work, the consultation is a timely and important event. Temporary work, as it is currently unfolds through some privately owned temporary help agencies in Ontario, does not advance women’s economic security, nor does it

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-51227927337928075232008-06-25T16:22:00.003-04:002008-07-01T07:34:59.037-04:00

A new study has been released by Street Health and ACTEW member agency Sistering documenting the brutal impact of homelessness on the lives of women in Toronto. Calling homelessness a "life-threatening" condition for women, the study reveals staggering rates of sexual assault among homeless women, and documents health impacts that significantly reduce life expectancy.Featured as the top story of

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-35540400194947030682008-06-13T07:01:00.004-04:002008-06-13T12:12:38.104-04:00

The Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT) conference ran May 27 and 28 in Guelph, Ontario. ACTEW attended the Saturday sessions. Highlights of the day included:CCWESTT's "Welcoming Women into Trades and Technology Workplace" workshops and resources for employers which was piloted with great success in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. Let's hope these

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-42754315338343638192008-05-28T15:26:00.003-04:002008-05-28T15:33:47.258-04:00

This is a reminder to service providers and other stakeholders that information on the new Second Career Strategy will be available on the Employment Ontario Partners’ Gateway site at www.eopg.ca by June 1, 2008. The Second Career Strategy (SCS) is designed to provide financial support to recently laid-off, unemployed workers, who require training in high-demand, high-skill occupations. SCS was

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-32829266932789430202008-05-05T15:58:00.003-04:002008-05-05T16:18:13.694-04:00

The Northern Ontario Women's Economic Development Conference took place April 29 and 30 in Thunder Bay. Organized by PARO, and sponsored by ACTEW among others, this event brought together entrepreneurs, community workers, academics and local government workers to look at a wide variety of issues related to northern women’s economic security.Highlights include:Women's stories of economic success:

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-8357528894488253532008-04-24T15:39:00.004-04:002008-04-24T16:10:06.951-04:00

Deanna Yerichuk and Paula Wansbrough attended the April 17 Employment Ontario Service Delivery Advisory Group (SDAG) meeting. The following items were discussed:Skills to Jobs Action PlanKevin French, Assistant Deputy Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities reviewed the Skills to Jobs initiative announced in the provincial budget earlier this month. SDAG community members had questions

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-54346104956543590852008-04-14T13:16:00.004-04:002008-04-15T11:07:30.145-04:00

Today, Deanna attended the provincial forum at Queen’s Park led by the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. Nearly 500 stakeholders attended, representing social services, municipal governments, health, labour, and people affected by poverty as the Network launched the 25 in 5 Declaration. The Network asks the provincial government for a plan to reduce Ontario poverty levels by 25% in 5 years

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-70364264382679105572008-04-14T12:32:00.003-04:002008-04-14T12:36:12.194-04:00

The Income Security Advocacy Centre has provided some information encouraging people who receive OW or ODSP and who have dependent children to ensure they file their tax return for 2007 before the end of April. This is because the new Ontario Child Benefit starts in July, and OW / ODSP rates are being changed to reflect the new benefit. People with children will only receive the Ontario Child

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-87270737623567313732008-04-03T14:00:00.004-04:002008-04-03T14:32:18.542-04:00

Two recent items pertaining to women in non-traditional occupations:The Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT) will have its 12th annual conference in Guelph, May 29-31. In keeping with this year's theme of "building on success", the event will highlight women’s contributions and build upon successful initiatives that have advanced women in science,

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-37318296651996248492008-04-01T11:31:00.002-04:002008-04-01T11:44:22.633-04:00

Newcomers are settling in the suburbs of Toronto, according to the latest Research Bulletin from the Centre for Urban and Community Studies (CUCS) at University of Toronto. Prior to 1970, immigrants mainly settled in the downtown core. Due to restrictive immigration policy, they were also very likely to be of European origin. However, by 2006, almost all new arrival were settling in the suburbs.

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-88826648712807247822008-03-31T13:56:00.003-04:002008-03-31T14:01:07.148-04:00

Women make up almost three-quarters of the students in private career colleges, according to, Survey of Canadian Career College Students, a new study by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. "Compared to post-secondary students at public colleges, students pursuing post-secondary studies at privately operated career colleges tend to be older, with a mean age of 29, and have a greater

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-63115470846115485742008-03-26T12:29:00.006-04:002008-03-27T14:12:53.185-04:00

Increasing skills is a central focus of the new provincial budget. The Skills to Jobs Action Plan announced Tuesday will see $1.5 billion invested in training over the next three years. With 70% of new jobs in the coming decade requiring post-secondary education, the money is on formal school-based training.Most relevant to the community-based training sector is the Second Career Strategy. The

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-52663277287410585412008-03-25T11:36:00.003-04:002008-03-25T11:52:20.314-04:00

Join ACTEW on Wednesday, April 2, as the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto hosts the release of a collaborative report analyzing the effects of 2004 changes to the HRSDC Call for Proposals process. The report documents the costs of the funding change to organizations, government, and clients, and provides recommendations for improving the funding relationship between government and

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-299473628145337422008-03-19T13:04:00.003-04:002008-03-19T13:28:31.802-04:00

On February 20th, ACTEW joined workers, clients and volunteers of community agencies serving immigrants and refugees in Toronto at a forum designed and held by the Advisory Committee of Access to Services for Socially Marginalized Immigrants and Refugees with the support of St. Christopher House. The event objectives were to name the issues for marginalized immigrants and refugees, particularly

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-53835314672590545982008-03-11T16:53:00.003-04:002008-03-11T17:06:58.149-04:00

ACTEW's Trish McNamara reports on the recent conference hosted by the Ontario Women's Directorate. Trish is Program Manager for Supporting Survivors/Supporting Employment, professional development workshops for employment practitioners that serve survivors of intimate partner abuse.Here's an update on the Ontario Women's Directorate Provincial Conference, "Communities Working Together to End

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-91027527555674338772008-03-07T11:11:00.004-05:002008-03-07T11:39:24.516-05:00

Our fact sheet on Canadian Women's Labour Patterns reveals that while women accounted for 70% of the employment increases in Canada in 2007, a woman still earns only 70% of what a man will in work of equal value. Two recently launched campaigns and a new report challenge this stubborn and glaring economic imbalance in Canadian society. The Canadian Labour Congress has launched "Equality: Once and

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-33065418293272256572008-03-04T15:19:00.003-05:002008-03-05T11:04:55.710-05:00

Non-governmental organizations have an important position in the United Nations, ACTEW learned when attending the Consultation Day hosted by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women on February 24. Their role is to monitor and evaluate the execution of governmental commitments made in statements to the UN. On Thursday February 28, the Government of Canada presented its statement to at the 52nd

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-50062764384051592932008-02-26T13:58:00.009-05:002008-02-27T09:39:34.504-05:00

ACTEW contributed expertise to a Canadian delegation for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women currently underway in New York City. The topic of this year's meeting is the economic success and the security of women. Eight delegates were hosted by FAFIA and funded by Status of Women Canada to attend. They will return to their agencies across Canada to engage in community development

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34285369.post-69295560006006568022008-02-26T13:39:00.004-05:002008-02-26T14:30:38.264-05:00

Women's organizations have developed innovative initiatives to respond to some of the policy and economic challenges for women in their communities. The Rural Women Take Action on Poverty Committee of Huron, Perth, Grey and Bruce Counties has recently partnered with Rural Women Making Change Research Alliance in a research and community development project aimed at unraveling the workings of

Actewnoreply@blogger.com0