Toronto Training Board & The Youth Employment Partnerships Workshop Series
The TTB and the Youth Employment Partnerships held another successful event. Over 40 job developers attended the breakfast session on November 20th to learn about Apprenticeships, The Trades and Occupations. The speakers, Jay Peterson from the Central Ontario Association of Building Trades, Cristina Selva from the Carpenters Local 27 Joint Training Centre and Rolf Priesnitz, Director of Apprenticeship at George Brown College all discussed the advantages and obstacles of careers in the trades. The next session, on Working with Newcomer Youth, is on January 15th.
Trends, Opportunities and Priorities Report, 2008
Trends, Opportunities and Priorities Report, 2008 will be available in January. The TTB will be sending out copies of the report to all those who participated in our consultations and the online survey. Shortly after you receive the report, you will also receive a TOP survey. All local boards are tracking the use and application of the TOP reports. The TTB hopes you will help us by filling out and returning the survey. The survey will be accessible online as well as in hard copy.
Labour
Market News
The Daily
Statistics Canada
November 2, 2007
After slow growth throughout most of 2007, employment increased strongly in Ontario for the second consecutive month, up 32,000 in October, mainly in part time work. So far in 2007, employment in Ontario has risen an estimated 1.7%, still below the national average of 2.1%. October's employment growth in Ontario was mainly in public administration and "other services". Public administration added an estimated 20,000 workers in October, all in Ontario.
United Way
November 26, 2007
Despite economic prosperity, high employment and strong job growth Toronto’s family poverty rate is at 28.8 per cent, compared with 19.5 per cent across Canada
The number of low-income families in Toronto continues to grow at an alarming rate, opening up an ever-widening gap with families in the rest of Canada, according to a research study released today by United Way of Greater Toronto. The study reports on a number of startling symptoms demonstrating the persistent growth of poverty in the city. These include signs of growing debt such as insolvencies, rising eviction applications, and a rapid expansion of quick-fix money solutions targeting low-income neighbourhoods across the city.
Losing Ground: The Persistent Growth Of Family Poverty In Canada's Largest City focuses on families with children 17 years of age and under. The report documents how Toronto families are faring financially compared to their counterparts in areas surrounding Toronto, in the province, and across Canada. The research is a follow up to Decade of Decline, the United Way study that documented the decline in household incomes in Toronto in the 1990s.
Toronto Region Research Alliance
News Release
November 6, 2007
For all its strengths, the Toronto Region's innovation economy is not performing up to competitor regions, according to the first annual report card on the health of the area's innovation performance. "The 2007 Annual Toronto Region Innovation Gauge", published by the Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRRA), adds to the growing number of organizations speaking out on the important issues of prosperity and competitiveness in this region and across Canada. A strong innovation and research-intensive economy translates into economic prosperity and high value jobs in the future. The report examines the region's relative standing among the 10 Leading Technology States (LTS) in the United States. The Toronto Region encompasses Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Peel, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington, and York.
Toronto Star
November 19, 2007
Why do newcomers to Canada not fare as well in the job market as they have in the past? One group representing Ontario's African, Chinese, Hispanic, South Asian and Southeast Asian communities thinks the answer has a lot to do with race and has launched a Colour of Poverty Campaign to raise awareness of the issue. Central to their argument is the fact visible minorities are experiencing a disproportionately high level of poverty. In Toronto, they are three times more likely to be poor than others, the group says, because of the barriers and challenges they face in finding and keeping jobs.
Toronto Star
Kristin Rushowy
Louise Brown
November 28, 2007
Staff at the Toronto District School Board reflect the city's workforce, but visible minorities are under- represented compared to the city as a whole. A survey of board employees – principals, school secretaries, teachers and caretakers – in June of 2006, found that overall the board is almost as diverse as the pool of job applicants, but there are a few areas of concern. Women, for instance, are under-represented among caretakers and skilled trades and disabled persons are under-represented in teaching. As well, aboriginals and blacks are under-represented in senior management. But when measured against the city's population, the report by an independent consultant suggests the board "may wish to focus some of its longer term diversity and employment equity efforts" on recruiting staff from such racial groups as East and South Asians, black Africans and Middle Eastern peoples.
Youth
Statistics Canada
The Daily
November 20, 2007
Four out of every five young people whose major transitions in life were tracked over a six-year period had undertaken some form of postsecondary education by the time they reached their mid-twenties, according to a new study. As of December 2005, 79% of the young people who participated in the longitudinal Youth in Transition Survey, cycle 4, had gone to a postsecondary institution, such as a college, university or other type of institution. This was a vast improvement from the outset of the study in December 1999. The study identified a wide variety of characteristics that distinguished youth who undertook postsecondary education from those who did not, or those who dropped out. These included demographic and family characteristics, high school engagement, academic performance and first-year postsecondary experiences.
Women
Toronto Star
San Grewal
November 3, 2007
A Statistics Canada recent report "Economic Integration of Immigrants' Children" highlights the disparity between second-generation men and women. The report finds that women are outperforming their male counterparts academically and economically by a wide margin. The report indicates that delayed marriage and child rearing, as well as better access to high-paying jobs in urban areas may contribute to the comparative success of second-generation women.
Education
Colleges Ontario
News Release
November 27, 2007
Ontario's 24 colleges have commissioned the most comprehensive research study ever conducted into the attitudes of high school students who won't be pursuing any postsecondary education after high school. Ontario needs to understand why so many people are not fulfilling their potential. Postsecondary education and training is becoming a necessity in today's workplace, yet one-third of Ontario citizens ages 25 to 34 have only a high school education, or less. The study will seek to determine the characteristics of those secondary school students who do not proceed to postsecondary education.
Canadian Council On Learning
News Release
November 26, 2007
Survey of Canadian Attitudes Toward Learning finds 1 in 3 parents has hired a tutor; majority who choose immersion do so to improve children’s job prospects
While the majority of Canadian parents say they are satisfied with the education system, a new survey released today by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) reveals that many think schools are not doing enough to prepare their children for the realities of the workplace.
These initial findings from CCL’s second annual Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward Learning (SCAL), which highlights perceptions about structured learning, suggest that parents are increasingly involved in doing whatever they can to position their children in the best possible way for success in their working lives.The large-scale survey of more than 5,000 Canadians shows that 33% of parents have hired a tutor for their child, even though a majority of them have children with an A or B average.
Other
News
Metro
November 26, 2007
More potential employees today are taking time during the job interview to inquire about work/life balance options, and businesses are responding accordingly, suggests a recent survey by Robert Half Finance & Accounting recruitment firm.
More than half (57 per cent) of chief financial officers (CFOs) said job candidates are more likely to ask about work/life balance programs when meeting with prospective employers than they were five years ago, and 68 per cent of financial executives reported offering accounting staff some form of alternative scheduling arrangements. The most common were flexible hours, part-time work and job-sharing arrangements.
Diversitycareers.ca
News Release
November 1, 2007
With workplace diversity becoming a critical factor in Canada's
future, two online services have joined forces in providing timely
information and recruitment opportunities for employers and job seekers. The websites, www.diversitycareers.ca and www.diversityintheworkplace.ca were developed in response to Canada's rapidly-growing and changing labour force, including skilled immigrants and visible minorities, aboriginal Canadians, people with disabilities and women, along with the country's mature workforce.
"There's currently a need for a diversity job board that provides
access to those groups, with information on where employment
opportunities exist that meet their skills and credentials," David
Solano of DiversityCareers.ca. The job portal is free to job seekers and refunds 10 percent of job-posting fees as a
donation to non-profit organizations.
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VOLUME 11
November, 2007
TTB Higlights
- Labour Market News
- Immigrants
- Visible Minorities
- Youth
- Women
- Education
- Other News
TTB Resources
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