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ACTEW Update

Service Delivery Advisory Group

ACTEW participated in the Service Delivery Advisory Group (SDAG) meeting with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities on August 18. Assistant Deputy Minister Laurie LeBlanc made the long-awaited announcement that the implementation of Employment Ontario Employment Services will likely begin this fall. Other issues discussed included the employment services funding model, literacy and basic skills update and the Second Career Strategy.
> more: The ACTEW Blog

ACTEW Focus Groups on Employment Ontario

Prior to the SDAG meeting, ACTEW conducted teleconference focus groups with employment and training agencies to explore the impact of Employment Ontario on service delivery and clients. The role of women-specific services in Employment Ontario, the lengthy period of uncertainty, and a need for clear, consistent information were key issues.
> more: The ACTEW blog

The Career Practitioner's Toolkit on Violence Against Women

This toolkit, available in Fall 2009, will aid employment service providers as they support job-seeking women. The project is builds on the success of earlier ACTEW projects, namely Moving on to Success and Supporting Survivors, Supporting Employment, and is funded by the Ontario Women's Directorate.
> more: ACTEW's Toolkit

Status of Women Call for Proposals

The Women's Community Fund of the Women's Program, SWC, is open to eligible not-for-profit and for-profit organizations to carry out projects at the local, regional, provincial/territorial and national levels. Improving women's and girls' economic security and prosperity is one of the three priorities. Deadline: September 30
> more: Status of Women

Employment Drops for Women and Youth

Statistics Canada reports low employment rates for women and youth for the month of July. July's unemployment rate for full-time students returning to school in the fall was 20.9%, the highest July unemployment rate for students since comparable data became available in 1977. Women aged 25 to 54 saw a 2.2% decline in employment from June 2009, a decline that was predicted as layoffs ripple into the service sectors.
> more: Statistics Canada
> more on the impact of the recession on worker populations: ACTEW's Summer InFocus Policy Bulletin

The Gender Training Barrier

Barriers to Training Access, a new study from Statistics Canada, finds that women in low wage work, non-unionized positions and/or those who are less educated are less likely than their male peers to receive on-the-job training from employers. However, women with these characteristics are also twice as likely to accept training opportunities offered by their employers than their male peers.
> more: Statistics Canada

Events

Evaluation of LMDA Implementation

Agencies and individuals participated in an intervention in the early stage of the LMDA implementation are encouraged to participate in an evaluation undertaken on behalf of MTCU and Service Canada. This is an opportunity to provide MTCU with feedback on the implementation that has lead to Employment Ontario, including successful activities and areas for improvement.
> more: The ACTEW Blog

Understanding and Responding to Woman Abuse in Immigrant and Refugee Communities: eLearning for Settlement Workers

This free online training is presented by OCASI. The project will also develop an Ontario-wide online community practice made up of service providers and practitioners committed to the issue. Sign up now for this training -- the first session is already filled.
> more: OCASI

Women's Economic Security in Sudbury and South-West Ontario

Two recent reports look at women's situations in Ontario communities. In Exploring Newcomer Settlement and Integration Supports in Brantford, and Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk Counties the one issue newcomers and service providers agree upon was the importance of specialized programs for immigrant women. A Social Profile of Greater Sudbury uncovered an increasing gender wage gap in the community, with women in some sectors making one-quarter to one-third of men's earnings.
> more: The ACTEW Blog

Adjusting the Balance: Fixing Canada's Economic Immigration Policies

Current immigration policies represent short-term fixes that will not serve Canada well in the future, states a new report by Naomi Alboim for the Maytree Foundation. In 2008, 247,202 permanent residents entered Canada, a 5.7% decline, compared with 272,520 temporary entrants, a 37.6% increase.
> more: full report
> more: fact sheet

Behind the Unemployment Numbers

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives analyses Canada's unemployment rates noting typical recessionary trends and differences from other downturns, such as increases in older female workers and dramatic losses for men. The report offers predictions and asks hard questions about Canada's economic future.
> more: Behind the Numbers