This Month's Topics

VOL.27,September 2006

This month's topics:

Labour Market News

1. Labour Market News

2. Immigrants

3. Women/Minority Communities

4. Youth

5. Education

6. Other News

Events

7. Seminars, Lectures and Workshops

8. Resources

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Toronto Training Board Highlights

Skills, Jobs and Immigrants:

Who's Working?What's Working,

Date & Time:October 12, 2006 (4:30-7:30) & October 13, 2006 (9:00-4:30)

Venue: Hart House, University of Toronto

What innovative approaches are effectively integrating immigrants into the Canadian labour force?

If you are interested in participating in a critical discussion about current policy and practice related to this issue you should not miss this conference.

Trade unions, the community sector, business representatives and academic leaders will be discussing this very issue using an equity framework!

Registration is available on line:

Among Conference Speakers

Honorable Mike Colle, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Honorable Mayor, David Miller (TBC)

John Cartwright, President, TorontoYork Region Labour Council

Naomi Alboim, Queen's University

Karl Flecker, Canadian Labour Congress

Jose La Luz, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

Francisco Rico-Martinez, FCJ Refugee Centre

Armine Yalnizyan, Research Director, Toronto Community Social Planning Council

Kay Blair, Executive Director, MicroSkills

For a detailed program please visit our web site

Organized by: The Centre for the Study of Education and Work (CSEW), OISE/UT and The Toronto Training Board (TTB) with generous support from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and sponsorship from the Work and Learning Knowledge Centre of the Canadian Council on Learning

Several other organizations are involved in its planning; OCASI, the Canadian Labour Congress, United Steelworkers, the Canadian Institute for Recognizing Learning, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and the Ontario Nurses Association.

Toronto Training Board 8th Annual General Meeting

You are cordially invited to join us for the 8th Annual General Meeting

The Toronto Training Board will be hosting the opening reception of the Conference:

"Skills, Jobs and Immigrants: Who's Working? What's Working?

Date: October 12 & 13, 2006

Location: Hart House, University of Toronto
7 Hart House Circle
Toronto, Ontario

Reception: 4:30 - 5:30

For more information click here

Registration is available online at

"Apprenticeships & Trades" Information Fair

Date: Thursday, November 2, 2006

Venue: Elmbank Community Centre, 10 Rampart Road

(off Martin Grove, between Finch and John Garland)

Time: 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

Through information displays and panel discussions, the fair will focus on the "who", "where" and "how" of apprenticeships and trades, and will provide comprehensive information on how to get into apprenticeships and trades, prospects and successes.

The "Apprenticeships and Trades" Fair is the second of a series of 4 information fairs that the TTB is organizing with MicroSkills Development Centre, Completing the Circle, North Etobicoke Revitalization Project, Rexdale Community Health Centre, Somali Youth Employment Partnership and YMCA Rexdale Youth Resource Centre. The City of Toronto's Rexdale Neighbourhood Action Team is a main sponsor of the fair.

The themes of the third and fourth fairs will respectively be self-employment, entrepreneurships and internationally trained professionals. The overall goal of these fairs is to generate and increase awareness among job seeking residents of the services and programs that are available in the local community.

1. Labour Market News

Labour Force Survey

Statistics Canada

September 8, 2006

Employment was little changed for the third consecutive month in August, marking the longest stretch without gains since the end of2001. The unemployment rate edged up0.1percentage points to6.5%, still among the lowest in30years. The pause in employment growth over the last three months follows a period of very strong gains.

So far this year, employment is up194,000(+1.2%), due entirely to increases in full time. In August, full-time work jumped47,000, but was more than offset by losses in part time (-63,000), especially for adult women and youth aged15to24years. Employment gains among adult women so far this year (+2.1%) have exceeded that for adult men (+0.6%).

The goods-producing industries have continued to be affected by waning foreign demand. Manufacturing employment declined in August, bringing losses to87,000since the beginning of2006.

Employment in goods-producing industries weakens

Manufacturing has been shedding workers since2002, with August marking the lowest level of employment for this industry since March1998. Since the start of2006, manufacturing declines have been widespread, with the largest decreases in food and motor vehicle and parts manufacturing.

While manufacturing losses have affected men and women equally, women have fared better with the expansion of the service sector so far this year. The latest gross domestic product estimates for the second quarter of2006indicate continued strength in the service industries and weakening in the goods industries.

Job Prospects Expected To Be Strongest In Construction Sector: Manpower Survey

Canada Yahoo News

September 16, 2006

Fourth-quarter job prospects are robust and are expected to be strongest in the construction sector, a Manpower Inc. survey suggests.

The survey of more than 1,700 Canadian employers found that 26 per cent plan to increase their payrolls while eight per cent anticipate cutbacks for a "net employment outlook" of plus 18 per cent. 63 per cent of those polled expected no changes and three per cent were unsure of their staffing intentions.

The survey "indicates that the solid hiring activity seen in the third quarter will continue," Lori Rogers, vice-president of operations for Manpower Canada, said in a release.

"The good news for job-seekers is that employers are telling us that over the next three months they will continue to add to their payrolls at a slightly better rate as in the preceding period."

Canada's Talent Pipeline Dries Up-Energy Sector Hit by Severe Labour Shortage: Deloitte Survey

While majority of organizations confirmed the talent shortage already cripples productivity and impacts production, only 18% have strategies in place to face the challenge

CCN Matthews

August 29, 2006

Canada's energy and resources sector is in a labour "pinch" that is expected to deepen in the coming years, reveals a Deloitte survey released today. According to the survey findings, a vast majority of respondents (80%) confirmed that talent shortage has limited the productivity and efficiency of their organizations, and more than half (55%) acknowledged the lack of skilled workers has impacted production requirements and customer demand. The 2006 Energy and Resources Talent Pulse Survey conducted by Deloitte, with the support of the Energy Council of Canada included 55 respondents from Canadian oil and gas, utilities and mining companies.

Working To Make A Change

Hotel Workers Clamour For Training
See Opportunity To Push Past Poverty

Toronto Star

Rita Daly

September18, 2006

Workers in the hotel industry are organizing collectively. Against the backdrop of an escalating hotel `bed war,' employees are mobilizing across North America for better wages and working conditions. It's a union movement that harkens back to the 17-year American garment workers' struggle depicted in the 1979 Oscar-winning film Norma Rae.

Most hotel workers are immigrant, largely Asian or Latino. The majority are women. The median wage in a Toronto-area hotel is $26,000 a year, close to $12,000 below Statistics Canada's low-income cut-off for a family of four.

Ask Why: Two Jobs, Almost Invisible

After 13 Years In Canada, She Still Can't Afford To Buy A Sofa

650,000 Other Working Canadians Struggle Just Like Her

Toronto Star

Rita Daly

September16, 2006

An alarming number of Ontario's working poor - 37 per cent - work in part-time, casual or temporary jobs, or are misclassified as "self-employed," denying them basic employment rights many Canadians take for granted. Thousands are at the mercy of "temp" agencies that enable employers to hire and fire workers at will.

Despite working long and hard hours, the federal analysis done for Human Resources and Social Development Canada found they are, on average, as poor as people on welfare. Social workers, academics and some politicians are sounding the alarm: Without major reforms, we will all soon pay for the ever-widening gap between the prosperous and the poor.Largely immigrants, visible minorities and single parents, the working poor are called "the semi-invisible." We barely notice them. And when the jobs disappear, so do they.

Welfare Programs Fail The Neediest

Toronto Star

August28, 2006

Do you belong to a typical middle-income family of four in Ontario? Then you took in about $80,000 last year. And you no doubt had to make some difficult lifestyle choices. Maybe between investing in a new car or splurging on a vacation. Or buying a plasma TV or braces for one of the kids.

Now try to imagine what your life would have been like trying to make ends meet on less than a quarter of your income. How would you have housed, fed and clothed your family and provided all the other necessities of life on just $19,302? That's just half the poverty line. Yet that is what an Ontario couple with two children living on welfare receives in benefits. Social assistance in this province has never been adequate. And it has declined for 13 years, eroded by inflation.

2. Immigrants

Tough Start Leads To Right Job Choice

Metro News

Mark Toljagic

August 23, 2006

Syed Ahmed knows how tempting it is for immigrants to arrive in Canada and head straight for the mall.

"People spend a lot of money on material goods without thinking," says Ahmed, 44. He recommends new arrivals resist the urge to spend and instead save for the future.

Ahmed knows of what he speaks. Working for Canadian Newcomer magazine, he deals with immigrants daily and shakes his head when he hears their unhappy stories of unemployment and debt.

Ahmed recalls his own experience when he arrived here in 1998 with his wife.

"I spent too much money and ended up taking a factory job to pay the bills," he says.

"Prepare yourself for two years of tough times," he says.

A Leg Up For Skilled Newcomers

Goal Of Courses Is To 'Canadianize' Workers And Help Them Land Jobs In The Fields They Trained In

The Globe And Mail

Laura Ramsay

26 September 2006

Mohammad Yaser's story is a familiar tale of immigrant employment woe.

Certified as a civil engineer in his native Pakistan, Mr. Yaser worked for six years there as a manager responsible for pricing and sourcing supplies and estimating job costs for a large construction company.

But since immigrating to Toronto in January, 2004, the married father of two young children has been working as a security guard at a warehouse, unable to leverage his international education and work experience into a construction management job in Canada. "The problem seems to be that I have no Canadian education or experience," he says.

Immigration No Cure for Population Aging: C.D. Howe Institute

Canada News Wire

September 26, 2006

Contrary to a widespread perception, immigration policy can do little to help Canada meet the public policy challenges posed by rapid population aging, according to a study from the C.D. Howe Institute. Although there are many reasons for Canadians to welcome more immigrants, the study argues, immigration on its own can do little to alleviate the likely consequences of aging on the age profile of the population and on government finances. The Backgrounder, "No Elixir of Youth: Immigration Cannot Keep Canada Young," is written by Yvan Guillemette, Policy Analyst, and William Robson, President and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute.

Read report

3 . Women/ Aboriginals/ Minority Communities

Don't Just Ask Why, Ask Who

Statistics Show That Visible Minorities Are Most Likely To Be Poor In Canada, By

Toronto Star

Avvy Go

September21, 2006

Poverty does not strike anyone of us at random, nor are all Canadians equally likely to be hit by it. Statistics don't lie, and the tale they tell is disturbing.

The fact is, if you are a person of colour living in Toronto, you are three times more likely to live in poverty than a white person.

Just ask scholars like Ryerson professor Grace Edward Galabuzi or professor Michael Ornstein at YorkUniversity. They could tell you that there is a large income gap between members of racialized communities and the rest of the population.

Small Loans Help Women Get A Start

Toronto Star

Amy Snook

September23, 2006

For some of the 1.2 billion people in the world living on less than $1 a day, small business loans of less than $100 are starting to build stronger families, communities and local economic stability. Micro-credit is the provision of small business loans, sometimes as little as $3, usually given to women in the developing world. Micro-loans enable them to start or expand a business that will generate income to feed their families.

The first of the UN's Millennium Development Goals is to reduce by half the proportion of people who live on $1 a day or less by 2015. Micro-credit loans can play an integral part in attaining this.

4.Youth

Police Service And Province Mark Youth Achievement

Youth >From Toronto And Surrounding Communities Gained Valuable Job And

Life Skills

Ministry of Children and Youth Services

News Release

September 1, 2006

One hundred youth from communities across Toronto have gained valuable skills and important life experience thanks to a joint provincial and Toronto Police Service (TPS) youth employment initiative, said Minister of Children and Youth Services Mary Anne Chambers and Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair.

"Youth in Policing has been a wonderful opportunity to acquire new skills and build relationships while earning some money over the summer," said

Chambers. "The Youth in Policing Initiative had a 100 per cent completion rate and, just as important, these young people acquired a foundation on which toachieve future employment and career ambitions."

More Young People Finding A Future In Skilled Trades

Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

News Release

September 21, 2006

The Ontario government is on track to meet its target for apprenticeship growth, Chris Bentley, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities announced today."People need fulfilling careers and Ontario needs a skilled workforce,"Bentley said. "That's why the McGuinty government is helping more people gainaccess to apprenticeship training."The government has committed to increasing the number of new apprenticeship registrations to 26,000 annually in 2007-08. Last year, there were 21,489 new apprenticeship registrations, exceeding our interim target for 2005-2006.

Trading Up To A Better Future

Toronto Star

Carol Goar

September4, 2006

Call it reverse brainwashing. A team of young activists will fan out to schools across Ontario to encourage bright, ambitious students to consider a career in the skilled trades.

They'll be working against years of parental conditioning; efforts by all levels of government to steer young people toward university and college; and kids' own perceptions that jobs in the trades are dirty, boring and low-paying.

"Our mandate is to promote skilled work as a first-choice career option," said Barry Harrison, 26, provincial associate program manager of Skills Canada, the non-profit organization behind this initiative. "Our message to students is that they don't have to follow the crowd, they don't have to take the academic route."

5. Education

Increased Support For The Pathways To Education Program To Help Students Become The First In Their Family To Obtain A Postsecondary Education

Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

News Release

September 8, 2006

The Ontario government is investing in the Pathways to Education Program to help students become the first in their family to attend college or university or become an apprentice, Chris Bentley, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, announced today.

"The Pathways to Education Program in RegentPark has built an excellent track record. Our new investment will enable them to reach first generation students in other communities, giving more youth the opportunity to achieve success at college, university,

or in the skilled trades" said Bentley.

Ontario Students Win With Unprecedented, Multi-Year Investment In Postsecondary Education

McGuinty Government Providing $4 Billion In Funding To Colleges And Universities This Year To Improve Access And Quality

Office of the Premier Ontario

News Release

September 7, 2006

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty today announced unprecedented investments in postsecondary education that will enable colleges and universities to plan for the future and provide students with greater access to a high-quality education.For the first time, the McGuinty government is providing a three-year

funding allocation to colleges and universities, with an historic investment of $4 billion this year, rising to $4.3 billion by 2008-09.

Read News Release

TDSB Launches Initiative To Support Learning In Inner-City Schools

First Three Of Seven Model Schools For Inner Cities Open

Canadian News Wire

September 12, 2006

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) today launched a dynamic and innovative program to better support inner-city students in their quest to succeed in school. The Model Schools for Inner Cities Initiative was launched simultaneously at the first three participating schools where extra staff, counsellors, community outreach workers and other resources are available to students living in circumstances of poverty. These resources are designed and co-ordinated to support students' desire and ability to learn and achieve their full potential in school.