Western Regional Meeting
Friday January 23, 2009
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
1. Present:
Stan Drobnich (St. Catherines Help Centre), Bill McDougall (YMCA Owen Sound), Nancy McQuillan (London Employment Help Centre), Tom Crouch (London Employment Help Centre), Paul Hubert (Pathways Skill Development), Vicki Mayer (ATN), Bill Pilgrim (Quad County Support Services), Jennifer Lee (Quest Centre), Robert Collins (Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes), Stephane Rioux (YMCA of Niagara), Deb Hotchkiss (Partners in Employment), Liz Robb (Hutton House), Kate Archer (ONESTEP), and Rob Linkiewicz (ONESTEP).
2. Member Updates:
· Stan Drobnich, St. Catherines Help Centre:
o Waiting for information from the Ministry.
· Bill McDougall, YMCA Owen Sound:
o Waiting for information from the Ministry.
· Nancy McQuillan, London Employment Help Centre:
o 22 Jobfinding clubs a year (21 years).
o New additional location at Northland Mall, London Ontario.
o Run a very active advocacy centre.
o Very busy advocating for individuals being cut off from EI funding while taking training.
· Tom Crouch, London Employment Help Centre:
o Northland Mall location heavily trafficked.
· Paul Hubert, Pathways Skill Development:
o Have had to shut down EI and Youth Services because Ontario Works will not support it.
o Training programs need to be certified.
· Vicki Mayer, ATN:
o 3 streams of service:
§ Employment, Academic, and Quality of Life.
o MTCU and EO resources.
o Been very busy since Christmas.
· Bill Pilgram, Quad County Support Services:
o Very busy since Christmas.
· Jennifer Lee, Quest Centre:
o EAS Contract.
o Losing their main employer as employer is closing.
o Clients are an older population.
o Lots of couples visiting the centre.
§ Many do not have high school education.
· Robert Collins, Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes:
o Very busy.
· Stephane Rioux, YMCA of Niagara:
o Office in Welland has moved back to its previous location.
o Number of clients has increased.
o Some new team members have been added.
· Deb Hotchkiss, Partners in Employment:
o Number of clients that they would normally see in a month they have been seeing in a week since Christmas.
· Liz Robb, Hutton House:
o Higher level of competition in entry level jobs which is what employees with disabilities are competing for.
3. ONESTEP Updates:
A. Executive Director’s Report:
· Presented by Kate Archer, Manager of Organizational Solutions on behalf of Sandra Arsenault.
o See attached Executive Director’s Report.
B. Projects:
· Opportunities 2009:
o Professional development breakfast for Executive Directors with Angela Mondou on Tuesday April 28, 2009.
o Asking for sector workers to nominate their frontline working peers for the Award of Excellence which will be presented at the 10th Anniversary Gala Monday April 27, 2009.
o Post-Conference training:
§ Job Developers.
§ Ethics.
§ CEIS training.
o One keynote speaker booked so far:
§ Jim Carroll
· Performance Appraisal and Management Systems Project:
o Organizations that do not have HR systems implemented will learn how they can instil guidelines and appraisal systems.
o Currently interviewing HR specialists to work on this project.
o Tools should be ready by Summer or early Fall.
· CEIS training:
o Toronto.
o Ottawa.
o Woodstock (to be scheduled).
· Job Developer Training:
o Tuesday February 17, 2009:
§ Employment & Education Centre
§ Brockville, Ontario
ü Mukhtar Ahmadzai, Manager of Employer Solutions, is developing the structure of the workshop.
ü Interest in having one done in London at the next Regional meeting.
· EONDF proposals:
o Still waiting to hear back from the Ministry regarding approval.
4. Operations:
· Membership renewals:
o Rob Linkiewicz is working on the membership renewal packages and should have them sent out in March 2009.
Meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm.