Vicinity Jobs: Overview of Employment Services from Seneca College in York Region and Toronto

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Overview of Employment Services from Seneca College in York Region and Toronto
Strac Ivanov, M.B.A., co-founder of the Vicinity Jobs Network

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Seneca College has programs that help unemployed individuals in York Region and the city of Toronto to find work. These programs are supported by Employment Ontario and most services are available at no cost. The same or similar programs are available in Durham Region from Durham College, and in Peel and Halton regions from Sheridan College.

Note that this article is not intended as an overview of all employment services available in York Region, but only provides an overview of the services delivered by Seneca College. Many of these services are also currently delivered by other organizations in York Region and Toronto. If you work with an organization delivering government-funded employment services and programs in one of the regions that we serve, and you would like us to create such profile article for you as well, please contact us at info@vicinityjobs.com and we will gladly do so - using information that you provide.

Also note that this article is up-to-date as of April 3, 2009, and the availability of services and program from different providers may change in the future.

For those looking for employment,

Seneca offers various services, including job development services and one-to-one employment coaching, as well as certain (government) programs of Employment Ontario for people who are looking for work or those looking to change their careers. General information about available services and current workshops schedules can be found at the following links:

For Richmond Hill: http://www.workforceready.ca/html/autogen.html?page_id=2&schild_id=30
For Scarborough: http://www.workforceready.ca/html/autogen.html?page_id=2&schild_id=32

Specific employment programs delivered by Seneca College include:

JobConnect: A provincial program that helps job seekers to prepare for and find a job, and also works with employers to help them find and hire the qualified people they need. If you are not receiving EI benefits, this service might help you find a job placement to get work experience, or on-the-job training. In some cases, it may also offer employers a financial incentive to hire you. Some general information is available here: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/tcu/apprentices/jobconnect.html . In York Region, the JobConnect program is available from Seneca, as well as from COSTI and JVS .

(note that in Durham Region, the Job Connect program is delivered by Durham College and others. More information can be found here: http://www.unemployedhelp.on.ca/clientjobconnect.htm . In Peel and Halton regions, the program is delivered by Sheridan College and others. More information here: http://www1.sheridaninstitute.ca/services/jobconnect/home.htm )
If you are unemployed and want to start your own business, assistance may be available to you under the Self-Employment Benefits (SEB) program. You should specifically explore this option if you have a viable business idea but haven't started your business yet, and you have some sort of a barrier to finding employment. You can contact your nearest Seneca location for more information (a link to the contact information page is available at the end of this article).Since in York Region the SEB program is also available from JobSkills, you can also contact them for more information (see link at the end of this article).

If you need to upgrade your skills and education,

you may qualify for one of Employment Ontario's skills enhancement programs. Seneca College can currently assist you with the following programs:

The Second Career Program provides career planning and financial support specially designed to help laid-off Ontarians to participate in long-term training for a new job. Under this program, financial help of up to $28,000 is available for qualifying unemployed individuals to pay for tuition and things like books, living expenses, help caring for dependents, travel, transportation, disability supports, and other living and training costs. More information about the program is available here: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/tcu/secondcareer/
Internationally Trained Professionals (for example, new immigrants with completed university education but no relevant Canadian experience) should explore the Employability Skills Training program for Internationally Trained Professionals. This free program consists of a series of Employability Workshops, Individual Coaching, Job Development and Mentoring Services to assist individuals who are not employed in their respected field. Seneca provides more information on this program at the following link: http://www.workforceready.ca/html/autogen.html?page_id=15&schild_id=47

Note that the same or similar programs are available from other organizations in York Region as well. These include COSTI, JobSkills, CCSYR and JVS. You can also contact them for information about these programs. See links at the end of this article for more information.

The Academic Upgrading Program is ideal for unemployed people who did not complete Grade 12, or those looking to gain basic computer skills. The program is free but admission into it requires taking a placement test. Seneca provides more information here: http://www.workforceready.ca/html/autogen.html?page_id=15&schild_id=33

You can receive assistance with the academic upgrading program also from the Literacy Councils in York Region (Literacy Council York South and Literacy Council York-Simcoe - see the links at the end of this article) as well as from some of the private colleges in the region -- including Academy of Learning and Everest College (formerly CGI College).

This review does not list all programs and services available to you. It is only an overview of the services delivered by Seneca College in York Region and Toronto. For more information about the programs and services provided by Seneca, contact your nearest Seneca location. A list of the locations and phone numbers can be found here: http://www.workforceready.ca/html/contact_us.html

Below are links to the web sites of other organizations mentioned in this article, which also provide some of the programs and services listed above:

COSTI - http://www.costi.org/programs/program_services.php
JobSkills - http://www.jobskills.org
Literacy Council York-Simcoe - http://www.lcys.ca
Literacy Council York South - http://www.literacycouncilyorksouth.com/
JVS - http://www.jvstoronto.org/
CCSYR (Catholic Community Services of York Region) - http://www.ccsyr.org

Strac Ivanov is the president of IT-Challenger Consulting Group, and co-founder of the Vicinity Jobs Network of Community Job Search Engines serving the suburban communities of Greater Toronto. Strac holds a Master's degree in Business Administration and has over a decade of experience in the field of integrating Internet based solutions into businesses.


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