The Learning Partnership and Workopolis offer GTA students
Web school-to-work opportunity exchange
The Learning Partnership, a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening publicly funded education across Canada, and Workopolis , Canada's leading provider of e-cruiting solutions, are pleased to offer www.class2careers.com—a site designed to help secondary students in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) explore career options and obtain valuable work-related experience before they graduate from high school.
Powered by Workopolis, class2careers.com is part of The Learning Partnership’s Passport to Prosperity project, a program developed to help students become more aware of career choices through school-to-work experiences such as career talks, workplace tours, job shadowing, work experience, mentoring, co-operative education placements and apprenticeships. Passport to Prosperity is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education.
Class2careers.com is all about increasing school-to-work experiences for students; by offering the service on-line, more opportunities are available for all the teachers in the GTA to consider. To date, over 1,500 companies in the GTA have registered with the on-line database, offering students a selection of approximately 5,500 opportunities.
For GTA Workplaces:
There are more than 262 secondary schools and 10 School Boards in the GTA who are participating. Workplaces participating in the Passport to Prosperity project benefit in a number of ways:
- provide mentoring and professional growth opportunities to staff;
- introduce their organization to future graduates/employees;
- benefit from assistance with workplace tasks;
- have an opportunity to hire a young person who already understands the organization;
- gain the opportunity to work directly with local schools/school boards; and
- provide direct input into the education of future employees and industry and community leaders.
The Role of the Teacher
Although teachers, parents and students can browse and search for opportunities on class2careers.com, only teachers can register and book opportunities for their students or their classrooms. Teachers and employers must collaborate on the details of a particular opportunity before the student participates and no personal information about a student is ever exchanged.
Teachers who register with class2careers.com have the ability to search the extensive opportunity database and can shortlist those suitable for their students in their own Personal Opportunity List. One click lets them compose and send a message to the workplace to ask questions or to reserve the opportunity for their class.
Teachers will work closely with students and workplaces to guarantee that each student is ready for the school-to-work experience and will monitor and conduct on-going problem solving throughout the entire workplace experience.
For the Students and their Parents
Students benefit from the ‘Passport to Prosperity’ Project by learning how workplaces operate, working co-operatively with others and gaining valuable problem-solving skills. Looking at the variety of workplaces and browsing for opportunities will give them more information to help them make their career choices.
Currently, class2careers.com is focused on workplaces in the financial, manufacturing, construction, information and communication technology, travel and tourism, and arts and culture sectors. There are links to The Learning Partnership and The Ontario Ministry of Education Web sites, as well as industry and professional associations, sector councils and labour market information Web sites, and other sites offering information about careers.
About The Learning Partnership
The Learning Partnership is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to bringing together business, education, labour, policy makers and community to develop partnerships that strengthen publicly funded education in Canada.
The Learning Partnership is supported across Canada by all ministries of education, the federal and provincial governments, by individual citizens and by Canadian businesses, community organizations, educational institutions and school boards.
Program areas focus on Literacy and Youth; Science, Mathematics and Technology Education; Youth and Career Development; Leadership and Management Capacity in Educational Institutions; and Research and Policy. Currently, The Learning Partnership coordinates twelve programs in schools across Canada.
About Passport To Prosperity
Passport to Prosperity is an initiative fully funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education and delivered by The Learning Partnership in the greater Toronto area. It is an initiative through which employers provide workplace tours, career talks, job shadowing, mentorship, work experience, apprenticeship and cooperative education placements for secondary school students. Teachers contact employers through www.class2careers.com and via e-mail or by telephone to arrange opportunities.
What are school-to-work opportunities?
They include:
- Short-term activities, such as workplace tours, career talks and classroom visits
- Medium term activities, such as job shadowing (1-2 days), work experience (1-4 weeks), mentoring and project-based learning (time varies)
- Long-term activities, such as cooperative education and OYAP apprenticeships (110-440 hours per semester)
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/job/passport/index.html
What are students expected to learn?
Work experiences help students develop good work habits and behaviours, employability and citizenship skills. It enables them to see first-hand how their school learning is applied in a workplace. Students also gain experience in managing resources, working with others and working with technologies.
Why should employers get involved?
School-to-work programs can help build the talent pool as changing demographics place increased strain on the supply of skilled resources. They offer employers a cost-effective solution to recruiting, training and retaining younger workers. Employers can help the next generation of workers make the transition into the labour market and develop critical employability skills while giving existing employees the opportunity to develop their own skills in communication, team work and management.
What are employers expected to do?
Employers help demonstrate the work ethic and culture required of a successful and responsible employee, while providing a safe and healthy environment for the student. Some of the functions the workplace supervisor may perform include: training, mentoring, supervising and coaching.
What kind of support do employers receive?
Schools assist with the recruiting, screening, matching and ongoing problem solving. For longer-term placements, teachers arrange and attend meetings with the student and the supervisor at the workplace.
Is there a cost associated with participation?
No, there is no obligation for employers to pay students. However, some choose to compensate students for after-school or summer work, and some offer an honorarium. The employer may cover the cost of personal protective equipment.
Do employers have to pay for insurance and workers' compensation?
The Ontario Ministry of Education pays workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage for students on work experience, co-operative education, Ontario Youth Apprenticeship and school-to-work transition programs.
For more information:
Please visit The Learning Partnership web site http://www.thelearningpartnership.ca/ or Ministry of Education website http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/job/passport/index.html or call The Learning Partnership at 416-481-0799.
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