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Career Edge Blog

Jul 29
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Career Edge Organization gets unGeeked with the Elite

By Events & Holidays

This week, some of us with Career Edge Organization’s marketing team registered for the “unGeeked Elite” conference in Toronto – a three day social media, branding and marketing retreat. Their website explains it best:

unGeeked Elite Retreat is your three day retreat where you will experience “some of the formality of a conference,” and a lot of the informality of retreat. The 3-days are designed to foster not only an “intimate learning experience,” but also deeper networking and bonding with attendees like yourself who want to connect beyond the Tweet-up or cocktail party business card gala.

So you may be wondering – why is a not-for-profit organization whose mandate is around employment and diversity participate in a social media conference?

As we all know, behind the scenes of any good organization there is a marketing team looking for innovative ways to better serve and engage their stakeholders. We may be a small team, but we are one of the most forward-thinking private organizations in Canada’s not-for-profit sector. We pride ourselves on being “nimble” which has allowed us to change and shift with the times, better responding to market demands and stakeholder needs.

In 2009, before the launch of this blog, we participated in Social Tech Training held by Web of  Change and Career Edge host employers, MaRS. This social media boot-camp for not-for-profits gave us a strong foundation of expertise that helped kick start exciting initiatives like this blog, our LinkedIn and Facebook groups and our Twitter account, as well us our online/offline professional network for Alumni.

But now we’re ready (and hungry) for more.

As the Canadian economy emerges, victoriously, from an economic slump, it is more critical than ever for private organizations like us (who don’t receive government funding) to step up our game and offer more. We hope to use the knowledge gained at this conference to improve all aspects of what we do whether it by our website, our relationship management processes and the way we communicate with employers, partners, job-seekers (aka registrants), interns and alumni.

The first unGeeked Elite was held in Milwaukee. Now it’s making the rounds to San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Orlando and Chicago. Toronto will be kicking things off on October 28th. We hope to see you all there!

Jul 21
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“Taking notes” on accommodating persons with disabilities

By Diversity and Inclusion

At Career Edge Organization, we not only “talk the talk,” we transcribe the talk too.

For over ten years now our Ability Edge program has worked with incredible employers in Canada to provide paid internship opportunities for recent graduates with disabilities. We have worked with a number of employers to provide expertise in sourcing and accommodating persons with disabilities.

Given our mandate and the nature of what we do, we promote inclusivity in the workplace any opportunity we get. The same goes for our Alumni Network Committee.

You may recall, earlier this year we formed a committee of dedicated former interns to meet quarterly and steer the direction of activities and programs for our “Alumni Network” of former interns.

One of our most active committee members presented us with a learning opportunity when she requested accommodation for our quarterly meetings.

As a deaf person, participating and contributing in meetings would have been a challenge for her without accommodation. I had worked with ASL interpreters in the past and immediately assumed this would be the appropriate accommodation.

Lesson #1 – each individual has unique needs and one solution cannot be applied to everyone! For this particular situation, the committee member informed that computerized note-taking would be best.

After a little bit of searching, I came across a company called WordWrap. The Toronto-based firm offers a wide range of services specializing in computerized, onsite note taking and real-time transcription for a variety of sectors. The friendly staff understood our unique needs right away and offered affordable solutions for our meetings so that all can participate to their full potential.

 

The note-taker did an excellent job and we will continue to work with WordWrap in the future. As an added perk, all of us benefited from the thorough and detailed notes they took which means none of us will need to take minutes for the rest of the year!

Most importantly, the alumnus who requested the service has been an enormous asset to our committee. For a small, negligible cost, we have gained invaluable knowledge, insight and commitment from her.

Jul 16
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Ontario Public Service – leading by example

By Uncategorized

By guest contributor, Paula Calderon, Client Relations Manager/Applicant Screener

There is often a misconception that Career Edge Organization is a government funded agency that places people in internships.  This may not be surprising given the successful partnership between the Ontario Government and Career Edge Organization and the number of Career Bridge interns who have been placed in the Ontario Public Service Internship Program for Internationally Trained Individuals and the presence of the Career Bridge logo and links on the government’s public websites.

Career Edge Organization is in fact a national, private, self-sustaining not for profit organization that connects qualified talent and Canadian employers. A large number of employers from the private, public and non-profit sectors have accessed qualified talent through Career Edge Organization’s three paid internship programs.

So, how do the Government of Ontario and Career Edge Organization partner to implement the Career Bridge program across the Ontario Public Service?

The Ontario Public Service Internship Program for Internationally Trained Individuals (OPS ITI Program) is an innovative internship program specifically for professional newcomers to Canada, so that they can earn valuable Canadian work experience in their related career fields within the Ontario Public Service (OPS).

Through this important bridging program, the Ontario government is fulfilling its commitment to helping ITIs integrate into the Ontario labour market, enabling them to contribute to the provincial economy.

Since 2006, Career Edge Organization through its Career Bridge program has supported the implementation of the OPS ITI Program. As a Host Organization for Career Bridge interns, the Ontario Government has to date placed over 400 internationally qualified individuals in the OPS ITI Program across Ontario. YNPS, HR Ontario currently administers the program across the OPS in various ministries and regions in the province.  OPS managers have access to a pool of pre-screened, qualified Career Bridge registrants to select candidates for the internship program. Under the program, Career Edge Organization administers the interns’ payroll during the internship period.

The OPS ITI Program’s goals and objectives are to:

  • Promote OPS as an employer of first choice by providing newcomers with the skills, knowledge and coaching/mentorship that will assist them in securing employment in their field.
  • Support the Government of Ontario’s commitment to maximize bridging programs by providing a coordinated enterprise-wide approach to increasing access to Canadian work experience for newcomers in Ontario.
  • Contribute to a welcoming community/work environment that promotes diversity.
  • Help OPS to gain an increased understanding of settlement issues and barriers faced by newcomers to Ontario.
  • To be an inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible organization.

And from my perspective, most importantly…

  • To demonstrate government leadership in the recognition and support of internationally trained individuals in labour market integration by providing short-term work experience in the OPS.

Not only is OPS demonstrating leadership, but it is also proving first-hand that the Career Bridge Program provides an excellent opportunity for Internationally Qualified Professionals to demonstrate their value and skills while gaining meaningful work experience, which they can leverage to full time employment in their field. It is clear that an internship can be the perfect bridge to employment.

In the last three years, surveys have shown that over 75% of Career Bridge interns within the OPS ITI Program have secured employment in their field within six months of completing their internship.

This success should be a call to action for the entire business community to follow the Government of Ontario’s example of utilizing this valuable resource to fulfill their recruitment needs, as they help grow and sustain our economy.

Jul 15
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e-Newsletter “sneak peek”

By Uncategorized

Next week, Career Edge Organization will be sending out our latest issue of CareerBulletin, our quarterly e-Newsletter for interns, alumni, partners and host employers.

In this month’s issues, the topic of “organizational fit” has emerged as a central theme (in addition to the theme of “sweets” given our recent successes with Kraft and Lindt!). It is natural for us to talk about “fit” because that concept is such an integral part of what we do here.

Whether through our Career Edge, Ability Edge or Career Bridge paid internship programs, we offer meaningful work opportunities for recent graduates, recent graduates with disabilities and internationally qualified professionals. We only work with the best employers in Canada to ensure that both the individual and the organization are set up for success. In each case, this means finding the best fit possible.

In this coming issue of CareerBulletin, read the full story about our intern at Lindt. You will also find great tips on hiring for fit, and research that helps us understand the benefits.

Not on our mailing list? Stay in the loop and subscribe today. (Rest assured, we won’t hand out your email address or personal information to any third party.)

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