February 12, 2019
This morning the Hon. Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU), announced the next steps in transforming Employment Services as part of the Government’s Social Assistance Reform.
Among the steps announced:
- Launching a refreshed labour market information website featuring 500 job profiles to help learners and job seekers explore their first or next career, and identify opportunities for relevant education, training and re-skilling. The website will include improved navigation to the Job Bank so job seekers can find employment opportunities, and businesses can find the right workers with the right skills.
- Creating a new service delivery model that will integrate social assistance employment services into Employment Ontario to help the province's most vulnerable, including people with disabilities, to break free from the poverty cycle.
- Introducing a new model to manage the employment service system more effectively to meet the needs of job seekers, businesses and communities. The selection of service system managers will be determined through a new, competitive process and open to any public, not-for-profit and private sector organization, as well as consolidated municipal service managers and district social services board service managers.
- Ensuring employment services are working more effectively with other government services, including social assistance, so when people find themselves facing barriers to employment, or in a precarious employment situation, they can get the help they need.
- Implementing changes to Ontario's employment services gradually, starting with three prototypes in fall 2019.
The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) will collaborate on targeted stakeholder engagement as the new model is developed and rolled out.
At this time, to the best of our knowledge, employment programs operated under the developmental services umbrella are exempt from this process.
ODEN is committed to keeping members informed and representing the interests of all job seekers who have a disability.
The news release is available at Province Helping Job Seekers and Employers Make Ontario Open for Business, along with the backgrounder Transforming Ontario's Employment Services.