Canada Summer Jobs is a Government of Canada initiative that provides funding to help employers create summer job opportunities for students. It is designed to focus on local priorities, while helping both students and their communities.

The application period for Canada Summer Jobs 2012 is from February 1 to February 29, 2012.

Canada Summer Jobs:

• provides work experiences for students;
• supports organizations, including those that provide important community services; and
• recognizes that local circumstances, community needs and priorities vary widely.

Canada Summer Jobs provides funding to not-for-profit organizations, public-sector employers and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees to create summer job opportunities for young people aged 15 to 30 years who are full-time students intending to return to their studies in the next school year.

For more information, please click here.

Important Notice to Clients Regarding Resumes:

The BC Government has awarded the Employment Services contract for the Ladysmith community to a new service provider beginning April 2^nd, 2012.

In order to have access to your resume beyond March 16th, 2012, please ask us to email you your resume or ask us about options for saving your resume for future access.

All client resumes will be deleted on March 16th and will no longer be available unless you have an open Return to Work Action Plan with a Career Consultant which will be transferred to the new service provider on April 2, 2012.

Thank you.

During the winter season Employment Navigators may be closed due to inclement weather.

Thank you for your understanding.

Unemployed? Employed with no recognized certification or university degree-level education? Vancouver Island University (VIU) continues to receive funding from the Province for the Employment Skills Access (ESA) program. VIU offers training programs that are specifically selected to help unemployed, non-Employment Insurance clients and employed individuals requiring skills-upgrading to gain or improve employment.

Tuition and materials are available for participants that meet the criteria of the ESA program. Following are the current programs offered through EAS funding:

Introduction to Culinary Arts Program

This 12-week program will provide students with the skills and knowledge required to fill entry level culinary and food service positions.

Marine Operator Training Program

The participants will gain knowledge and skills that meet the standards as outlined by Transport Canada to work on, and operate a commercial vessel.

Shellfish Aquaculture Technician Training Program

This six week course is for those interested in developing skills and knowledge for a successful career in the shellfish aquaculture industry.

To learn more about the ESA program contact Employment Navigators at 250-245-7134.

On April 2nd, 2012 the Province of British Columbia will implement a new Business Transformation Project with regard to Employment and Labour Market Services in the Province.   Various requests for proposal were on BC Bid through the development of the new Employment Services model.   The first bid was posted in May 2010 designating catchment areas for the new Employment Service Centres, with the provision of one contract for Ladysmith for one Employment Services Centre (ESC). On October 4, 2010 the Ministry of Housing and Social Development issued a new request for proposal showing the revised new ESC catchment areas with Ladysmith being totally removed as a separate catchment area and being included in Cowichan.  This was appealed through various channels by Board and Staff of Employment Navigators, particularly noting in the appeal the location of Ladysmith; no public transportation, and classed as a rural community.  The Provinces response to the appeal was “Ladysmith is a part of the Duncan Catchment Area”.  Because of the “no lobbying” clause Employment Navigators was unable to make public the ramifications of the catchment area changes to the community of Ladysmith.

In an effort to continue to offer services Employment Navigators partnered with another organization to bid on the complete contract for Cowichan, we were however unsuccessful in the bid process and the new contracts were awarded and posted on the Ministry website October 20th, 2011.

The board and staff of EN remain committed to Ladysmith and have been focusing on continued service to clients and future commitments to the community. In the meantime it will be business as usual at Employment Navigators until March 31st, 2012.

Article in the Ladysmith Chronicle – Published: November 22, 2011 6:00 AM

New Employment Centre Taking Reins

By Christopher Sun

The Chronicle

A Duncan-based company has been awarded the contract to offer employment services in Ladysmith.

The B.C. government awarded Global Vocational Services a five-year contract to offer job search counseling and training for the Cowichan region, starting in April 2012.

“We just signed the contract,” said Global president Ann Norris. “We will be opening up an employment service centre in Ladysmith.”

Norris is in negotiations to secure office space above the Ladysmith Library. She said Global will offer all the same services that current contractor, Employment Navigators, offer. However, job seekers may need to visit Global’s larger Duncan office for some services.

“Things like social media workshops, e-portfolio, specialty training such as WHMIS (workplace hazardous materials information systems) and Serving it Right,” Norris explained. “We will give them tickets to take a shuttle or gas cards if appropriate.”

However, with Global now awarded this new contract, locally based Employment Navigators will need to find new funding to remain open.

“We are looking forward and not backwards and we are committed to the community of Ladysmith,” said executive director Ann MacGillivray. “We are looking at other options.”

Employment Navigators has a staff of nine. Eight of those employees, five full-time and three part-time, will be laid off at the end of March.

The not-for-profit company does have a smaller contract, offering employment services to those employed over 20 hours a week, looking for new job opportunities.

Last year the provincial government issued a call for bidders to provide employment services in B.C. A spokesman for the Ministry of Social Development​ said the Province  inherited about 400 employment service related contracts from the federal government.

In an effort to consolidate, the ministry divided the province into 73 catchment areas. Ladysmith and Duncan were previously two separate catchment areas prior to this consolidation.

Also starting next year, job seekers utilizing employment centres will be classified into one of four categories, which will determine how much funding they can receive in their job search.

According to information available at B.C. Bid, those deemed as highly employable will receive up to $420 of support, while those in tier 4, “little to no employment readiness” will get up to $7,200 of support. That support covers the cost of various training programs.

The province uses B.C. Bid to tender out contracts.

1 man. 1 year. 52 jobs.

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