We began on this journey with our Essential Skills for Atlantic Fisheries project.
We were granted funding to continue this work through the Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia's Emergency Community Support Fund, and now we have received funding for Essential Skills for the Fisheries funded by Labour, Skills, and Immigration (LSI).
We have also expanded to the Long-Term Care Homes, funded through LSI with Empowerment for Employment (Health).
Empowerment for Employment (Health)
Literacy Nova Scotia Offers Much-Needed Support for Long-Term Care Sector with Free Training Program
The Empowerment for Employment - Health Care program was created to address staff shortages in long-term care facilities by offering free training to Nova Scotians interested in pursuing a job in Health Care.
The program was generously funded by the Department of Labour, Skills, and Immigration, with the joint goal of relieving pressure from current Long-Term Care employees while providing career opportunities for Nova Scotians who are underemployed or unemployed, or who may not have completed a high school or university degree.
The first of these training programs begins in Spring 2022, with three separate courses being taught out of Dartmouth, Bridgewater, and Bridgetown, and spots are fast filling up. As part of the program, participants will receive free Chromebooks to create opportunities for digital learning and will be partnered with Long-Term Care homes that have signed on to provide paid work placement and future employment at those facilities.
The training provided by Empowerment for Employment – Health Care goes beyond the benefits of its work placement component. While participants will receive free instruction in job-specific skills such as dementia care and receive certificates such as First-Aid, they will also be trained in transferable skills that increase employability across all sectors. The goal of the course is to tailor instruction to individual student needs by addressing specific deficits in the areas of communication skills, digital literacy, reading and writing, numeracy, conflict resolution, and public speaking. The course will also feature an extensive diversity training component and makes boosting student confidence one of its primary goals.
The program is currently seeking compassionate applicants from across Nova Scotia who are interested in working in the Health Care Sector. Adult learners of all skill and education levels are encouraged to apply. The training program will run from early March until the end of May 2022.
For more information, contact: Kate Cober, Project Coordinator, Empowerment for Employment LTC Project
Essential Skills for Nova Scotia Fisheries
(LAE funded April 1, 2021 – Sept 2022) Information will be available soon.
Empowerment for Employment (Fisheries - ECSF project in Eastern Shore)
Literacy Nova Scotia received a short term grant to continue our important work in the fisheries sector in Nova Scotia following the completion of the Atlantic project on October 31, 2020 and prior to additional project funding being secured.
The Empowerment for Employment Project is supported by the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund and Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia.
We are currently in the preliminary stages of conducting this Project on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore.
The primary purpose of this project is to provide an innovative literacy and essential skills training model in collaboration with the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Nova Scotia that will help barriered, unemployed individuals to improve their literacy and essential skills, so they can get and keep a job, meet the on-the-job demands of this industry, and adapt and succeed at work.
The training will use a blended learning approach incorporating classroom, online and on-site training to respond to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19. We will provide participants 6 weeks of customized and employer-responsive training. Up to 12 participants will be selected for the training based on need.
In addition, identified supervisors/managers will be trained as Workplace Essential Skills Mentors. This 30 hour training will incorporate a blended learning model as well. This will provide the employer with the ability to support employees to assist with retention.
Employers with vacancies for entry-level positions will be recruited to participate in workplace needs assessments, help develop/customize essential skills profiles for entry level positions and offer On-the-Job Training and 6-10 week paid work placement for trainees.
We are currently seeking referrals for the program as well as recruiting an Essential Skills Facilitator. If you would like to refer a client to this program, please contact Colin at colinbawn@gmail.com or (902) 690-5782.
Essential Skills for Atlantic Fisheries (ESAF) Project
Essential Skills for Atlantic Fisheries (ESAF) is a project to address the labour market and workforce challenges employers face in the fisheries sector in Atlantic Canada. In collaboration with sector employers and stakeholders, we will pilot an innovative literacy and essential skills training model that will support individuals who are unemployed to improve their workplace skills. Participants will be better equipped to find a job, keep it, and succeed at that job.
ESAF is lead by the Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick in partnership with the PEl Literacy Alliance, Literacy Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador Laubach Literacy Council.
Essential Skills for Atlantic Fisheries (ESAF) Project participants and facilitators describe how the project gave them the opportunity to enhance their skills and increase their employment prospects.
This is the French version of the ESAF video (French subtitles).
Essential Skills for the Atlantic Fisheries (ESAF) Project received Honorable Mention for the 2020 Canada Life Literacy Innovation Award. Lynda Homer, Executive Director of LCNB talks about the partnerships in this project at 51:00 and Dianne Leger, Coordinator LCNB talks about the affects of the pandemic at 1:02:15.
