Building a workforce together

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By Nick Seebruch
Building a workforce together
Kimberly Vass-Lihou and Kimberly Hamilton of the EOTB (Nick Seebruch/ Seaway News).

CORNWALL, Ontario – The Eastern Ontario Training Board (EOTB) and regional partners, are working together to coordinate their services and better support both local job seekers, and employers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made this coordination even more essential.

EOTB and agencies in related fields meet regularly to try improve service and identify any gaps.

Participating organizations include Ontario Works, ODSP, Tri-County Literacy, Job Zone, GIAG, Le Centre Moi j’apprends and more.

“We are trying to work together in a holistic way,” said Kim Hamilton of the EOTB. “We were meeting quarterly, but have begun to meet more frequently because of the pandemic. We all wanted to talk about how to better meet the community’s needs.”

These collaborations help to deliver employment and literacy services throughout Cornwall, SD&G, Prescott-Russell, and Akwesasne. The level of coordination between the organizations has also helped develop labour market data that can be shared with the community and used to identify needs for skills training.

Upcoming partnership projects include a virtual seminar for employers on recruitment and retention of employees.

“In the last year or two we have really strengthened our partnerships and enhanced our collaboration and communication in order to best support our clients,” said Hamilton.

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