The Open Book

Come out and visit us at our annual Career Fair on Wednesday, Feb. 17 and Thursday, Feb. 18 at the Digby Legion.
Feb. 17th - hours are 12:00 – 7:00
Feb. 18th - hours are 12:00 – 6:00

Here are some excerpts from our February DALA newsletter:

Fish Philosophy

What is Fish Philosophy?  It is one of our newest workshops offered at the Career Resource Centre. Fish Philosophy is based on real people working in Seattle at a place called Pikes Fish Market and is a way of life following 4 principles: Be there, play, make their day and choose your attitude.  These principles can be tailored to your own life and at work. When you choose  to make these principles a part of your life, you will notice a positive difference in your relationships  (personal and work). Discover how the Fish Philosophy can make a positive change in your life and how it can help with team building skills. For more information or to register, phone 245-7540 or 245-7442. 

Festival of Trees

The DALA “Generations of Learning” tree was one of 26 trees placed at Sissiboo Landing in Weymouth as part of their 3rd annual Festival of Trees. Over 600 people dropped in to view the trees. People were asked to vote for their favorite tree. First place went to Foodland with their “Wonderful World of Gingerbread.” Second place went to Weymouth Consolidated School for ” Literacy, Frosty the Snowman.” Jeanne Nesbit, festival organizer, passes on her thanks to all those who made the festival such a success.

Essential Skills

The Essential Skills program begins on February 15th and will concentrate on training in Construction Trades and Hospitality/Tourism. The program will include 12 participants and will be held for a total of 5o weeks.

Participants have the opportunity to work towards completing grade 12, gaining valuable work experience and receiving certified training in their chosen trade. Students will also have job placements in the community, helping organizations with limited resources.

Customer Service

DALA begins a customer service workshop on February 15th. This is in partnership with the Department of Community Services. The workshops will consist of 9 weeks of instruction for 30 participants. Training will take place in Cornwallis, Bridgetown and at the Weymouth Job Search Centre with 10 participants in each location.

Career Fair

Robyn Hanson has been hired for 8 weeks as the Career Fair Coordinator. The Career Fair is a service provided by the Digby Career Resource Centre. The Career Fair will be held at the Digby Legion located at 92 Mount St., Digby:

Wednesday, Feb. 17th from 12:00 – 7:00  and  Thursday, Feb. 18th from 12:00 – 6:00

Participants you can expect to see at the Career Fair – Service Canada; Digby Community Education Centre; Nova Scotia Community College; Tideview Terrace; Upper Clements Park; Employment Opportunities; Nova Scotia Dept. of Labour and Workforce Development …and many more!

Need more information?  Call Robyn at 245-6207.

TIOW – Targeted Initiative for Older Workers

Coordinator, Dane Berringer, has been working with 10 participants since November 29th. The first 12 weeks of the project consist of classroom training including GED preparation, as well as computer instruction. This is followed by 13 weeks of on the job training. The training is held at the Career Resource Centre and the goal of the project is to help older workers re-enter the workforce. There will be another group of 10 participants starting on June 7, 2010.

For more information on the next project, phone Jen at 245-7540 or Jeanette at 245-7442. 

 Check back with the blog for more updates!!!

Good Day Everyone,

The third phase of the Essential Skills Program will begin in the near future, I do not have a definate date as of yet but will post the info when I do. The third phase is going to be slightly different from the others. There will be twelve participants who will be split into two groups. One group will focus on Construction Trades and the other on Tourism and Hospitality. The program will also allow all students to further their education getting them that much closer to completing thier grade twelve which they will be enrolled at DCEC in the levels program. Currently all seats have been taken.

I am also pleased to inform you that Earl Armstrong will be returning as the Instructor for the Essentail Skills element as well as the Construction Trades portion. I will blog more information as I recieve it.

Thank You

Liz Young, Coordinator Essential Skills Program

Good Day Everyone,

I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that there will be a new program, Customer Service, starting on February 15, 2010. There will also be three new staff members who will be joining the DALA team. Please join me in welcoming Candra Payson who will be the instructor for the Cornwallis area, Tammy Robertson for the Weymouth area and Sandi Rodman for the Bridgetown area. There willl be ten participants for each group. This program will last for eight weeks focusing on Customer Service and providing training certificates for participants. I would also like to thank Department of Community Services for sponsoring this program.

Thank you

Liz Young, Coordinator Essential Skills Program

PUTTING EXPERIENCE BACK TO WORK

An Older Worker Project, funded under the Canada-Nova Scotia Labour Market Agreement

DIGBY AREA LEARNING ASSOCIATION PROGRAM HELPS OLDER WORKERS GAIN EMPLOYMENT AND CONTRIBUTE TO NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN 5 COMMUNITIES

August 12 was the completion of a successful program at the Digby Area Learning Association (DALA) that resulted in older workers gaining meaningful employment.

DALA received funding through the Canada-Nova Scotia Labour Market Agreement (LMA), through which Canada will transfer an estimated $85 million to Nova Scotia over six years to help low-skilled workers, individuals who are not eligible for Employment Insurance benefits, and groups who are under-represented in the workplace, to find sustainable employment.

This LMA project was administered in Nova Scotia by the province’s Department of Labour and Workforce Development, Apprenticeship Training and Skill Development Division. Older Worker projects, among the many LMA programs offered, provide a wide range of employment services to older workers who are unemployed, legally entitled to work in Canada and lack the skills needed for successful integration into new employment.

The DALA program was designed to train and assist older workers in gaining sustainable employment. The format of the DALA program combined thirteen weeks of academic and skills training followed by work experience and a period of up to 13 weeks of working with non-profit organizations in various communities to demonstrate skills that were acquired as part of the re-training program and to gain further experience.

Eighteen older workers aged 55 to 64 started the program to do something they had not done in many years; they joined a program to upgrade and refresh many of their work-related skills. Working out of the DALA Career Resource Center, the participants upgraded many of the competencies required in today’s modern work force. Classes were held regularly on the following topics: workplace essential skills, basic and advanced computer skills, resume writing, job interview skills, job search techniques, and problem solving skills.

Participants who required educational upgrading were given a GED preparatory course, while other participants worked on Individualized Learning Projects which included portfolio design, developing business plans and market research for self employment work options. To prepare them for the interpersonal relations and the motivational teamwork required in the modern workforce, everyone attended both the “Fish Philosophy” and “Personality Dimensions”. Both these are internationally recognized seminars that are available here in Digby at DALA.

Because today’s workplace requires safety certifications in many different areas, all participants were trained and certified in: Basic First Aid/ CPR, OH&S, Safe Food Handling, and WHMIS. Running throughout the program was the Age Advantage Essentials program designed by ACSBE (Acadia Centre for Social and Business Entrepreneurship). This highly interactive program was designed to assist older workers acquire the tools and strategies required to transition into new employment or create their own jobs or businesses.

“It was one of the best programs I have ever worked on” said Dane Berringer, M Ed., who was the Adult Education Program Officer for the project. “In my 15 years of teaching in community colleges and universities, this is the first course I have ever seen that blended the academic skills needed with top notch motivational and practical training that ended with work experiences that raised thousands of dollars for non profit organizations in our communities, truly a unique and well thought out design.”

DALA would like to acknowledge the Non Profit organizations that participated in the project

Digby Museum Project

Bethany Bargain Bin Project

Belliveau Cove Development Association Project

DC Riders Project

TLC Animal Shelter Project

Scallop Days Project

Lent House Community Hall and Lobster Co-op project

Woman’s Place Resource Center Project

New Horizon Club Project

What the participants said about the course:

“DALA gave me the confidence I needed to write this book, without this course, it would not have been possible” Gary Milner

Because of the program Gary Milner was able to write and publish his book “The Courage to Go On , ( Escape from addictions)”. Designed to help people with addictions overcome the fear of their past and to deal with their future. To our knowledge this is the first time that this type of publication resulted from an age advantage course.

“I learned that I am a strong person with good ideas and that I have a lot of abilities that could contribute to the type of employment I desire” Participant

“The course has helped me overcome the challenges of ageism that I perceived as a drawback and in turn focus on the strengths and assets I bring to the marketplace as an older worker.” Participant

“I have learned that I am more marketable than I thought” Participant

“When I first started GED, I thought I would never make it. The longer it went the less intimidating it seemed.” Participant

“It enhanced my appreciation for life long learning and the interaction in class has been beneficial, enlightening and fun” Participant

“It was a great course; it defiantly helped me to create some focus in my life.” Participant

“Even though I had very little education I now know that if you put your mind to something you can accomplish it” Participant

At the end of the program, many of the participants had their own business ventures up and running or were employed at different occupations in the areas within the non-profits in which they completed their work experience.

The success of the course is evident in the amount of money being given back to the community as well as the 87% employment rate for the participants who completed the program. DALA would like to thank the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Workforce Development for the opportunity to complete this LMA Older Worker project.

We have had a productive start to the Fall season at Learning Grove. We recently held our first parent meeting of the “school year” and held a Fall Family Breakfast. We had a small turn out at the parent meeting, however, there was a lot of great information shared. It is always nice to see new faces at our meetings. Our breakfast went well, we had many families join us in celebrating this new season.
Along with other DALA staff and students, a few Learning Grove staff helped out at LTBK Build day on September 26th to help construct the Vaughn Vantassell Memorial Park. It was a great day for Digby! So many people came out for this community project. Congratulations to the Crystal Harris and the entire M.O.P.S. committee for following through with their vision….. you’ve helped our community become a better place for our families.

The weather did not cooperate with us, but it didn’t dampen the spirit of our volunteers. We had many families from Learning Grove and the community come out and support us. Despite the weather we were still able to meet our goal. Thank you to our all of our volunteers, parents and community supporters.