Strengthening the path to employment
By Jack Styan, CLBC Vice President of Strategic Initiatives
Employment is a path to many elements of a good life. People tell us that work provides them with more money to do the things they love, to buy more of the things they want, to be more independent, to have greater security and even to live in nicer homes. For many people, however, it goes further. They make friends at work. They feel good about being part of a team. They are proud of making a contribution. They tell us it feels better to be a worker, a team member, an investor, an owner or entrepreneur than to be a client.
CLBC, service providers, individuals and families have achieved great strides in the last four years in strengthening the path to employment. People are more aware of the benefits of being an employee, or have become self-employed. Service providers have more knowledge and experience, and more are building capacity in their day services to help people find work.
However, there are many more people who want to work and may have challenges in finding it. Young people are leaving school and wanting to follow their peers into employment. New opportunities for employment have others thinking about being an employee. It is time for a new plan that will build on what has been done before, and new input received, to find ways to more effectively connect people who want to work.
Our goal is to have a three-year Community Action Employment Plan in place by the fall of 2012. This plan is intended to look at increasing employment opportunities for people who want to work, help with youth transition planning, provide more support for self-employment, and better work opportunities for people who are under-employed or in programs that aren’t work-related.
If you are passionate about employment, we want you involved in the conversations and the development of the plan. CLBC will be posting information soon on our website about the discussions and how you can contribute.
Please visit the CLBC website at www.communitylivingbc.ca and go to Individuals and Families > Employment for more information, or e-mail CLBC’s Employment Initiatives Manager, Barb Penner, at Barb.Penner@gov.bc.ca.
