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Funding for Victoria’s Our Workplace to help up to 32 people re-enter workforce

Province announces $180,000 for the People in Progress project
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Ashley MacDonald, manager of Our WorkPlace, is excited about the organization’s receipt of $180,000 in provincial funding that will help more people retrain to get back into the workforce. (Black Press Media file photo)

The provincial government is giving Our Place Society $180,000 to help up to 32 people from Victoria re-enter the workforce as part-time service-sector workers.

The funding will help Our Workplace, the society’s employment training service, deliver employability and occupational skills training over four intakes of its People in Progress project. The funding is intended to support individuals with a BC Employment Assistance Persons with Disabilities designation.

Participants will receive six weeks of training, four weeks of on-the-job work experience and two weeks of follow-up support to help in their job search.

The skills training courses include stress management, conflict resolution, numeracy and budgeting 101, resume writing, keyboarding, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, social media management, business communications, retail business machines orientation and essential customer service for the service industry.

Participants will also complete several certification courses and once they’ve completed their training, they’ll be qualified for such positions like customer service, cashier, retail sales, maintenance and security work, food service and kitchen duty.

Ashley Macdonald, manager of Our WorkPlace, said the society is thrilled to receive the funding.

“We believe that People in Progress will give people who are living with barriers to employment an opportunity to get into the labour market in a safe and supported way,” she said in a news release.

B.C. Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Nicholas Simons called People in Progress “a wonderful opportunity for individuals to sharpen their skills and gain confidence to help them get back into the workplace.

“A well-paying job can make a significant positive difference in an individual’s life,” he said.

Part-time, group-based learning for the first intake of the project starts on Nov. 15, and the project activities run through to Feb. 5, 2022.

READ: Staff vaccination mandate has high success rate for Victoria’s Our Place, Cool Aid


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