Whitchurch-Stouffville
November 29, 2008 01:39 AM
Ex-Toronto assistant finds work in town
Sandra Bolan
When Whitchurch-Stouffville resident Rosie Moore parted ways with her downtown Toronto executive administrative assistant’s job this past May, she knew it was time for a career change.
She also knew she wanted it to be with a local employer.
Ms Moore also realized in order to accomplish these two goals, she needed help.
Ms Moore turned to the YMCA Stouffville Employment Resource Centre, on the recommendation of a friend, and enrolled in its week-long Thoughts Pattern program.
“It was a really encouraging course,” Ms Moore said, noting the centre’s staff managed to make one of the darkest times in a person’s career fun, yet educational.
“When you go through layoffs or downsizing, you do lose your confidence; there’s an insecurity when you walk into an employment office and (the YMCA) makes you feel like you’re not alone,” she said.
Along with helping Ms Moore update her resume, she also received invaluable assistance with interviewing skills.
“The interviewing skills from 15 years ago are completely different; they’re more behaviourial,” Ms Moore said.
Within a week of completing the workshop, Ms Moore was hired by Stouffville’s Welcome Home Relocations as its customer service co-ordinator, a job she found through the YMCA’s employment resource centre.
For the past three-and-a-half years, the YMCA centre has had a hand in success stories like that of Ms Moore.
When it comes to placing people back into the workforce within three months of completing the program, the centre has a success rate of about 85 per cent, according to Karen Cashin, the centre’s program team leader.
The YMCA’s free employment program includes workshops that last anywhere from half a day to a week and cover everything from resume writing to interview skills, employment and skills assessment and anything else the client needs help with in order to re-enter the workforce.
The program also educates people on where to look for jobs, as most of them are not posted in a newspaper, which was the case when many of the centre’s clients last looked for work.
“Eighty per cent of the jobs available are not advertised,” she said.
“Networking is one of the most effective job searching tools. There’s an art to networking and that is what I help people do,” Ms Cashin said.
Whitchurch-Stouffville has, historically, had the lowest unemployment rate in York Region, according to Ms Cashin.
The municipality wants to keep it that way and is doing what it can, despite the dismal economic picture.
“(We want to) create more local jobs, so if people are commuting right now into the city, and if that job market begins to soften” residents will have the opportunity to work locally, Dave Cash, Whitchurch-Stouffville’s chief administrative officer said.
Earlier this year, Novopharm completed an expansion project and hired 80 new research and development people.
“The town has been working very closely with them because they have the ability to expand manufacturing,” Mr. Cash said. “I believe they have the ability to double their manufacturing in town.”
The municipality, however, is not counting on Novopharm’s potential growth to keep the local economy from hitting the skids.
The municipality is also working on making its industrial lands more appealing to new companies and in 2009, the town plans to revisit its fees for business and industrial buildings in order to keep the companies in town.
Mr. Cash noted those fees are higher here than in most other area municipalities.
Whitchurch-Stouffville also plans to move ahead with planned capital infrastructure projects, providing government grants will be available.
“That will help the economy,” he said.
The YMCA Stouffville Employment Resource Centre is located at 28 Sandiford Dr. For more information, call 905-640-2856.