A local workforce development project earned recognition at the annual Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) Conference in Toronto last week.
Grey County and YMCA Owen Sound Grey Bruce were presented an Award of Excellence which recognizes unique ideas for economic development best practices.
The project aims to attract and retain long-term care staff for homes in Grey and Bruce, by helping potential job seeker move into a health care career. Barriers to employment were identified and addressed, so potential workers could gain specific skills. That led to 137 people being trained and placed in long term care jobs all over the region.
“Georgian College’s Grey-Bruce campus in Owen Sound values the opportunity and responsibility of building educational infrastructure in the communities we serve,” said Dave Shorey, Executive Director, Georgian College Owen Sound Campus. “Our ability to collaborate with driven and passionate partners to solve critical workforce development needs builds the regional capacity needed to thrive in years ahead.”
Not only did that help reduce staff shortages, it also ensured a stable income for participants.
“Through successful sector-focused workforce development partnerships we were able to help job seekers obtain the necessary training and provide job ready, skilled workers to meet the critical LTC workforce needs,” said Linda Alexander, Manager, YMCA Owen Sound Grey Bruce Employment Services. “Feedback from participants has been consistently positive and many indicated they would not have considered working in LTC without the training and support they received.”
“Collaboration is central to our success with this initiative,” said Brian Milne, Grey County Warden. “We knew a one-size-fits-all-approach to LTC staffing just wasn’t working. Our cooperative approach and partnership with the Province brought the right people to the table to really listen to the challenges and find innovative solutions. It’s an honour to be recognized by EDCO for our work on this initiative.”
The project involves Georgian College, local Adult Learning Centres, and all 19 public and private long-term care (LTC) homes in Grey and Bruce Counties. The Local Workforce Development Initiative is delivered at the Sydenham Campus, Grey County’s regional training and skills center in Owen Sound.
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