The number of Innisfailians affected by unemployment may have an exciting opportunity to turn around their career prospects.
Employment Placement and Support Services (EPSS) in Red Deer has recently launched a Workplace Training program with up to 26 weeks of training for eligible Innisfail residents. The program is available to anybody who is unemployed and has career aspirations in mind.
“The incentive money is for up to 26 weeks of training,” said EPSS employment specialist Lindsay Taylor, while noting up to $10,000 of training money is available for candidates. “And there's one-on-one ongoing support from an employment counsellor, which benefits both the employer and the employee. The only criteria is that they have to be unemployed and looking for work.”
The EPSS Workplace Training initiative helps unemployed Albertans with career goals expand their skill set by helping manage the costs of training.
“It started in July,” Taylor noted, adding there has been minimal interest from participants from Innisfail.
Alberta's labour force has seen a slight decline from 4.8 per cent to 4.3 per cent in unemployment over the last year, much like the national unemployment rate, which is down to 6.9 per cent from 7.1 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.
Workplace Training has existed in Red Deer for a while now, with a recent expansion in services to Innisfail, but the project has only seen limited interest from the community. However, Taylor said it remains unclear whether the community is unaware of the opportunities afforded through this program.
Taylor noticed the demands for employment opportunities in the region have been somewhat problematic and she is working, with a team of employment experts, towards meeting prospective clients in the area.
But the idea of creating new opportunities for career development holds weight with employment specialists in the area. The program is currently looking for business owners to participate too.
Any employer that's been operating for more than six months and is not a government organization is eligible to participate if there's an opportunity for someone to work roughly 30 hours or less each week.
Crown or government corporations are not eligible to participate.
“The employer has to be a valuable employer for more than six months,” she said. “That's it.”
For more information about enrolling for Workplace Training or solutions for hiring staff, call 403-343-6249 or e-mail [email protected].
