WORLD OF WORK

Success! Resume Development- Includes Do’s and Don’ts of resume writing, popular         resume formats, step-by-step instruction and completing your own resume

Career Cruising – Students will be able to complete an online career assessment while exploring potential careers and educational opportunities.

Creative Cover Letter Development- Discusses why cover letters are needed, when to      send one and the steps to designing one

Acing Interviews- Includes tips and techniques to ace an interview, discusses   expectations, the importance of appearance, and reviews common interviewing questions and interviewing blunders to avoid

Job Search Techniques- Defines traditional and non-traditional job search, discussing effective ways to look for work and the importance of networking

Job Maintenance- Defines both employee and employer expectations and         responsibilities, discusses the first day and first week on the new job and effective tips to keep your job

Volunteering: Give Something Back to Your Community!- Defines what “volunteer”       really means, it looks at how the community benefits, how to look for meaningful volunteer opportunities and the personal advantages of volunteering

Personal Appearance: Does it Matter?- Focuses on a survey done of local Medicine          Hat businesses regarding what they look for in a potential employee’s   appearance, emphasizing body piercing and tattoos

Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace- Statistics of substance abuse in the workplace,         most commonly used substances, consequences of substance abuse in the workforce, and personal safety concerns

Employment Standards- Provides general information about the rights of the             employee and employer in accordance to the Alberta Employment Standards Code

Post- Secondary Educational Planning- Defines the different types of post- secondary       education and how to navigate admission requirements, discuss application procedures, and how to research the post-secondary world

Post- Secondary Student Loans and Scholarships- This workshop includes a        discussion of the post- secondary student loan process, determination of financial need, and scholarship, bursary, and grant information

Portfolio Development- Defines what a portfolio is and discusses the different types of portfolios (for school, work, etc), how to organize a portfolio, and what to put in a portfolio

Understanding Our Labour Market- Includes a definition of labour market, understanding the importance of this information, sources of labour market information, and tips on how to use this information

Career Planning- Includes information and activities on how to go about planning for a career, discovering one’s career interests, exploring work options, and making the right career choice

Application Form Development- Includes tips to completing application forms, the basic do’s and don’ts of completing application forms, how to deliver the application form, and development of a typical application form

Apprenticeship Information - Identify the different trades in Alberta, how to get started in a trade, job searching to find an employer willing to train, labour  market trends in Alberta, the difference between apprentice and journeyman,        discuss on-the-job hours versus in-class training, post-secondary institutes that       offer trades programs, and employability opportunities in the trades

Employability Skills - Discuss what skills or traits employers value most in prospective entry level employees, core skills, assessing personal strengths, enhancing employability to prepare for the world of work, personal skills that make you attractive for a job (confidence, personable, helpful), and marketing employability skills to potential employers.

Job Shadowing and Informational Interviews - Discuss how to set up job shadowing        and informational interviews to explore career choices, and complete career assessments

Identifying your Values, Skills, Interests and Traits - Participants learn about personal skill identification by using self-assessments, and exploring and prioritizing personal work values and beliefs

How to Research Occupations - Participants identify careers of interests and analyze         skills that are important for each career, learn how to research education (institutes that offer courses or programs related to the career, length of education, cost of education, and how obtaining education increases success rate)

Workplace Behavior - Discuss what appropriate and inappropriate workplace             behavior is, how to separate personal life from your work life, use of proper language, difference between friends/ coworkers/ customers, following company rules and coming to work prepared

Busted Online! – Covers the pros and cons of displaying personal content on social networking sites (i.e. Facebook, MySpace) and employer trends of screening applicants via the internet; discusses how “private” information can be shared on the internet without personal consent; and provides examples of profile content that employers/ educators would consider deal-breakers.

SOCIAL / ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (SEDI) PRESENTATIONS:

Generation E- Designed to allow participants to think creatively and to better understand their connection to the world of entrepreneurship and self- employment. Includes a short video and a variety of activities.  This presentation can be formatted to fit a required length of time

The Changing World of Work- Designed to allow young people to better understand changes that are taking place in the labour market, changes in our approach to work and the skills necessary to survive and prosper in the new economy

Dollars and $ense- Touches on subjects like debt, credit, assets, savings, budgeting, etc. Provides a basic look at our views and relationships to money, particularly how we manage it.  This presentation is also activity based and can be altered to fit a required length of time and includes a short video

ACTIVITIES

Making the Mark

Topic: Educational Planning

Overview: To identify educational requirements for specific occupations

·        Participants are given various occupations (Broadcaster, Police Officer, etc…) and have to guess which occupation matches the required education (Less that Grade 12, College Diploma, etc…)

Occupational Teasers

Topic: Occupational Awareness

Overview: To identify and define some unusual occupations

·        Participants are given occupation titles and have to guess both individually and as a group what they are (ex. Bucker, Cooper, etc). This activity helps participants identify a variety of occupations

Life Lottery

Topic: Career Building and Awareness

Overview: To explain the importance of being proactive in career building

·        Participants are given cards determining gender, marital/children status and occupation/income. “Chance” cards are also chosen to simulate real life possibilities (ex. Injured in the workplace).  This activity creates discussion on how life experiences impact career building

YouthWORKS! Jeopardy

Overview: To summarize the main points relating to job search topics covered by                               previous workshops

·        Participants play a fun, informative jeopardy game to summarize key job search points. A great activity to follow several workshops

Employment Standards

            An interactive “game-show” activity that includes team-work and participation,     question and answer format, time-keepers and point system.  Participants will actively learn about: Employment Standards, employment of Adolescents and Young Persons, and resources for Workplace Health and Safety, Human Rights and Labour Relations.

LIFE MANAGEMENT WORKSHOPS

Goal Setting- Define short and long-term goals, identify the importance of setting goals, characteristics of attainable goal setting, identifying/ recognizing positive supports to achieve goals, and developing an action plan to reach set goal(s)

How to Shine as a New Employee- Discuss key behaviors to satisfy employer           expectations, calming new employee jitters, learning from experience, and working within a team

Exiting Employment on a Positive Note- Discuss common reasons for leaving a job,             inappropriate exits- how they can affect you, how to write a resignation letter, my last few days of work, and asking for a reference

Time Management- Discuss time management skills, how to organize time, the value of effective time management, different techniques of keeping a record of tasks, homework, appointments, etc, how to prioritize your “to do” list, and budgeting time

Effective Communicating- Discuss verbal and non-verbal communication, benefits   from praise and feed-back, choosing the right words to express thoughts and feelings, developing the ability to really listen, and accepting and learning from constructive criticism

Self- esteem- What is self-esteem?, self-development and self-talk, understanding the positive and negative effects of self-talk, understanding self- esteem blockers and boosters, and explore and identify one’s personal strengths and areas for development

Dealing with Conflict- Defines what conflict is and how it develops, learn and practice           how to handle disagreements and express feelings without escalating, how to de-escalate situations, and apply T.A.L.K. theory (express concerns/ complaint in specific, action or behavior- related terms, avoid judgments, generalizations, finger-pointing, and name-calling, and ask for feedback, listen for the response and keep an open mind)

Decision Making- weigh the positive and negative effects of options and decisions to be made, discuss different types of decision making models, and identify one’s typical decision making process and its effectiveness

Importance of Positive Thinking- Teaches participants to identify and change negative thinking patterns, discuss the importance of having a positive attitude within the workplace and within everything that you do. It also    discusses the importance of staying motivated and having self- confidence in       the job search process and to maintain employment

Creativity in the Workplace- Discuss the importance of creative thinking and             innovation in the workplace, guide participants to develop creative thinking skills and teach them how to use them to generate ideas and solve problems, and assist participants to strategize, create, and implement new ideas

Stress Management- Define positive and negative stress and the effect stress has on           you- physical, emotional, and psychological, discuss how to cope with stress in a healthy way using examples and activities

Problem Solving- Discuss how to discover the root cause of a problem, different ways            to approach problems, assessing each probable outcome, and resolving workplace conflicts

Action Plan Development - Define an action plan, the positive effects of action plan development, setting realistic goals with realistic time lines, recognizing goals that are true to yourself, and steps to developing an action plan

Contact us at 403 – 529 – 4733

770 1^st Street SE   Medicine Hat, AB   T1A 0B4