It has been a busy 10 days since the last post to the blog. Our Career Toolbox has been launched to list associations that help develop, change, or start the careers of all people in business or wanting to get into business in Guelph. Flyers are now available at City Hall, Frank Valeriote's office, Liz Sandals' office, the Library, and at many service agencies around Guelph helping people with employment. The collaborative event with the Salvation Army and Guelph Chamber included display booths and attendents from 15 support agencies and educational institutions. Fifty for breakfast on a Saturday morning was a great start to reaching out to recently unemployed to let them know the community wants to help get things back on track for them.
The next project of our Workplace Development Committee is a Nine Essential Skills Toolbox. The goal is to have the local workforce functioning at a level 3 out of 5 in three critical essential skills: reading, numeracy, and document use. Currently 21% of University grads, 26% of College grads and 40% of high school grads are NOT functioning at a 3-3-3. There are free resources available to practice and upgrade these skills. In a recent Maclean’s magazine, an article entitled “Canada’s Smartest Cities” ranks Guelph fourth out of 4,719 communities based on a Composite Learning Index developed by the Canadian Council on Learning. Guelph business will be focusing on the fundamentals to blast our way into the new economy.
Collaboration is key. At Together09 on June 16th, Guelph had the first joint AGM of five service agencies. Paul Born challenged us to bring community to everything we do, to break down isolation, and draw on each other's strengths. Looking at the collaborative efforts of the Volunteer Centre, Trellis, Guelph Community Health Centre, Family and Children's Services, and Family Counceling and Support Services showed us the power of "we".
Next Thursday at the 10th annual Guelph Awards of Excellence we celebrate excellence in Guelph to learn from and be inspired by those around us that have achieved excellence in the past year. These awards are not just for the people being recognized. Excellence does tend to rub off when you bump up against it. We hope to see you there for one of the most positive nights Guelph has each year.
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