They’re breaking barriers in the community, one job at a time.
Access Work Service of Barry’s Bay announced that they’ve received a $355 000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
They’re launching their newest initiative to help people who are experiencing barriers (physical or emotional) to find employment. They do this by helping them update their resume’s and train them so they can be competitive in the job market.
Program Coordinator, Jane Smith says that the funds will help them increase their efforts to match workers with their future employees. Since receiving the grant last November, they’ve been able to increase their hours of operation from 7 hours to 20 hours a week which covers Monday to Friday. She says that they’ve hired a program coordinator, two job developers and a customer service facilitator as well.
The grant was allocated over a 3 year period with a goal of helping 50 people find jobs. So far, Smith says they are right on target to exceeding that goal. She states that they are hoping community businesses and homeowners will let the workers prove themselves. She says they can do anything from raking leaves to emptying gutters to data entry and adds that some of them are very good with computers. “Employers are often faced with a task that needs to be done once a month, we can do that” Smith says.
She states that on May 2nd at 3:00, the Opeongo Senior Centre will be hosting their annual AGM meeting. Smith adds that the meeting will include an official announcement of the grant with provincial representatives from MPP John Yakabuski’s office as well as a member of the Ontario Trillium Foundation. She says that the icing on the cake will be… icing on the cake. To celebrate their 10th year anniversary, she says cake will be served and the public is welcomed to join.