Why does the YWCA Saskatoon offer GED Preparation Classes to parents who are clients of the Employment Service for Parents, as a part of their employment plan?

The knowledge and skills (read and process information, solve problems and communicate effectively) acquired while studying for and completing the GED (General Education Development) are considered equivalent to those of a grade 12 graduate. 

A high school diploma or certificate is now considered the minimum requirement necessary to survive and hopefully thrive in the Saskatchewan/Canada labour market.

In Saskatchewan, 40% of adults 16 years and older (48% Canada) people have literacy rates below that of a high school grad and as a result would have difficulty meeting the growing literacy demands of a knowledge-based economy.

It is predicted that in the next five years, 2/3 of new and replacement jobs will require some type of post-secondary education.

Many employers will not hire someone who does not have a GED certificate or a high-school diploma.  Future promotions and job changes will also be easier for GED graduates.

Technical schools offering post-secondary education such as SIAST usually require a high-school diploma or GED for enrolment.

Interview Questions Social Worker

A social worker, seeking a job recently asked me to conduct a mock job interview with her prior to an upcoming job interview.  Please see below a list of ten questions I asked her…..
 

1. Based on your understanding of the position, can you please explain what you believe to be the three most important aspects of the job.
2. Please tell me about your experience working with (counselling) persons with disabilities, in poverty, etc. (as appropriate).
3. Please tell me about any experience you have in developing and implementing plans for individuals with disabilities, in poverty, etc. (as appropriate).
4. Please tell me about your personal approach (philosophy) to counselling, (or philosophy in applying your social work methods).
5. If your workplace implemented a policy you didn’t agree with, what would you do?
6. Through your experiences and research, how are you familiar with local agencies and services serving the community, especially those services that can benefit persons with disabilities, in poverty, etc (as appropriate).
7. Please describe how your values are reflective of the values, mission and vision of this organization.
8. What are your strengths/weaknesses?
9. Can you please tell me about your experience supervising others?
10. Do you have any questions you wish to ask me?

Meet and Greet - January

Insightrix Research
http://www.insightrix.com/

Wednesday January 16^th, 2013

10:30-11:30am

Mama Room, Saskatoon Community Service Village

Anyone with some experience in Customer Service is an ideal candidate.

 

Search Engines

From the Employment and Learning Computer Lab:

Using search engines can be both fun and informative.  By opening ones such as google.ca or bing.ca, for example, you can type in whatever information you are seeking by keywords, and a selection will appear. This can be useful for job hunting. One way is to search for information about a particular company in which you are interested. Many job ads will state which company is seeking staff, but does not always offer much about that company. It is always best to be informed during an interview, and researching is a solid way to show that you know what the company does, and how you may help to use your skills in the ways needed.

But search engines can also be used for fun. For example, if you wanted to know how long it took to build the Tower of Pisa in Italy, you would open up the search engine and put in a few key words to help it find what you are searching. In the above example, you may put in “how long built Tower Pisa”.
Here are a few Wonders of the World practice questions you can search to answer:

India: On average, how many tourists visit the Taj Mahal yearly? __________

Peru: Name the “3 great districts” in the City of Machu Picchu? __________
Mexico: How many stairs are there on Chichen Itza? _________
Brazil: How long did it take to build the Christ the Redeemer statue? __________
Saskatoon: What does the weather network Website say is the current temperature? __________

 

Good luck!

Overcompensating: Executive Pay in Canada.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a very interesting study on Jan. 1, 2012, entitled

Overcompensating: Executive Pay in Canada.

  

The CCPA advises by 1:18pm on January 2, the first official working day of the year, Canada’s top 100 CEOs have already pocketed $45,448 — what it takes the Average Joe an entire year, working full-time, to earn.

By the end of 2011, Canada’s top 100 CEOs had pocketed an average of $7.7 million.

At this rate, Canada’s highest paid CEOs make 235 times more than Canadians earning the average wage. If you think that’s normal, it’s not. In 1995, Canada’s top 50 CEOs made 85 times more than the average wage.

For more information visit: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/overcompensating

A THOUGHT

A THOUGHT

Questions For Consideration

By Catherine Pulsifer, © 2012

The year ends – look back:

What have you accomplished?
What challenges did you face?
What are your happiest memories?

A new year begins – look forward:
What do you want to accomplish?
What will you learn?
What will make you happy?

More importantly, consider these questions:

How will you accomplish what you now only want?
How will you learn what you need to learn?
How will you change in your life?

Never doubt that you are capable of being more than you are currently.  Look at people who have achieved success – were they successful on their first try? No. In most cases, they faced failures, challenges, and disappointments.  But, they went on to achieve success.  

All of these people looked at where they were in life. They also looked at where they wanted to be, but one of the main differences is that they took action and ultimately changed their lives.