Steps to Employment

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

Contents
Introduction 1
Program description 1
Portability 2
Resources 2
Implementation procedures 3
Preparation checklist 8
Flyers and forms 9
Steps to Employment presentation 9
 Implementation Guide

Introduction
This implementation guide is intended to help program coordinators, directors and other
managers plan and administer the Steps to Employment workshops. The guide offers a step-
by-step description of the implementation process and samples of forms that can be used in
the promotion and recruitment phases of the project.

Program description
There are eighteen different workshop manuals. Each one describes a different occupational
grouping in Ontario, including some of the main immigrant occupations and some emerging
sectors that offer opportunities for immigrants who have certain skill sets. For example, the
occupational grouping “Industrial Trades” contains specific job titles such as millwrights,
tool and die makers, industrial electricians, machinists and sprinkler fitters.
Each Steps to Employment workshop describes the first steps that newcomers must take to
access their occupation in Ontario, including background information and terminology
specific to a particular occupational grouping. The objective of the workshop is to provide
newcomers at a low intermediate English language level with language, information and
research strategies that they can use to prepare for employment in Ontario.
The language level in the Steps materials corresponds to Canadian Language Benchmarks 4,
5 and 6 (listening / speaking). The performance tasks incorporate the level and topic
outcomes in the LINC 4 & 5 Curriculum Guidelines. There are a variety of activities for all
skill areas in each unit.

Workshop outline
The following chart is an outline of the workshops. Topics may vary according to the
occupation being addressed.

Week 1: Orientation Week 2: Terminology

Day 1: Overview Day 1: Technical Terms
Day 2: Occupations Day 2: Work Tasks
Day 3: Workplace Day 3: Interpersonal Communication
Day 4: Workplace Law Day 4: Workplace Culture
Day 5: Training and Upgrading Day 5: Personal Plan

The Steps to Employment manuals comprise materials that are ready for use in settlement
and integration programs in Ontario. The workshops are ideal as a specialized unit within the
LINC program, as an introduction to ESL employment readiness and job search programs, or
as special workshops offered within an employment counselling environment.

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Each workshop manual includes materials for twenty-five hours of orientation and twenty-
five hours of occupation-specific language training. The manuals include a workbook for
participants and an instructor’s guide. A detailed description of the curriculum, including
outcomes and assessment tools can be found in the Instructor Guide.

Portability
The Steps to Employment workshops materials were developed for a fifty-hour workshop,
ideally offered as a two-week, five-hours-a-day, full-time, intensive program, such as within
many LINC programs. However, this delivery model may not be suitable for all contexts.
The materials can be used as a stand-alone intensive training program or be incorporated into
an existing program.
Because the curriculum is based on the level outcomes for LINC 4 and 5, which correspond
to Canadian Language Benchmarks 4, 5 and 6, the Steps to Employment program can be
adapted to other program models such as:
• twice a week, two and one half hours each day, for ten weeks
• ten Saturdays, five hours each day
• three evenings per week, two hours per evening, for eight weeks

Resources
The basic resources required to successfully run the Steps to Employment workshops
include:

1. Human resources
A program administrator/coordinator and an ESL instructor and/or occupation expert is the
minimum required. Ideally, the ESL instructor would have some teaching experience related
to the occupation being addressed.

2. Financial resources
The minimum cost for providing the workshops includes the cost of a location, promotion,
outreach, recruitment, instructor’s fees, materials, childminding, and transportation.
Sponsorship from local businesses, community agencies and groups, and other community
support may make it possible to set up the workshops at a lower cost. Childminding will
encourage equal access to the workshops. Travel expenses will encourage participant access
from a wider area.

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3. Location
A classroom, meeting room, boardroom or other location that is central and easily accessible
is essential. For some occupations, a site that already offers first language training for the
sector is very advisable as there would be ready access to hands-on activities and a direct link
to the culture of that particular sector. If possible, provide childcare facilities and resources.

4. Classroom materials
The basic materials are the Learner Workbook and the Instructor Guide. Other materials
available free of charge from government, union, community agencies, and businesses,
educational calendars, newspapers, directories (employer, telephone, etc.) provide authentic
materials for reading and research.
Internet access is strongly recommended. Computers with access to the Internet are necessary
for some of the activities, especially the “For more information” section at the end of each
unit.

Implementation procedures
The development of the Steps to Employment series included pilot tests for six workshops.
The procedures included in this section are based on the planning and coordination of those
six different pilot tests. The implementation process may vary according to the needs of the
learners and the logistic and financial support available to those implementing the
workshops.

1. Needs assessment
Determine the need for an occupation-specific workshop by analysing your current client
base. Conduct a needs assessment of your existing clients, including language learners,
newcomers seeking counselling, job search applicants and others as appropriate. There are
eighteen Steps to Employment workshops. In order to select the appropriate Steps
workshops, information on the occupations of potential participants must be collected and
then matched with the eighteen available workshops.

2. Location planning
Arrange for a suitable location for workshops and for recruitment and orientation sessions.
For the recruitment and orientation sessions a space for a general orientation for
approximately sixty applicants is required. Also needed are tables for applicants to use when
filling out the application form and interview stations for the oral assessment. The workshop
location is described in the previous section.

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3. Promotion and publicity

Decide on a workshop date. Allow approximately six weeks for promotion. Prepare and
distribute a flyer for each workshop. It is important that the information on the flyer is clear
and informative, as this is the main promotional tool.

Hold orientation sessions to screen potential participants about four weeks before the
workshop dates.

4. Outreach and recruitment

An outreach plan is essential. Liaise with service providers. Get support from program
coordinators. Several participants expressed concern that they would be penalized on their
regular program attendance record unless their principal or coordinator supported their
participation in Steps. The Steps certificate was used as proof of their full-time attendance.
This was also important for LINC instructors, who must maintain a certain number of
learners in their classes.
Steps to Employment workshops target newcomers to Ontario who have not had the
opportunity to investigate how to access employment in their occupation in this province.
The workshops are ideal for newcomers who communicate at Canadian Language
Benchmarks 4 and 5 (low intermediate English language skills). Recruiting participants with
the appropriate language level is important. A sample assessment tool, including a written
application form and an oral interview, can be found in the final section of this document.
Recruiting the right number of participants is also important. It should not exceed twenty. A
larger group would make it difficult for participants to receive the support that they may
require for the self-assessment and personal planning sections of the workshops.

5. Recruitment of participants
Target outreach to key contacts that could help provide the greatest recruitment of potential
participants. Ample time is needed to establish contacts and coordinate outreach with site and
program dates.
Initiate contacts through fax and mail. As LINC coordinators need ample time for
distribution, allow at least two weeks for mailing and four days for faxing. Follow-up with
phone calls to clarify any concerns.
The best recruitment sites, in order, are: LINC sites and referrals from LINC instructors (little
or no testing is required if participants have already been assessed at a LINC 4 or 5); other
ESL sites, settlement and placement agencies, local community centres and public libraries.

6. Recruitment of instructors
Ideally, these workshops should be team-taught by an ESL instructor with a representative
from the sector as a co-instructor. Alternatively, instructors for the workshops should have
TESL training and some experience in the sector. The instructor should also have workplace
language training experience and some knowledge of community contacts for the sector.
Knowledge of the Internet and the ability to teach learners how to search for information on

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the Internet is important if computers are available. A sample advertisement used for the
recruitment of instructors can be found in the forms section.
Tasks that must be undertaken in recruiting instructors include:

• establishing teacher selection criteria (a sample is included in this guide) and formulating
corresponding interview questions. Finally, interview and select instructors.

• advertising for instructors through TESL Ontario, your local TESL Affiliate, Boards of
Education, HRDC, community colleges, training centres, and organizations for that
sector.

• allowing for preparation time and/or a training session with instructors to coordinate
workshop and instructor objectives.

7. Instructor preparation
Begin about six weeks ahead of time to allow enough time to collect authentic materials for
use in the workshops and to organize speakers, field trips, etc. Also allow about eight hours
of preparation for instructors, about two weeks prior to the workshop, so there is one week
before the workshop for instructors to organize the materials and to confirm any speakers or
field trips.

8. Preparation of participant registration forms

Establish selection criteria for participants and prepare application forms as well as
placement tools for use during the orientation/registration sessions (samples are included in
this guide).

9. Orientation and registration sessions

Hold orientation sessions followed by registration and testing on the same day. The
orientation session is a way to answer some of the questions of potential participants and
clarify the objectives of the workshops. Registrants can then fill out a written application
form and participate in an assessment interview. During the interview, participants are
screened for eligibility and tested for language level.
• Timing: Hold orientation sessions for the intake of participants four weeks before the
workshops begin. If sessions are held too early, participants may make other
commitments. A survey of newcomers in your area could show where the workshops are
most needed. Vary the time of the orientation sessions. Have the sessions on different
nights and offer them two weeks in a row, two to three nights a week.
• Orientation: For the orientation session, follow the outline for each workshop, as seen in
the first few pages of the workbooks. Bring sector realia to illustrate that the workshops
focus on terminology. Stress that the workshops are not employment workshops, but
information and language training.

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• Intake requirements: Allow for two or three staff at each session for smoother
facilitation of testing and registration. The registration sessions are an excellent indicator
of which workshops have the most interest; streamlining of outreach can be done for
workshops with lower participation. Facilitators should make it very clear to potential
participants that the Steps workshops are not job search workshops nor is immediate
employment an expected outcome of these workshops.

• Documents: Prepare acceptance letters and maps indicating the location and dates for
each workshop. These can be distributed to applicants who are accepted during the
registration sessions. Have on-site registration on a first-come-first-served basis and a
waiting list for other candidates.

10. Workshop materials

Make an inventory of materials to ensure that you have the right amount of required
authentic materials for each unit of the workshop. Authentic materials required for each unit
are listed in the Instructor Guide. This list includes materials available, Web sites to visit,
sources of free materials, possible speakers, field trips and audio-visual materials. Resources
for the instructor should be collected before the workshops are offered.
Learner workbooks should be available to each participant. They may be photocopied and
bound or placed in a binder.
A computer lab with access to the Internet would be an asset as there are a lot of useful Web
sites included in the Learner Workbook and computer activities are suggested in the
Instructor Guide.

11. Evaluation
The Steps curriculum provides a pre- and post-test for each workshop. The pre-test can be
administered on the first day of the workshop as an assessment of the participant’s
knowledge of the sector. The post-test is the same test, administered on the last day of the
workshop. The pre- and post- est scores can be compared to demonstrate knowledge acquired
through the workshop.

Evaluation forms for the program are useful in determining how to improve delivery the next
time the workshops are offered.

Certificates provide proof of attendance and a record of training (a sample is included with
this guide).

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Overall considerations

• Partnerships: A partnership with local, sector-related community services or businesses

could provide financial sponsorship, but more importantly a source of real insight into the
sector.

• Day care: This is a consideration, especially if many principal caregivers are

participating in the workshops. You should ask for this information at the registration
session in order to allow for sufficient planning. If many applicants require childminding,
try to secure a location where childminding currently exists.

• Program conflict: This potential conflict is related to attendance in other programs. If a

LINC program is hesitant to release its participants for two weeks due to an attendance
drop, coordinate their attendance records with supervising staff from their school so
participating learners are still counted as present in their LINC programs while attending
the Steps sessions. Issue a certificate as proof of their attendance (a sample is included in
this guide).

• Time conflict: In choosing a time for the workshops, consider the profile of the
participants and choose a time when most can attend (some may already be working and
can only attend outside of working hours). For certain occupational groupings, seasonal
variations in work may also affect attendance.

• Travel expenses: Funding for public transportation should be provided if the budget
allows.

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Preparation checklist

This checklist provides a quick guide to help prepare for the workshops:

Y
Participant requirements: Participants must have previous training and/or experience in
the sector, be recent immigrants (five years or less in Canada), and have a language level
of at least LINC 3 (CLB 4). Background training and experience in the sector is essential
because the workshops were not designed to teach how to become a worker in the sector,
but rather to provide employment orientation and English terminology for each sector.
Applicants who have strong, transferable skills may also be considered.

Y
Outreach: An outreach plan is essential. Consider holding orientation/registration
sessions to expedite the intake of participants.

Y
Recruitment: Recruiting the right number of participants is important. Allow sufficient
time to ensure neither too many nor too few attend. Prepare all forms and acceptance
letters for the orientation session.

Y
Instructors: The ideal instructor should have TESL training and workplace language
experience in the sector.

Y
Partnerships: Establishing partnerships is beneficial for participants and the program.

Y
Location: Find a location that is central and easily accessible by public transportation.
Consider providing travel expenses and child care if possible.

Y
Authentic materials: Collect as much authentic material as possible. A list of useful
materials is available in the instructor guide for each workshop. Resources should be
collected before the workshops are offered.

Y
Learner workbooks: Photocopy a copy for each participant.

Y
Internet access: Computers with access to the Internet are an asset as participants can
get a lot of current information from various Web sites.

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Flyers and forms

This section includes samples of the following flyers and forms:

• Application Form

• Placement Interview Form

• Instructor Advertisement

• Participant Eligibility

• Certificate

Steps to Employment presentation

An electronic presentation (in Microsoft PowerPoint format) is available on the Steps to
Employment Web site. It is intended for potential deliverers of Steps to Employment
workshops as an introduction to the series.

Steps to Employment 9
 Application Form
Name:
First Name Last name

Address:
Number Street/Avenue/Road Apartment City Postal Code

Email:
Phone number where we can contact you:
Your immigration status:
Y Landed Immigrant
Y Convention Refugee
Y Other:
How long have you been in Canada?

Have you studied English in Canada before?

Y Yes
Y No
If yes, what was the level of your class?
Y Beginner Y LINC 1 Y Other:
Y High Beginner Y LINC 2
Y Low Intermediate Y LINC 3
Y Intermediate Y LINC 4
Y Advanced Y LINC 5
Have you already looked for work in Canada?
Y Yes
Y No
If yes, write three things that you have already done to look for a job:
1.
2.
3.
In a few sentences, describe your work experience. Include where you have
worked, what your duties were, how long you worked there, what you liked
and didn’t like about your work, etc…
 Placement Interview
What was your occupation in your home country?

How many years of experience do you have in that occupation?

Y less than 3 years
Y 3 to 5 years
Y 6 to 10 years
Y 11 to 20 years
Y more than 20 years

Where did you work? (Describe the place where you worked. For example: in a hotel, on
a construction site).

What equipment and tools did you use at work? (For example: a sewing machine,
a computer, a crane).

What were some of your duties at work? (Describe what you did at work. For
example: I operated a crane on a construction site. I sewed men’s shirts on a sewing machine. I
used an iron to press shirts).

Did you need a certificate or diploma to do this job?

Y Yes
Y No

How did you learn to do this job? (Check the box that describes your training).
Y I went to school and got a diploma or certificate.
Y I apprenticed.
Y I learned on the job.
Y Other:
What is your highest level of education?
Y Primary school
Y Secondary school
Y Post-secondary school

What occupation do you expect to work at, here in Canada?

Y The same occupation that I trained and worked at before I came to Canada.
Y Another occupation. Which one? ________________________

What kind of information do you need about your job in Ontario?

Assessed at: LINC 1 LINC 2 LINC 3 LINC 4 LINC 5

Assessed by:

Participants must be LINC eligible and have training, experience or skills related to the sectors being addressed.
Participants need language proficiency at Benchmarks 4-6, OR must be currently in LINC 3, 4 or 5.
Not eligible
• personal data is incomplete
• incorrect use of capital letters
• not enough vocabulary to describe work
Reading & Writing
Application Form
routines
• many spelling mistakes
• disconnected sentences or phrases not
organized into sentences or paragraphs
• responds to introductions physically
• responds to basic questions related to
Listening & Speaking
self
• provides other information only after
Interview
question has been repeated and
reworded
• needs repetition but doesn’t know how
to ask for clarification
• responds to closing
Eligibility criteria for workshop participants
Participants must fill out an application form and undergo an interview.
Eligible Not eligible
• correct spelling and proper use of capital • uses technical terminology for the sector when
letters for personal data describing work routines
• just enough vocabulary to describe basic • demonstrates an advanced proficiency in writing
work routines •
few or no spelling mistakes
• correct sequencing of events including • writes paragraphs of approximately 7 sentences
beginning, middle, end·
and connects paragraphs to each other
• use of compound sentences, present
and present perfect tenses correctly
• some spelling mistakes
• uses one clause sentences and
complete sentences organized into
paragraphs
• writes paragraphs of up to 7 sentences
• responds appropriately to opening • responds appropriately to opening remarks and
routine questions· initiates conversation
• provides required information·without • clearly describes a sequence of events in the past,
need for repetition or clarification including obligation, ability, certainty, explains
• describes personal experience· details
• asks for clarification· • asks relevant questions which are grammatically
• asks relevant questions about the topic,
correct·
but may be grammatically incorrect· • uses past, hypothetical future, condition and time
• uses correct time expressions, but verbs
clauses, comparatives correctly
may be incorrect·
• responds to closing
 This certificate of participation is presented to

in recognition of the completion of

Steps to Employment workshop

Participants in this two-week workshop for newcomers to Ontario received twenty-five hours
of orientation to the sector, and twenty-five hours of sector-specific language training.

Language tasks for this workshop are equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmarks 4, 5 and 6.

INSTRUCTOR PROGRAM COORDINATOR

 JOB OPPORTUNITY
English As A Second Language Instructor
(Short-term)

TYPE OF ASSIGNMENT
Facilitating a language training and employment orientation workshop (Steps to Employment)

SCHEDULE
Include dates, time and length of workshops here.

QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS
TESL certificate from an accredited institution
Familiarity with the LINC 4 and 5 Curriculum Guidelines
Familiarity with Canadian Language Benchmarks
Experience teaching in LINC/ESL programs
Knowledge of and/or experience in the occupation being addressed
Ability to teach communicatively
Ability to work in a team environment
Sensitivity to multicultural and multiracial adult learners
Excellent English communication skills
Excellent interpersonal skills

ASSETS
Experience in workplace language training, job search or skills-specific training for newcomers

SALARY (recommended)
$35.00/instructional hour (plus 8 hours for preparation).

Please submit resumes to __________________ by ______________________

We thank all applicants but advise that only those applicants to be interviewed will be contacted.