WorkingNB Counsellors Help At Any Stage Of Your Career Journey
WorkingNB career counsellors are here to guide New Brunswickers at any stage in their career.
Whether looking to start a career or take the next step by upskilling, WorkingNB’s 86 career counsellors at its 19 offices across New Brunswick are equipped to help everyone make their next career move, bridging the skills gap between where they are and where they want to be in their careers.
WorkingNB Regional Saint John Director Mike Quinn said that helping clients think about their career decision-making is WorkingNB’s “meat and potatoes.”
“Whether they need to get their GED or post-secondary, whatever the case, we help them identify the gap and get the training to address that gap,” says Quinn.
WorkingNB focuses on helping people make career decisions, looking also for funding opportunities to help bridge skills gaps. Employment counsellors provide a variety of support services for career decision making, resume writing as well as providing resources for the fine art of the job search.
Mercedes McGinley, a graduate of WorkingNB’s Experiential Learning and Employment Continuum Project and NBCC’s Resident Attendant Program, was looking to bridge that gap.
As a single mother with three children, she didn’t have the resources to take out a student loan or pay out-of-pocket to pursue her educational and career goals.
“I was trying to navigate how to get back into school and being a single parent of very young kids, I just couldn’t find my way around it,” she says.
With financial assistance from WorkingNB, McGinley was able to attend the five-month Resident Attendant Program at NBCC, commuting from St. Stephens to Saint John.
WorkingNB’s employment counsellors helped McGinley after graduating, setting up a practicum at Lincoln Court Manor in St. Stephen – where she was hired to work when she finished.
“I was on assistance for a while and struggling to get my feet on the ground, basically. Having the government pay for a program like this, where you have people on your side to navigate through any obstacles, is a tremendous help,” she says.
Anyone looking to enter the labour market, from youth to seniors, stands to benefit from the guidance of WorkingNB’s employment counsellors in making the crucial decisions to discern and achieve their goals.
Counselling starts from a basic needs assessment to figuring out what clients want – whether they want to go into a particular line of work, and what skills will transfer, mindful of educational and labour force opportunities.
Counsellors dig into the details of work history, education, and other relevant career-related background information to figure out the right fit. Depending on a client’s needs, counsellors can guide them toward skills development programs, such as training options to address skills gaps and complementary transferable skills.
“Career decisions are important, and you have to make sure you make an informed decision, especially if you’re looking to invest in going back to school and the costs of tuition,” says Quinn.
WorkingNB has many opportunities for funding to help clients address skills gaps.
“We have programs where you go back to school, and we can support with funds towards tuition, books, computers, equipment, clothing, childcare, travel and other training-related costs. When it comes to money to live on, WorkingNB can either help you maintain your employment insurance while in training or provide you with a living allowance,” says Quinn.
These services are structured around employment action plans. Quinn said these plans are a way to answer questions like, “What do they need to either move up the ladder in the employment world or get into the labour market?”
“Some clients come in with no idea what they want to do – for example, a newcomer might come in with all kinds of credentials but they’re not sure how they fit into the Canadian labour market,” says Quinn.
“Employment counsellors can help by asking, ‘What skills do you have right now?’ They can provide insight into labour market opportunities matched with addressing the individual’s gaps for required skills
“We can do everything from helping you get your Grade 12 to getting a degree or diploma such as LPN or PSW.”
No detail is neglected with WorkingNB’s job search process – which includes everything from resumes and cover letters to LinkedIn profiles and creating a personal brand.
“Almost everyone can tell you over the phone how to do a perfect job search, but when they go to do it, that’s when they make a lot of mistakes,” says Quinn.
“That’s why it’s always good to have a second set of eyes, with an employment counsellor who can look over resumes, to see if they’re targeting the right employer, networking effectively, using the right resume format, the right cover letter – and that they’re branding themselves correctly.”
Through a series of job-coaching contracts with third-party service providers, and experiential learning opportunities, WorkingNB’s employment counsellors can also direct clients to the right sources to help them achieve their career goals – and figure out if a job is a right fit for them.
If a client is struggling to get their foot in the door of a particular career, WorkingNB is ready to invest in them.
WorkingNB’s Workforce Connections program helps aspiring employees get their foot in the door, says Quinn.
“We can invest in that person by investing in their wages. The number of weeks we invest is flexible and depends on how much of a skills gap there is – or how much more experience and training they need,” he says.
“If they are having a hard time getting in the labour market for any reasons – recent graduates, newcomers, people learning the language, someone out of the workforce for a long time – we can use our programs to bridge that gap.”
This story is sponsored by WorkingNB.
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