Past Highlights

Update: This training date has now passed. Please contact Heather Paterson for more information on CAMERA system training. We are pleased to offer another round of training in the CAMERA System this October in London, ON. This two-and-a-half day training will prepare you to administer CAMERA (Communications and Math Employment Readiness Assessment) and use the [...]

Are you an assessor/practitioner helping adults develop their Essential Skills for employment? This 3 day training will prepare you to administer CAMERA (Communications and Math Employment Readiness Assessment) and use the associated curriculum guidelines (Signposts) and instructional materials (workwrite). Please read through the attached booklet for more information about the CAMERA System. Training Details Where? [...]

We have updated the October workshop schedule for Job Solutions Employment Services, and added a schedule for November. Click to view the schedules.

UPDATE: View the 2012 CAMERA training dates here Are you an assessor/practitioner helping adults and secondary school students develop their Essential Skills for employment? This two and a half day training will prepare you to administer CAMERA (Communications and Math Employment Readiness Assessment) and use the associated curriculum guidelines (Signposts) and instructional materials (workwrite). Please [...]

How does the Communications and Math Employment Readiness Assessment (CAMERA) fit with the Ontario Adult Literacy Curriculum Framework? Please click here to find out.

We’ve updated our Job Search Workshops page with the schedule for May. Workshops for this month include interview questions, practice interviews, what to expect when hired, a Second Career information session, skills identification, networking and the hidden job market, an apprenticeship information session, application forms, contacting employers and interview preparation. Head on over to the [...]

Update: The next CAMERA System Training will be held in Toronto October 4-6 2011. Please contact Heather Paterson for more information on CAMERA system training. Are you an assessor/practitioner working with adults to develop their Essential Skills for employment? This 3 day training will prepare you to administer CAMERA (Communications and Math Employment Readiness Assessment) [...]

PTP was honoured to receive the Crystal Learning and Leadership Organization Award from George Brown College’s Career and Work Counsellor Program. The award recognizes organizations which have consistently provided enriching learning experiences via practicum opportunities to students in the Career and Work Counsellor Program, and which have sought to hire students after graduation. Claudia Abello, [...]

Update: the promo is now over, but you can still order the publications. To order, contact Heather Paterson at publications@ptp.ca, or at 416-510-3266.

The Workforce Essential Skills across Canada (WESCan) project page has been updated with a video of WESCan partners describe what workforce Essential Skills is, who it’s for and what programming looks like. Click to view the WESCan page.

New Circles is a not-for-profit agency that provides new and gently used clothing for men, women and children. On February 25, Mariela Puerta from New Circles will be at Job Solutions at our West Centre to talk about the clothing bank service. The session will be from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Please call 416-239-8802 to [...]

“Literacy programs are too important to be lost in a scuffle between federal and provincial governments”. So writes Peter Tabuns, MPP for Toronto-Danforth, in his community column at the Town Crier about the cuts facing community literacy programs like PTP. Mr. Tabuns recently visited PTP’s East Centre on the Danforth and met with our Executive [...]

Our Financial Policies and Procedures Manual and Check List for Responsible Management have been reviewed and updated. They are available on the Financial Policies page.

Community Literacy of Ontario (CLO) is a network of community literacy agencies in Ontario. CLO recently presented Literacy: A Great Investment which aims to paint a picture of the importance of literacy in the province. Literacy: A Great Investment shows twenty reasons for investing in Ontario’s Literacy and Basic Skills programs, demonstrates the return on [...]

The Thursday December 9 edition of the Toronto Star featured an article by Louise Brown, the Star’s education reporter, on the effects of the loss of literacy funding. PTP’s executive director, Barbara McFater, spoke with the Star about the programs that our learners partake in, and highlighted the effects that the loss of funding would [...]

We’ve added a schedule and descriptions of job search workshops under the “Employment Services” section of the site. View the workshop schedule page.

Current Workforce Literacy and Essential Skills (WLES) projects throughout the GTA have allowed literacy organizations to work directly with employers to offer funded training at the workplace. To date, PTP has provided assessments or delivered training for a number of projects including employees in the health care sector, in public service, in manufacturing and laid [...]

There will be a UPS job fair at Job Solutions West on Thursday October 14. UPS offers full benefits, skills and safety training, and a tuition reimbursement program (up to $2000 per semester). Available positions are: Package Handler – preload Package Handler – day Package Handler – midnight P/T Walker (all locations) Date: Thursday October [...]

Update: the 2010 fall promotion on publications is now over. Please head over to the publications page to see a listing of our materials.

PTP and George Brown College Academic Upgrading and are re-launching their joint Pre-Culinary program this October, with practical kitchen training and academic upgrading classes in Math and Communications. The program is FREE and will welcome 40 students to 2 classes supporting Levels 3-5 and ACE level students. The program is an ideal introduction for students [...]

PTP Job Solutions has expanded to offer a full range of employment services in our new Resource and Information Centre (RI). We have everything you need to plan your next steps to secure employment or training, including Information and Resource Specialists, Employment Counsellors, and Job Developers ready to help every step of the way! We [...]

The next Community Connections Career and Job Fair is on Friday May 7, 2010 at the Etobicoke Civic Centre. You can meet employers, learn job search skills, use online application kiosks, attend workshops, have your resume critiqued and more. Click here to see the flyer. Date: Friday, May 7, 2010 Time: 10am – 3pm Location: [...]

Update: The program is being offered again in October 2010. Click here to view the updated information. Are you interested in cooking? Want to improve your literacy? PTP and George Brown College are providing a pre-culinary program that offers an opportunity to improve your basic culinary and literacy skills. Students will come away from the [...]

Our 2009 AGM was held last month at the Chefs’ House. We presented our 2009 annual report, and there was a screening of selected portions of Laura Sky’s documentary Home Safe Toronto. The documentary focuses on how Canadian families in economic crisis deal with homelessness. Laura Sky led a discussion of the film and its [...]

November 23, 2009 was Literacy Awareness Day at Queen’s Park, organized by Laubach Literacy Ontario (LLO). LLO brought together teams of literacy workers, volunteers and learners from across the province to meet with MPPs in order to deliver a common message. We thanked the Ontario Government for the extra funding literacy programs received this year. [...]

PTP is pleased to announce its latest project aimed at linking its Communication and Math Employment Readiness Assessment (CAMERA) to the globally-recognized IALS (International Adult Literacy Survey) 500-point scale. This initiative will ensure that CAMERA reports on learners’ Essential Skills gains in a way that is even more meaningful both locally and nationally. PTP thanks [...]

Meet employers, learn job search skills, use online application kiosks and find out about government and community employment programs. Date: Friday, October 16, 2009 Time: 10am – 3pm Location: Etobicoke Civic Centre, 399 The West Mall. Southeast corner of Burnhamthorpe & West Mall. Take bus #50 West from Islington subway to West Mall. Information Sessions [...]

Laurel Broten, MPP for Etobicoke Lakeshore, recently announced an increase in funding for PTP Adult Learning and Employment Programs for the current fiscal year. The increase is part of the Ontario government’s investment in literacy and essential skills. Ms. Broten also announced an increase in funding for the Lakeshore Area Multiservice Project (LAMP). Related: Read [...]

Find out about community agencies offering support and information on job hunting, apprenticeships, Second Career, labour market trends, literacy and basic skills, academic bridging programs, ESL/LINC and more. Date: Friday, May 29, 2009 Time: 10:00am ~ 3:00pm Location: Etobicoke Civic Centre, 399 The West Mall Southeast corner of Burnhamthorpe & West Mall. Take bus #50 [...]

PTP is pleased to launch its new project entitled Workforce Essential Skills across Canada: Building training partnerships to enhance low-skilled workers participation in the workforce. This national project, funded through the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, will see PTP share its expertise in building workforce literacy and Essential Skills programming for adults with low [...]

PTP Job Solutions West will be hosting a job fair for Starbucks on Monday, March 9, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Click here to view the flyer.) Starbucks is recruiting for various positions at locations in the west end of Toronto. In order to avoid long line-ups and ensure that all attendees have [...]

On Friday, January 30th, Laurel Broten, the MPP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore visited PTP’s West Centre to meet with participants and staff. During her visit, Laurel acknowledged the relevance and importance of adult literacy and job search programs in the current economic climate. She chatted with members of our LBS classes and job seekers in our Job [...]

Our 2008 annual report is available for viewing. Previous reports are also available on the Annual Reports page.

PTP’s Annual General Meeting was held on December 2, 2008. At the meeting, we presented our annual report for 2008. We also welcomed four new members to our Board of directors: Anita Agrawal, Houdeh Houshangi, Claire Gumus and Evelyn Reyes. Jonathan Hahn, Bianca Gikondi and Paul Tan were re-elected for another term. We also bid [...]

Can Ontario’s community-based literacy programs prepare adult learners for apprenticeships that lead to employment in the skilled trades? Read our latest research report Filling the Gap to: find out about the innovative work being done in programs that are already successfully linking learners to apprenticeship opportunities, gain insight into the apprenticeship system in Ontario, and [...]

PTP was pleased to be invited to present at Community Literacy Ontario’s Annual Conference and AGM November 5th. It gave us an opportunity to share our work on supporting aspiring apprentices in coomunity literacy programs and to connect with our colleagues from around the province.

PTP is proud to be a presenter at the Ontario Literacy Coalition’s “Spotlight on Learning: Literacy Takes Centre Stage” Training Event October 6-8th, 2008 in downtown Toronto. This event will bring over 250 literacy professionals from across Ontario together to share innovative approaches and ideas. PTP’s workshop is titled: Programming for Workforce Literacy- Curriculum, Programming [...]

The next Community Connections and Career Job Fair will be held on October 17, 2008. Click to read details of the event.

PTP presented at the hugely successful 2008 Canadian Apprenticeship Forum Conference in beautiful Victoria BC this past June. PTP presented to delegates from across the country and abroad. The presentation showcased PTP’s partnership with George Brown College (GBC) and East Toronto Social Services (ETSS) which provided a forum for the action-based research discussed in the Filling the Gap report.

Last Friday, May 30th, PTP was invited to the launch of On-Track’s new program called Trading Up for Women hosted by Centennial College. PTP and On Track are community partners with a shared vision to better serve those aspiring to work in the skilled trades. PTP had the honour of thanking Ontario’s Minister of Labour, [...]

PTP presents at the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum-Forum Canadien sur l’Apprentissage (CAF-FCA) on its recent research titled Filling the Gap which aim to answer the following question: What expanded role could LBS community based agencies play in supporting would-be and current apprentices’ transition to – and through – the apprenticeship delivery system?

PTP presents at the Council of Education Ministers, Canada (CMEC) first pan-Canadian Interactive Literacy Forum. PTP presents 2 workshops: as a member of the Leaner Skill Attainment Framework project team addressing the employment path for learners; and a its own workshop on the successes and challenges of curriculum in Literacy and Basic Skills programming.

PTP Adult Learning and Employment Programs was featured in the Toronto Sun on April 2, 2008, in the Jobboom section. The article featured Krista Hill and Charles Williams, participants in PTP’s academic upgrading, and pre-apprenticeship programs.

Community Connections is hosting a job fair at the Etobicoke Civic Centre on Friday, April 4, 2008. Job Solutions staff will be on hand to assist clients.