Employability
Programs
Operation
Go Home (OGH) understands that employment issues
are a reality for the youth we serve. OGH strives to provide
the best employment services through a number of different
initiatives.
Employment Counseling
This service aims to provide youth with one on
one support in order to help ease their transition from
street life to meaningful employment. The Employment counselor
supports the client in creating/updating their resume.
The Counselor meets with clients to strengthen interview
skills and job searching techniques. All clients receive
ongoing support and periodical follow-ups.
Employment Programs
Job
Finding Club
Due to its success Operation Go Home has decided to adopt
Hire Attitudes as a full time program. Hire Attitudes
is Operation Go Home’s “job finding club”
for marginalized and at-risk youth, 16-25 years old. Hire
Attitudes provides three-day group sessions of intensive
workshops that will provide youth with job preparation
tools, employment methods, and life skills enhancement
for the work place. Youth will have the opportunity to
learn about their employment goals, skills, values, and
interests; communication skills; anger management; self-esteem;
resume writing; job searching techniques; interview preparation;
cover letters; and job maintenance. For more info, please
contact April
Edwards, Program Coordinator - Employment
Counselor.
Employability
Projects
Since
2002 Operation Go Home has partnered with the Government
of Canada through Human Resources Skills Development Canada
to offer employment focused programs to our youth. The
objectives of these pre-employment skills based programs
are to create and enhance their individual skill-base
by, enhanced teamwork, meeting assigned tasks and deadlines,
attendance, punctuality, reliability, and respect for
self, others, staff, and equipment. The focus is to allow
youth-at-risk the opportunity to enhance their creative
imaginations, obtain transferable skills, gain confidence,
form team-building skills, and to further develop their
personal “self” with the goal of obtaining
employment. Please check back to this site to see when
a new project will be starting. If you would like more
information, please call 230-4663 or contact April
Edwards, Program Coordinator - Employment
Counselor.
Past Programs
Since
2002 Operation Go Home has partnered with the Government
of Canada through the Human Resources Skills Development
department to offer exciting and imaginative programs.
The objectives are skill-building, enhanced teamwork,
meeting assigned task deadlines, attendance, punctuality,
reliability, and respect for self, others, staff, and
equipment. Ottawa street youth were brought together from
various backgrounds and life experiences. Together they
brainstorm ideas. The focus is to allow youth-at-risk
the opportunity to enhance their creative imaginations,
form team building skills, and to further develop their
personal “self” as well as to educate society.
G.E.T. 2005-2006
G.E.T.
was Operation Go Home’s latest HRSDC paid employability
project for marginalized and at-risk youth. G.E.T. stands
for Goals, Empowerment, and Transferable Skills, and it
consisted of four weeks of intensive workshops that provided
youth with practical life skills and job readiness. While
receiving wages for their time, youth had the opportunity
to learn about self-discovery, self-esteem, anger management,
communication skills, addictions, employment preparation,
computer training, motivation and goal setting. The
project ran for a period of nine months and consisted
of six rotations of 4-week session. In each sessions,
twelve youth were given the chance to participate in the
project.
Hire Attitudes 2003-2005
Hire
Attitudes was Operation Go Home’s “job finding
club” for street cultured, marginalized, and at-risk
youth. Hire Attitudes provided job-preparation skills
and personal growth tools through five-day workshops.The
program was funded by HRSDC.
Testimonials from two
of the participants:
“I am doing great! I would have never gotten this
secretary job if it wasn’ t for you guys.
I am no longer on welfare. Thank you!!!!” -Victoria,
November 2003
“I really
liked the course; I have an awesome resume and more professionalism,
which is what I wanted”- Anonymous, December 2003
What’s
Up 2003-2004
This program focused on creating a Court Support Manual
informing youth of their legal rights and obligations.
Upon completion of the manual, the group created a user
friendly website containing the information found in the
manual. The program was funded by HRSDC.
Testimonials
from two of the participants:
“Thank you for all you have done for me.
If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have had a
job and know that I can do a lot more than I thought.
I’m glad that I was able to finish this program
and really upset that I have to leave, even though I will
be volunteering I still wish it was more. The staff at
Operation Go Home are like family to me and that’s
a good thing to me. Thanks for everything.” Christine
“It
was an awesome project. Thanx for the chance to improve
myself and to work alongside of Operation Go Home. It
is the best accomplishment of my life. Thank you again.”
James
Find more about What's Up, please click here
Racism:
Not Just a Colour 2002 – 2003
In
the Racism: Not Just a Colour program,
youth were provided with a camera to capture images of
what they feel is discrimination. These photos, along
with poems and short stories about racism, were put into
a book developed by the youth. The main goal was to provide
the public with the opportunity to look at life through
the eyes of the youth; to see what they see; to feel what
they feel. Out of the 11 who graduated, 7 went on to further
their education or obtain employment.