Mission Community Skills Centre Society

24 hours ago

Kick Start opens doors to employment

MISSION, BC – For those looking to ‘kick start’ their journey into employment, they can now gain practical knowledge and support through the Kick Start Essential Skills program.

If you have trouble with computers, figuring out numbers, reading instructions, talking to your employer, or even landing that job, you can find the confidence you need through this new employment program in Mission. The Kick Start Essential Skills program gives people who may have limited work experience the practical tools they need to get into and to hold on to a job.

Kick Start officially opened in Mission on Aug. 28 with 13 participants who will attend the full-time program over 10 weeks at Riverside College. The Canadian Vocational Training Institute, a designated private training school, is delivering the program.

This innovative employment readiness course is one of several facilitated by Mission Community Skills Centre Society (MCSCS) in collaboration with Riverside College, itself a vocational post secondary training institute with Mission Public Schools.

MCSCS and Riverside College signed an agreement in June to offer a suite of Continuing Education courses and other training opportunities in trades and education for Mission-area residents. The Kick Start initiative fills an important need in the community.

“With the labour market being so tight right now, every British Columbian has to pitch in to help take advantage of this growing economy,” said Stephen Evans, MCSCS executive director.
As its name suggests, Kick Start Essential Skills provides basic employment tools to those who have a hard time getting and/or staying employed, or who want to improve their workplace skills.

Participants must have Grade 10 or mature student status.
The training aligns with the nine essential workplace skills identified by the federal ABC Life Literacy strategy. These are: reading, document use, numeracy, writing, oral communication, working with others, thinking skills, computer use, and continuous learning.

After 10 weeks in the classroom, students test their new skills in a real-life workplace practicum for two weeks. The CVTC facilitators find host employers that can provide work experience suitable to the students’ work history and ability. Practicums often lead to full-time employment opportunities for Kick Start participants.

On completion, participants earn a Kick Start Essential Skills certificate. They can also take up to three short-term occupational certificates, such as Serving it Right, Forklift Certification or First Aid.

To learn more details about the Kick Start Essential Skills program, call Colleen at MCSC at 604826-0626. The next session starts Nov. 6, 2017 with intake sessions on Sept. 20 – Sept. 21.

Mission Community Skills Centre is a non-profit organization that has facilitated or provided employment programs since its inception in 1995.
For more on programs and services at Mission Community Skills Centre, visit www.missioncsc.org or search for @mission.community.skills.centre on Facebook or Messenger. ... See MoreSee Less