PARTNERSHIPS

Fostering strong community partnerships underpins all of the work we do.

Without our partners in business, education and community services, the research we conduct would not be as relevant and as accurate as it needs to be to develop an effective and viable workforce. These strategic relationships enable us to conduct research, publish our findings, and execute community consultations and events. Below is a list of current partnership projects we are working on at SLWDB:

Partnership Projects: 2011-2012

Skills Work Camp
Hold a summer skills camp for students going into Grades 7 and 8. Students introduced to construction, welding, culinary, alternative energy, film and video through hands-on workshops.  

Partner Recognition and Thanks: Skills Canada, Lambton College, DeGroot's Nurseries, Oil Museum of Canada/County of Lambton, Home Depot,


SLWDB Launches Products and Announces 2011-2012 Projects at Annual General Meeting
June 17, 2011 -- The Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board launched four reports from 2010-2011 and announced four new projects and partnerships for 2011-2012 during their Annual General Meeting and Breakfast today in Sarnia. The 2010-2011 Reports which were completed by March 2011 include, Sarnia Lambton's Labour Market Update (Formerly the TOP Report), Powering Sarnia Lambton's Green Economy, Green Occupational Profiles, and High Tech Careers for the Future: Sarnia Lambton's STEM Occupational Profiles. The reports are available as PDF downloads in the Publication section of the SLWDB website (click here).

The four new projects/partnerships that were announced were: Innovation Workshop, Entrepreneur Blog/Online Community, Ability First Conference, and Women in Science Forums. Visit this site and our Facebook page for more details on these projects and others in the months ahead.
 


Sarnia Lambton STEM Event
This event would address the entrepreneurship components of  the Workforce 2020 plan by putting a premium on interaction between students and business, by providing information and tutorials on entrepreneurship-related topics for students and the general public, and by encouraging mentorship between successful local entrepreneurs and exceptional science fair participants. The event will also address the STEM and career promotion components of the Workforce 2020 plan by embracing STEM research and business as the central theme and by providing numerous interactive examples of potential employers in STEM fields – from petrochemical processing and information technology to academic research that includes biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and technology.

Partner Recognition and Thanks:Lambton County Science Fair, Lambton Kent District School Board, St. Clair Catholic District School Board, Lambton College, University of Western Ontario – The Research Park, Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership, Junior Achievement, Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce

Innovation Workshop
The goal of this “innovation workshop” will be to encourage local business leaders to embrace innovation as an opportunity to grow their business rather than an abstract concept.

Partner Recognition and Thanks: Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce, Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership, Sarnia Lambton Business Development Corporation, UWO Research Park

Sarnia Lambton Entrepreneur Online Community
The goal of this project is to develop an online community for experienced entrepreneurs in Sarnia Lambton to share their wisdom, knowledge, successes and failures with budding entrepreneurs and youth.

Partner Recognition and Thanks: Lambton College, University of Western Ontario – The Research Park, Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership, Sarnia Lambton Business Development Corporation, Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce

Women in Science Forums
The goal of this project is to encourage the bottom 30%-80% of grade eight girls to stay in school and to seriously look at STEM (scientific) careers as viable career paths for them to follow. To bring professional women in STE (scientific) disciplines to present workshops in school to the girls separate from the boys and to keep them excited about science.

Partner Recognition and Thanks:Lambton Kent District School Board, St Clair Catholic District School Board


Ability First Conference during Business Week
The goal of this project is to highlight the benefits of hiring people with a disability.  The event would be either a morning session or an evening event.  Speakers would be brought in to highlight the cost benefits to hiring people with a disability.

Partner Recognition and Thanks:


Employer Appreciation Breakfasts

June 10, 2011 -- Cooperative education experience and excellence in Lambton-Kent were celebrated recently at the Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board’s annual Employer Appreciation Breakfast events.

The Chatham-Kent breakfast, held at Smitty’s Restaurant in Chatham on June 3, was attended by 150 employers and educators.

The Sarnia-Lambton Employer Appreciation Breakfast took place at the Holiday Inn in Point Edward on June 8, 2011, with 130 people in attendance.

Attendees were allowed to cast a vote for the best project in the Cooperative Education Fair contest and winners of the fair were awarded a certificate and a cash prize by Executive Director Vicky Ducharme.

Click here to see the winners!


Kurtis Dobbin Wins SLWDB Apprenticeship Award
May 19, 2011 -- LCCVI student Kurtis Dobbin was the recipient of the Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board Apprenticeship Award at the YMCA 2011 Celebration of Youth Awards Ceremony. This award celebrates success in skilled trades education, personal growth and an ability to work constructively and collegially with others and Kurtis Dobbin represents all of these traits to the highest level. His summer employer suggests that there are few individuals with the amount of pride in their work and perseverance on the that that are required in carpentry. In September Kurtis will pursue his talents in Construction Technology in College.



Workforce 2020 Strategies

Strategy 1

The purpose of the Strategy 1 Committee is to create a culture of entrepreneurship in Sarnia Lambton companies. This purpose was amended to also include a focus on supporting the efforts of individuals who are interested in entrepreneurship or starting new businesses – this decision was based on a need identified by numerous Committee members.

In order to accomplish the task of creating a culture of entrepreneurship the Strategy 1 Committee has begun work in a number of areas. First, the Committee has begun to research and create a directory of those resources available to companies and individuals that provide funding and support to entrepreneurship and innovation – including programs run by local, provincial and national organizations and governments. The Committee has also begun to investigate the role – or potential role – of angel investors in the Sarnia Lambton community. In terms of training, the Committee is researching entrepreneurship and innovation programs and training that currently exist within Sarnia Lambton – with a particular interest in those programs that encourage staff to be entrepreneurial and innovative within the company to produce new products, new markets, or better ways of doing business.

In the future, Strategy 1 Committee will be planning and implementing training workshops to fill identified gaps, and will create a strategy for promoting entrepreneurship in Sarnia Lambton – both to existing companies and aspiring individuals.

Partner Recognition and Thanks:UWO Research Park, CanWeb, Goodwill Industries, OLG Point Edward Charity Casino, Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership, Sarnia Lambton Business Development Corporation, MPB Industrial Ltd, Sarnia & District Labour Council

Strategy 2

The purpose of Strategy 2 Committee is to develop a pipeline of students to become the next generation of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial workers. The Committee subsequently decided that while the definition of “students” is open to interpretation, the Committee itself would be – at least initially – concerned with youth rather than lifelong learners.

This Committee is committed to making information pertaining to entrepreneurship programs more accessible. As a result, the strategy is currently working to create a catalogue of those entrepreneurship programs that are available to youth in Sarnia Lambton, with the intention to produce a document that is publicly available. The Committee is also currently engaged in developing strategies to improve participation rates in two youth entrepreneurship programs that are currently available in Sarnia Lambton – the Company Program offered by Junior Achievement and the Summer Company Program offered by the Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership. The goal is to build on those underutilized programs that currently exist in the community before creating something new.

In the future, the Strategy 2 Committee will be working to identify gaps in the available entrepreneurship programming for youth with an eye to filling those gaps, and will be creating a marketing strategy to encourage innovative and entrepreneurial thinking in Sarnia Lambton’s youth.

Partner Recognition and Thanks:Lambton College, Sarnia Business Enterprise Centre, Goodwill Industries, CCI Studios, RE/MAX, Sarnia Connects, MPB Industrial Ltd, Junior Achievement, Millwrights Local 1592, Sarnia Lambton Business Development Corporation

Strategy 3

The Strategy 3 Committee has been tasked with promoting career opportunities to Sarnia Lambton’s current and future talent base. This strategy is working to build a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the various employment-related organizations in Sarnia Lambton, support new tools for individuals in Sarnia Lambton to identify employment opportunities and find new ways of training the talent base for higher skill employment.

The Strategy 3 Committee has only just begun its work, having recently reviewed an action plan with a view to understanding those needs that have already been addressed and identifying those that still need to be addressed. The Committee is also currently sharing information to build a stronger network in order to assist with finding career opportunities in Sarnia Lambton. An asset map, which will provide a resource to help individuals find information about training, employment resources, and potential employers, has been developed with input from the Strategy 3 Committee. The members of the Committee have also agreed to partner on the initiative to establish a School of Environment in Sarnia Lambton to provide unskilled and at-risk youth with useful and marketable skills.

In the future the Strategy 3 Committee is committed to strengthening the Specialist High Skill Majors program and the Leaders in Schools program, working to make LiveinLambton.com the premiere online job board in Sarnia Lambton, and producing career pathway profiles to guide individuals to their chose career.

Partner Recognition and Thanks:Employment Resource Centre & Community Connections Sarnia Inc, TD Bank, City of Sarnia, The Workplace, Lambton College Employment & Learning Centre, Employment Service Access Kettle & Stony Point, Painters & Decorators Local 1590, Goodwill Career Centre, Lambton Kent District School Board, St Clair Catholic District School Board, Lambton College

Strategy 4

Strategy 4 Committee is primarily concerned with expanding the participation of students and incumbent workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. From the outset this Committee has been primarily concerned with students.

As of today, the Strategy 4 Committee is working on a single project – but what a project! The Committee has committed to hosting a STEM event for secondary school students from across Sarnia Lambton. This event will serve to introduce grade ten students to opportunities in STEM before they begin making important education decisions – specifically, before they select their courses for grade eleven, which is the first year in which they are able to choose whether or not to take science courses.

In the future, Strategy 4 Committee will work to find further opportunities to provide STEM-related opportunities to both youth and the general public, including planning educational events and investigating opportunities to build STEM awareness into school programming and curriculums.

Partner Recognition and Thanks: Lambton College, IBEW Local 530, OMAFRA, St Clair Catholic District School Board, Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership, Lambton Kent District School Board

Strategy 5

The Strategy 5 Committee is responsible for finding opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses and trade unions to access more customized education and specialized training resources.

This Committee has begun in earnest by researching the training needs of local businesses and unions. This research began with informal one-on-one interviews with members of the business community, and will continue with the distribution of a survey to businesses and unions from throughout Sarnia Lambton.

After the survey results are received, the Strategy 5 Committee will analyze the results to ascertain the community’s training needs, and begin to work within the Committee and with other community partners to provide that training. The Committee has also made a commitment to support other events that fit within the Strategy 5 mandate.

Partner Recognition and Thanks: Sarnia Lambton Business Development Corporation, Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership, Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce, Lambton College Employment & Learning Centre, The Workplace, Lambton College, Millwright Local 1592

Strategy 6
The Strategy 6 Committee is responsible for expanding national and international awareness of Sarnia Lambton’s specialized training and education resources.

This Committee has begun a two-pronged approach to expanding awareness. First, Committee members have been approaching representatives of the petrochemical industry in Alberta to introduce the education and training services that can be found in Sarnia Lambton, and to investigate opportunities for Lambton College students and graduates. Second, the Committee is approaching Ontario biofuel companies in order to evaluate training needs in that emerging industry while promoting Sarnia Lambton’s unique combination of leadership, experience and education in fuel-related and green industries.

The Strategy 6 Committee is currently working to identify further opportunities to promote Sarnia Lambton’s education and training resources at conferences and to build closer relationships with companies in the petrochemical and biofuel industries.

Partner Recognition and Thanks: Lambton College, Industrial Educational Cooperative, Sarnia Building and Construction Trades Council/Sheet Metal Workers Local 539, City of Sarnia, Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership