Mission Employable 2006
http://www.thebramptonnews.com/articles/104/1/Mission-Employable-2006/Page1.html
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Published on 05/26/2006
Mission Employable 2006: Getting Ready for the World of Work - Grade 12 students were unanimous in their praise for the third annual Mission Employable conference held May 10th and 11th at the Pearson Convention Centre.
Grade 12 students were unanimous in their praise for the third annual Mission Employable 2006. Held over two days at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton on May 10th and 11th, this year's conference accommodated over 500 grade 12 students drawn from the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and the Peel District School Board. Included in this year's program was an evening session for grades 7-10 parents and their children. True to its vision statement, Mission Employable celebrates graduating students' transition from school directly to the world of work, and provides them with opportunities to hear presentations, meet potential employers and obtain information from other agencies about their career choices.
The day began with the official welcomes from school board leaders and city officials. Wednesday featured salutations from Ralph Borrelli, Associate Director of DPCDSB and Susan Fennell and Marolyn Morrison, mayors of Brampton and Caledon, respectively. Likewise, on Thursday, the session opened up with welcoming words from Peel's Director, Jim Grieve, and Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion. The key speaker for both days was actor Christian Potenza. Potenza's work includes many commercials, including the Listerine gingivitis campaign and several tv credits, notably the voice of Jude on 6teen. Throughout his talk, Christian reminded his listeners that fifteen years ago, he was exactly in the same situation that they are currently in. According to Christian, one reason for his success was that he was always willing to let his job take him down different paths; Christian showed employers he was willing to follow through on ideas and take risks. Never did he imagine the world of opportunities that he would be exposed to: from acting, to writing, directing, producing, and so forth, all because he was open to the possibility. Christian did admit, however, that had he paid more attention to the sound advice of his parents and teachers, his path might have been less burdensome. Near the end of his speech, Christian surveyed the students' interests and job prospects and the responses ranged from hairstyling to professional wrestling. After listening to Christian's inspirational message, students moved on to the rest of the day's agenda.
One half of the students charged on to the Employer Expo to meet with employers, fill out resumes and in some cases, participate in an interview. In fact, there were students who were hired on the spot. More than 40 organizations offered students information about their companies. Not only did students receive bags of information, materials and products from the organizations and companies present, they gained insight into careers they may not have considered before. This was certainly true for the other half of the students who attended the carousel sessions. Presentations by the Canadian Armed Forces, Landscape Ontario, General Carpentry Apprenticeships (Carpenters' Local Union 27), Ministry of Labour/Live Safe Work Smart and Compass Group (hospitality industry) broadened students' scope of the types of opportunities available. After lunch, students participated in the activities that their counterparts experienced in the morning session. The day ended on an extremely high note with numerous door prizes.
All in all, student feedback confirmed for the organizing committee that all participants appreciated and gained many benefits from the event. Naturally students loved the idea of next year's Mission Employable being bigger and better.
Written by: Donna Berzaitis
For more information contact: Michelle Ouellette, OYAP/Technological Education Consultant, Dufferin-Peel CDSB, 40 Matheson Blvd. W, Mississauga, ON, L5R 1C5 TEL: 905.890.0708 ext 24524
http://w3.dpcdsb.org/MissionEmp/
Students listen to Young Worker Awareness carousel Speaker Michelle Issacs from the Ministry of Labour. Michelle lost her fiance in a workplace accident, and has dedicated her life to educating our next generation of workers to make sure that they know how to stay safe at work. Groups of 25-30 students rotated through her presentation until more than 500 students at the event heard her speak.
The day began with the official welcomes from school board leaders and city officials. Wednesday featured salutations from Ralph Borrelli, Associate Director of DPCDSB and Susan Fennell and Marolyn Morrison, mayors of Brampton and Caledon, respectively. Likewise, on Thursday, the session opened up with welcoming words from Peel's Director, Jim Grieve, and Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion. The key speaker for both days was actor Christian Potenza. Potenza's work includes many commercials, including the Listerine gingivitis campaign and several tv credits, notably the voice of Jude on 6teen. Throughout his talk, Christian reminded his listeners that fifteen years ago, he was exactly in the same situation that they are currently in. According to Christian, one reason for his success was that he was always willing to let his job take him down different paths; Christian showed employers he was willing to follow through on ideas and take risks. Never did he imagine the world of opportunities that he would be exposed to: from acting, to writing, directing, producing, and so forth, all because he was open to the possibility. Christian did admit, however, that had he paid more attention to the sound advice of his parents and teachers, his path might have been less burdensome. Near the end of his speech, Christian surveyed the students' interests and job prospects and the responses ranged from hairstyling to professional wrestling. After listening to Christian's inspirational message, students moved on to the rest of the day's agenda.
One half of the students charged on to the Employer Expo to meet with employers, fill out resumes and in some cases, participate in an interview. In fact, there were students who were hired on the spot. More than 40 organizations offered students information about their companies. Not only did students receive bags of information, materials and products from the organizations and companies present, they gained insight into careers they may not have considered before. This was certainly true for the other half of the students who attended the carousel sessions. Presentations by the Canadian Armed Forces, Landscape Ontario, General Carpentry Apprenticeships (Carpenters' Local Union 27), Ministry of Labour/Live Safe Work Smart and Compass Group (hospitality industry) broadened students' scope of the types of opportunities available. After lunch, students participated in the activities that their counterparts experienced in the morning session. The day ended on an extremely high note with numerous door prizes.
All in all, student feedback confirmed for the organizing committee that all participants appreciated and gained many benefits from the event. Naturally students loved the idea of next year's Mission Employable being bigger and better.
Written by: Donna Berzaitis
For more information contact: Michelle Ouellette, OYAP/Technological Education Consultant, Dufferin-Peel CDSB, 40 Matheson Blvd. W, Mississauga, ON, L5R 1C5 TEL: 905.890.0708 ext 24524
http://w3.dpcdsb.org/MissionEmp/
Students listen to Young Worker Awareness carousel Speaker Michelle Issacs from the Ministry of Labour. Michelle lost her fiance in a workplace accident, and has dedicated her life to educating our next generation of workers to make sure that they know how to stay safe at work. Groups of 25-30 students rotated through her presentation until more than 500 students at the event heard her speak.