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Helping people on welfare find jobs isn't unique, but the approach was. There would be no up-front government money. OFE would get a government stipend only after participants had been at a job for six months.
Two years later, the answer is in. "It works," says OFE general manager Ted Klassen, pointing to the over 600 people placed in long-term jobs. In May, the Manitoba government signed a new five-year agreement with OFE.
Participants are required to attend three one-day orientation session over a two-to-three-week period. OFE could do it all in one week, but wants to "test their commitment to stick with something over a longer period". Participants who are late or miss a class are asked to leave the course. (They can, however, reapply, and about half do.) The overriding message is that participants have to take responsibility. "It's not that we're trying to be hard-hearted," Klassen says. "Some of the stories [of drunken parents, broken families, abuse and poverty] make me want to cry. But out in the work world there are rules to live by and expectations to meet." Sending unmotivated and undisciplined people out to work would be bad for OFE--OFE doesn't get paid if they quit or get fired after a week.
Many of the participants say they will do almost anything to get a job, but the orientation helps them identify their skills, interests and work preferences. Most of the first group of participants OFE sent to a local company called All-Fab quit after the first week. The work--building roof and floor trusses--seemed attractive but was very hard. Now OFE takes participants on a tour of the plant first to see if they want to work there. Now most of the participants OFE sends to All-Fab stay. All-Fab operations manager Garry Roehr says of the people at OFE, "They understand what we need. They do a better job of preparing people than other job service agencies we have tried. Plus the ongoing support really makes a difference."
The orientation is followed by a five-day job-preparation course dealing with self-esteem, interview skills, networking, employer expectations and writing a resumé. At the end, participants receive a certificate, sometimes the only certificate they have ever received. They then look for work with the assistance of an employment consultant. Participants who keep their jobs are rewarded with movie passes, pop and gift certificates for staying one, three and six months. Those who stay six months are eligible for a draw to win a free TV and VCR. Seventy percent of those who find jobs through OFE are still working six months later.
Perhaps typical is Sandy Coad, a single mother of two who was laid off after 12 years of work using an in-house computer system and found going on welfare the hardest thing she had ever had to do. OFE helped her upgrade her computer skills and receive other job-related training. She now works as an office administrator at a janitorial service company.
John Longhurst, MEDA
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