Final Report

Electronic Networks Assisting Employment

Project File # 89293A

Telecommunities Canada Inc.

Prepared for

Office of Learning Technologies

Human Resources Development Canada

15 Eddy Street, Ground Floor

Hull, Quebec K1A 0M5

Prepared by

Telecommunities Canada

Contact Information

Gareth Shearman, President Telecommunities Canada 4252 Commerce Circle Victoria, BC V8Z 4M2 250-479-2851 shearman@tc.ca Marita Moll, Director Telecommunities Canada 3835 Revelstoke Drive Ottawa, Ontario K1V 7C2 613-521-8566 (hm) 613-232-1505 (wk) mmoll@fox.nstn.ca

Gordon Pearson, Executive Director Telecommunities Canada 399 Levis Street Vanier, ON K1L 6G6 613-749-6003 gpearson@tc.ca Christopher Cope, Director Telecommunities Canada c/o The National Capital FreeNet 402 Dunton Tower, 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6 613-520-2600 x8024 execdir@ncf.ca

Table of Contents

1.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There is a pressing need to provide on-line employment and training resources to Canadians. Electronic community networks are ideally placed to deliver these services locally.

The purpose of this study was to examine the current role of electronic community networks in providing employment assistance and skills training for Canadians and to recommend future directions in this area for Telecommunities Canada (TC) and its affiliated networks.

We compiled a database of electronic communities, surveyed 95 community Web sites, conducted interviews and documented examples of best practices. We identified on-line tools and resources -- Employment Resources, Learning and Distance Education Resources, and Internet Literacy & Other Tutorials -- that could be shared among community networks.

We found that many electronic communities are doing exemplary work in the area of employment aid and skills training. However, our Web site survey revealed that a large percentage of community sites do not yet feature job and skills training resources effectively.

Electronic community networks rate on-line employment aid and skills training as valuable services:

• some have comprehensive on-site areas dedicated to training or employment resources

• some feature links to such resources prominently on the Home page, while others have links in a variety of locations that are difficult to find

• some offer regular “live” orientation sessions or Internet literacy workshops, while others take a less formal approach

• most provide on-line instructions for new users

• a small number actively promote distance education at the secondary school level and above

• a handful have entered into partnerships with commercial providers of on-line training courses

• many have links to general government sites, frequently the Government of Canada official Home page or the Provincial Government, from which it is possible to access employment and training information

• most do not actively entice users to take advantage of the rich array of employment, career and learning resources available on-line through HRDC and other government sites

• most do not highlight the availability of non-government resources such as career or placement services or the classified employment listings that major newspaper chains make available on their Web sites Canada-wide

In a 1998 study entitled "The Information Highway and the Communication Household" undertaken by Ekos Research Associates Inc. and PIAC, it was found that 71% of respondents characterized themselves as likely (58%) or somewhat likely (13%) to use the Internet for activities related to training or education. Similarly, 59% said they were likely or somewhat likely to use the Internet to search for work.

Commenting on the study in "Community Networking and Access Initiatives in Canada", Andrew Reddick writes: "Education and personal improvement are highly valued and dominant reasons for many Canadians to use these new technologies. This is particularly true for middle and lower class Canadians."

Electronic networks can enhance their attractiveness to a large percentage of Internet users and potential users by fulfilling the demand for on-line employment, training and education resources.

The most successful community sites tend to feature job information and skills training information through prominent placement of links leading to up-to-date on-line resources. In addition to giving priority placement to such links -- especially the HRDC job banks and other services available from HRDC's site -- the most effective sites tend to present well organized resources with a strong local focus in addition to a range of provincial, national and international resources. Often the key is quality, not quantity.

Telecommunities Canada can do much to encourage the involvement of electronic networks by assembling existing resources and actively promoting their use by all community-based electronic networking organizations. Our key recommendations include:

• establishing a toolbox for electronic networks on the TC Web site as a single window to resources providing electronic communities with easy access to information

• undertaking a program of research and information to expand upon the resources identified by this study, ensuring that information remains current and capturing new resources as they become available

• promoting best practices with links to community sites demonstrating ways to implement a strong focus on employment resources and training resources

• identifying Internet literacy tools and other tutorials

• establishing a regular electronic news bulletin for electronic communities

• creation of an electronic forum for listserve discussions and web-based discussions among electronic communities

• developing opportunities for electronic communities to participate in conferences and workshops related to subjects such as distance learning and on-line training

• developing partnerships benefiting electronic communities

The recommendations for action by Telecommunities Canada can be realized most economically in the context of a single Community Learning Network project designed to strengthen electronic networks rather than a separate proposal dealing with employment and training issues.

We recommend that Telecommunities Canada pursue its community networking support initiative -- the network of networks -- incorporating the recommendations of this study as essential elements in a broader objective.

2.INTRODUCTION

2.1.Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the current role of electronic community networks in providing employment assistance and skills training for Canadians and to recommend future directions in this area for Telecommunities Canada and its affiliated networks.

In addition to discovering the level of employment assistance and skills training being offered directly by community networks – both through on-line services and through off-line “live” programs – we were interested in the degree to which community networks are involved in partnerships with other organizations to deliver services.

We asked community networks to rate the relative importance they place on providing employment assistance and skills training.

We gathered information about problems and successes experienced by community networks and probed for recommendations concerning the kinds of tools and resources that would help community networks meet their employment/skills-related objectives.

At the same time, we sought to identify examples of best practices, tools and resources that could be shared among community networks.

2.2.Methodology

We examined the Web sites of 95 community networks and electronic networking organizations, including CAP sites (see section 2.4.1 Web Sites Surveyed), to determine what resources they provide on-line and to check for evidence of off-line activities (see Appendix 5.2.1 Web Site Survey Checklist). We searched each site for contact information to augment the on-line databases of electronic networks housed on Telecommunities Canada’s Web site. Care was taken to include sites from most geographic areas of Canada in both large and small communities.

After compiling the data from the Web-based survey, in-depth interviews were conducted (see Appendix 5.2.2 Interview Form) with a number of community networks. These interviews gave insight into the needs and practices of community networking organizations and helped to shape our recommendations concerning future activities that should be undertaken by Telecommunities Canada.

Throughout the survey and interview process, a review was conducted of on-line sites relating to employment resources, on-line training, distance education, government resources, Internet literacy, community networking and volunteering. Links to many useful resources are included in Section 5.1 Employment Resources, Section 5.2 Learning and Distance Education, and section 5.2 Internet Literacy & Other Tutorials.

2.3.Creating the Contact Database

Efforts have been made by a number of organizations in the past to catalogue Canadian community networks and free-nets. While many of these lists still exist, none is complete and most have not been updated in several years.

Although there is no authoritative directory of electronic networking organizations, we were able to compile a usable list for our survey by using data from a variety of sources.

Industry Canada maintains a comprehensive database of links to rural sites established under its current CAP (Community Access Program) across Canada. With the rollout of “Urban CAP”, there are expected to be up to 10,000 public access sites catalogued. Many, but not all, of Canada’s full-fledged community networks are being captured in this process, since a large number are participating or expected to participate in the CAP program.

The most useful directories regionally are available through the Telecommunities Canada Web site for its affiliates in BC and Alberta.

The BCCNA (British Columbia Community Networking Association) has established a contact database of BC sites, without distinguishing between CAP sites and community networks, which it keeps up to date through regular e-mail probes. This database, and its clone covering Alberta, provides URL links where applicable, postal addresses, phone and fax numbers plus names and e-mail addresses for administrators and technical personnel. Data can be downloaded in tab-delimited, comma-delimited and bookmark formats. The Web sites of these organizations can be accessed alphabetically by Community Network, alphabetically by city and geographically through a clickable map interface.

Another TC affiliate, the Saskatchewan Association of Community Networks, provides a more traditionally formatted contact list of its member organizations with postal, phone, fax and e-mail information. We were able to find URLs for most of the SACN members.

The following table shows the primary sources used to begin compiling our contact database. Several community networks and associations, including Telecommunities Canada, feature links to an assortment of networking organizations and other free-nets. These links were followed to locate additional data.

Combining the Community Networks Directories from BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan yielded a database of 288 organizations in western Canada. Contact information was gathered for 83 additional organizations located in Nunavut, Yukon, NWT, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada for a total of 371 (see Appendix 5.3 Database of Community Networks/CAP Sites). URLs were found for 198 of these organizations and surveys of 95 Web sites were conducted (see section 2.4. Web Sites Surveyed).

In broad terms, our Web site survey looked at “community-based electronic networking organizations”. We encountered a wide range of organizations including CAP sites, CAP networks, community networks, free-nets, non-profit ISPs and community learning networks

In our view, all such organizations have a role to play in enabling Canadians to use new technologies to improve their employability skills and find jobs, just as they have a role to play in community-building, capacity-building and fostering life-long learning.

2.4.Web Sites Surveyed

3.WEB SITE SURVEY

The investigation involved browsing the Web sites of 95 community-based electronic networking organizations. While these sites are not necessarily representative of all electronic networks, CAP sites or community networks, we believe that by examining a fairly large number of sites we have gained a better understanding of the kinds of employment and skills-related resources that are generally being offered.

We searched the sites in much the same way a general user might – a general user keenly looking for information and resources related to jobs and training. If we were unable to locate relevant information, we concluded that the information either did not exist or was too well hidden to be useful to the majority of visitors.

We began by looking for links or hot-buttons indicating areas dedicated to employment, jobs, careers, education and on-line training (see Appendix 5.2.1 Web Site Survey Checklist). Although few examples of dedicated areas were found, several organizations display prominent links to education resources and/or jobs-related resources.

3.1.Training & Education Resources

Of the sites examined, almost 20% have at least one easily found link that could be followed to some sort of education, training or skills-related resource apart from the organization’s own “help desk” functions. Frequently such links are located in areas dedicated to “Community”. “Economy”, “Government” or “Education”.

Figure 1: Sites displaying links to training & education resources

The nature of the resources varies widely with links to local schools, colleges and universities, provincial government sites, Government of Canada sites, local and national HRDC sites, Web design courses and distance education providers.

Direct links to HRDC’s Web site, and the skills/training/learning resources available there, were found in 16% of the cases.

Help desks and FAQ files are common on community networks as a means of learning computer and Internet skills. In addition to obtaining on-line help from volunteer experts on specific technical problems, in most cases users can learn how to register for an account, how to send and read e-mail, how to navigate the site and how to participate in discussion groups. Where the network hosts Web pages for users and other organizations, instructions and help are often available on how to put up a Web page. Many community networks also provide telephone help lines where users can leave a message if they require assistance.

In checking for evidence of off-line “live” training activities, we found that 17% of the organizations surveyed apparently offer training and skills-building activities related to computer literacy and general Internet use, primarily aimed at new users. However, activities of this nature are not always advertised on an organization’s Web site -- it is possible that there is more live training being carried out than could be ascertained through our Web survey, especially unstructured or informal one-on-one orientation sessions.

3.2.Employment Resources

Close to 30% of the sites visited have at least one link to job-related resources, especially provincial government employment sites, youth employment resources, local job listings, employment agencies, local HRDC job banks or the national HRDC Web site.

Links to HRDC employment resources were found in 26% of the cases.

Figure 2: Sites displaying links to employment resources

3.3. Key Web Site Findings

There are widely varying degrees of employment and training services on the sites that we visited:

• some have comprehensive on-site areas dedicated to training or employment resources

• some feature links to such resources prominently on the Home page, while others have links in a variety of locations that are difficult to find

• some offer regular “live” orientation sessions or Internet literacy workshops, while others take a less formal approach

• most provide on-line instructions for new users

• a small number actively promote distance education at the secondary school level and above

• a handful have entered into partnerships with commercial providers of on-line training courses

• many have links to general government sites, frequently the Government of Canada official Home page or the Provincial Government, from which it is possible to access employment and training information

• most do not actively entice users to take advantage of the rich array of employment, career and learning resources available on-line through HRDC and other government sites

• most do not highlight the availability of non-government resources such as career or placement services or the classified employment listings that major newspaper chains make available on their Web sites Canada-wide

4.IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS

In connection with this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of community networks. These were selected with a view to obtaining input from a range of communities of different sizes, including some with CAP involvement.

These interviews were held to gain a deeper understanding of the work being done by community networks in the field and to obtain first-hand information about the pertinent issues facing electronic networking organizations. The interviews gathered general recommendations on ways to encourage the electronic networking community’s involvement in skills-training and employment aid, as well as information and opinions concerning:

• the role of volunteers

• what partnering arrangements, if any, are in place with other organizations

• how much importance networking organizations place upon providing on-line skills training, on-line employment aid, off-line skills training and off-line employment aid

• what types of skills-training and job-finding services are most in demand and what new services, if any, networking organizations would like to offer

4.1.Volunteers

Volunteers play a central role in the lives of most community networks. Large and small organizations depend on volunteers to assist with a variety of tasks including:

• administrative/office duties

• software development

• equipment maintenance

• fundraising, marketing and public relations work

• help desks and mentoring

• workshops and instructional work

• Web page maintenance, -- including Web pages devoted to training and employment resources

• Web page training for non-profit groups and Information Providers

Volunteers are recipients of much of the training and skills development work being done by community networks. Often volunteers learn skills or obtain experience leading them to full-time employment elsewhere. Working with community networks, volunteers contribute to a community building process that includes strong learning elements.

As an example, one organization employs volunteers and co-op students to create special-interest information resources for affinity groups such as seniors, the military and others. The volunteers gain experience in how to do research on the Internet and how to build effective Web pages. Working closely with the affinity groups, the volunteers also learn about the areas they are researching.

4.2.Partnering Arrangements

Partnering opportunities vary from community to community as do the personalities and interests of the principals involved. It was difficult to determine from our Web site survey to what extent networks are involved in partnering arrangements with other organizations, although strong relationships with libraries were evident in many cases. From our interviews we learned of a variety of partnerships involving the sharing of space and connectivity costs, co-op and internship relationships with colleges and universities, partnerships with labour councils, economic development agencies, school boards and libraries, co-promotional arrangements with local media and referral arrangements with education/training providers.

Close partnerships involving several community networks and local volunteer agencies have developed recently as a result of Industry Canada’s VolNet program whereby electronic networking organizations help to provide Internet access, training and Web site hosting for non-profit groups.

In several cases, it was clear that strong relationships with local HRDC offices as well as funding support have been instrumental in helping community networks to engage in community-building activities over the long term. Such activities include ongoing Internet skills training and regular workshops teaching people how to use the Internet to search for jobs and employability skills resources.

4.3.Priorities of Community Networks

Community networks consistently rate on-line skills training and on-line employment aid as valuable services that are or should be given high priority.

A great deal of effort has been invested by community networks to foster basic “Internet literacy” -- on-line training for their new users in how to use essential tools available on the system such as e-mail, discussion groups and telnet; how to navigate the site; and how to get help.

Most rate off-line or “live” training as highly desirable, citing the need to provide hands-on orientation for new users and training for volunteers in a variety of tasks. Frequently, seniors are mentioned as a target group for live orientation sessions.

Beyond giving many users their first taste of the Internet, community networks see an important role for themselves as facilitators of more advanced on-line learning by providing free/low-cost connectivity to those who need it and making a rich array of learning resources available on-line. They recognize a similar role in the area of on-line employment aid where people need access to connectivity and information resources as well as the communication tools that mature community networks typically provide.

In keeping with their mandates to provide on-line space for community interaction and community information, community networks place a high priority on encouraging non-profit groups and individual users to establish a Web presence. A variety of resources are often made available including HTML tutorials and publishing tools – in some cases volunteers are mobilized to assist.

4.4.Services in Demand and New Services Needed

Community networks that provide links to employment information and job-finding resources report that these resources are popular and heavily used.

By providing access to the World Wide Web, community networks enable users to search and browse employment opportunities, career information and training resources.

By supplying e-mail services to users – and, in some cases, Webmail through Telecommunities Canada – community networks enable job seekers to send a résumé via e-mail and exchange e-mail with prospective employers or communicate with training providers and educational institutions.

It is likely that on-line local discussion groups focusing on employment and training matters are a useful source of information and support for users whether they contribute to the discussions or simply observe. Sharing first-hand experiences and opinions about on-line training courses, for example, can help people decide which courses are best for them. Parents involved in home schooling can share information about educational resources. Discussion forums for the self-employed and people engaged in home-based business are similarly useful. Community networks provide users with the means to participate in discussion groups both locally and abroad.

Some community networks are making advances in on-line skills training and distance education. Most agree that there is a growing demand for community networks to help raise the public’s awareness of distance education and to provide access to the diploma, degree and certificate courses that are now beginning to be offered on-line by schools, colleges, universities and training institutions.

There is clearly a role for access sites to act as distance education centres by providing physical facilities (workstations and connectivity) for on-line learners as well as information about the availability of on-line resources, especially in communities where universities and colleges do not do so.

All organizations interviewed believe that “thin client” services, along the lines of the Community Learning Network project currently being piloted in Ottawa by the National Capital FreeNet, would be a powerful asset locally. This service allows users to dial up to a local server to use software that they might not otherwise have access to. The service is aimed primarily at people who need access to “state-of-the-art” software but do not have computer equipment capable of running the software or cannot purchase the software on their own. This service provides them with the opportunity to upgrade their employability skills by learning to use word processing, spreadsheet, graphics software and other programs in demand in the workplace.

Owing to growing interest in e-commerce among small businesses and the proliferation of home-based business, many organizations recognize a need to provide training programs in how to set up a Web site and conduct e-business over the Internet. A small number have already begun moving in this direction.

Several organizations hope to build or upgrade existing help and resource pages on their sites to assist users and to improve the efficiency of volunteers. Up-to-date links on Internet literacy and Internet safety, as well as tutorials on how to search the Internet, do job and training searches and how to do HTML are needed.

Most organizations believe that live help sessions in computer use and Internet use are very much in demand for seniors, the economically disadvantaged, volunteers and voluntary organizations.

In this regard, several interviewees mentioned the need for “train the trainers” programs to give volunteers necessary skills and to groom team leaders to head volunteer committees. Video conferencing capabilities are seen as highly desirable for delivering train-the-trainers programs and professional development programs.

Many see a need in their communities for database inventories of locally available volunteer skills to assist with volunteer recruitment and placement.

5.BEST PRACTICES

5.1.Employment Resources

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) provides the most comprehensive collection of employment resources and related tools on the Web at "The Work Place" -- http://workplace.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/index.htm -- presented in the following sections:

• Starting - Useful starting points, internet tutorials and resources

• Work/Job Listings - Find Work. Includes a list of Newspaper Help Wanted ads from across Canada

• Career - Career information to help you find work, or stay competitive within your career

• News - Newspaper, Media and Current Information resources to help you stay informed Industry - Industry information and resources Directories - Business, Industry & Association directories.

• Communities - Find information on Canadian communities

• Education - Information links to education, training and literacy

• Business - Information and resources to assist business

• Statistics - Statistical, Analysis and Factual resource sites

• Other - Travel information, Calculators, Dictionaries, Weather Forecasts and other useful utilities

• The Work Place – Work and Job Opportunities -- http://workplace.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/jobs.htm – links to HRDC National job Bank http://jb-ge.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ and Canadian Newspaper Help Wanted Ads http://workplace.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/wantad.htm as well as links to a variety of job search sites including job opportunities with provincial, territorial and municipal governments.

• The Work Place – Career – http://workplace.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/career.htm -- links to sites that offer assistance for career decision making. Information on job search, resume writing and other forms of career advice

• Especially: The Work Place – Career Resources for Job/Work Seekers – Networking; Resume help; cover letters; Interview Tips and Practice; negotiating job offers and employment contracts http://workplace.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/workhelp.htm

• The Work Place – Education Resources http://workplace.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/educate.htm – includes links to:

• CanLearn Interactive http://www.canlearn.ca/ a one-stop resource for information and interactive planning tools to explore learning and education opportunities, research occupations, develop learning strategies and create financial plans to achieve one’s goals.

• And a variety of links to Universities and Colleges, School Finder http://www.schoolfinder.com/ as well as resources for educators and students

In addition to the HRDC sites, a number of highly recommended employment sites are listed in the table below:

Campusaccess.com provides a good selection of Canadian and International job sites at http://www.campusaccess.com/campus_web/resource/r3ref_careerjobslinks.htm --

Canadian Job Sites

Acti Jobs | Adguide's | AERO JOBS | Atlantic Canada Careers | Agricultural Placements | Biotech Network | Brains Talent | CACEE | Campus workLink | Canada Employment Weekly | CanadaIT | Canada WorkinfoNET | Canadian Career Page | Canadian Careers | Canada Jobs | Careerbridge | Career Click | Careerinternetworking.com | CareerMosaic Canada | CareerOwl | Directory of Canadians Recruiters | CCHREI | CNC Global | CultureNet (jobs in arts) | D-Net Recruiting (Canadian Forces) | eHARVEST | Education Canada | Electronic Labour Exchange | WWW Employment Office | Forestry Job Board | GlobeCareers | Hi Tech Career Centre | Hospitality Careers Online | Job Bank | Job Board | Job Find 2000 | Job Impact - Viasite | jobPostings | JobSAT | Job Shark Canada | Jobs.ca | Jobs Canada | jobsMARKET | Monster Board | National Job Bank | Netjobs | On-Site | + Jobs Canada | Sun newspapers job search | Toronto Star job search

International Job Sites JobBank USA | Career Exchange | Monster Board | Job Shark UK 1-Jobs.com | Accountemps | Alumni-Network | JobNet | Career Net | CareerExchange | CareerMosaic | CareerNet |Guide To Jobs In Japan | High Technology Careers | Jobs In Government (JIG)

The Ontario Network of Employment Skills Training Projects (ONESTEP) http://www.onestep.on.ca/, a province-wide umbrella organization for organizations that sponsor community-based training projects, has a good list of job and training resource sites at http://www.onestep.on.ca/online/et_links.htm --

General job sites
These sites cover general sites and sites that cover a specific region, industry, career path, or age group.

• Calgary's Youth Employment Centre has a magazine (Employment Strategies), and job search / career planning tips aimed mostly at school-age folks. (English)

• Campusaccess.com is a comprehensive site geared to college and university students. Includes jobs and internships databases. (English)

• Industry Canada's Campus WorkLink / National Graduate Register for college and university grads has a place to post your resume, and more (English/French)

• Canada WorkInfoNet has extensive links to all kinds of information useful for job seekers. (English/French)

• Career Place: a site for Canadian Aboriginal women. Resume database; links to useful resources. (English)

• Charity Village's Career Centre is a great source for jobs in the nonprofit sector. (English/French)

• HRDC's Electronic Labour Exchange is an electronic employment service that matches people's profiles to job profiles. (English/French).

• HRDC's National Job Bank is a fully searchable database of jobs posted through HRDC (English/French)

• MazeMaster intends to be a one-stop shop for youth employment. Mostly links lists. (English/French)

• Public Service of Canada Recruitment Site has links to their programs, to PSC jobs open to the public, to their newsletter, and to PSC offices across Canada. (English/French, text-only versions available)

• The Riley Guide: employment opportunities and job resources on the internet. Some "international" links, including Canada; these are mostly the big sites like HRDC. (US-based, English)

• Strategis is a government site with all kinds of information about business and businesses, and business-related information in Canada. Includes a library of articles. Ideal for researching industries or companies, among many other things. (English/French, text-only option available)

• Vivre la mode is for those interested in employment in Canada's fashion industry (French)

• Young Canada Works is a site from the Department of Canadian Heritage. Covers their summer job and graduate internship programs. (English/French)

The Oxford County Library does an excellent job of presenting a distillation of the most essential employment-related links at http://www.ocl.net/employment/job.shtml. The site is exemplary for its economy and clarity.

Edmonton Community Network is a good example of a community network that provides a high-profile Careers and Employment area on its site at http://ecn.ab.ca/netpages/. ECN presents resources under the following categories --

• Local and National Resources

• Career Sites

• Employment Agencies

• Employment Sites

• Youth Employment and Career Sites

• International Resources

• International Job Sites

• Alberta Jobs Discussion Group

Similarly, the Vancouver Community Network provides an excellent job search and resources page at http://www.vcn.bc.ca/jobs/ as shown below --

BC Job Posting Boards

B.C. Agricultural Labour Pool www.agri-labourpool.com/postings/home.html

B.C. Public Service www.postings.gov.bc.ca

BC & Yukon Technical Jobs www.bcyk-techjobs.ca/bcyk/joblogin/gensearchjobs.qry?function=form

BC Biotechnology Alliance www.biotech.bc.ca - Biotech industry

Education Canada (BC) www.educationcanada.com/edbc/index.htm

Engineers & Geoscientists of BC www.apeg.bc.ca/employment/employment.htm

GVRD www.vcn.bc.ca/jobs/jobs2.htm – Municipality job postings

Health Employment www.bchealthjobs.com/employopp.html

Human Resources Development Canada http://jb-ge.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/ - Job Bank

Public Service Commission of Canada http://jobs.gc.ca

T-Net British Columbia www.bctechnology.com/frameset_emp.html

Local Newspapers

Employment Paper www.van.net/emppaper - Weekly career, employment and career-training resource publication

North Shore News www.nsnews.com - Newspaper ads

The Vancouver Sun and Province http://careerclick.com/bc

Vancouver Employment Agencies

Advanced Technology Partners www.atpstaff.com - Information technology, administration, clerical, construction

Ajilon Canada www.dgsinfo.com - IT

Angus Miles www.angusmiles.com/index.html - Temporary & permanent in a wide variety of fields

Ashton Computer Professionals www.acprecruit.com - Advanced computing & telecommications

Blackshire Technical Recruiting www.blackshire.com - Technical, Vancouver & USA

The Cadman Group www.cadman.ca/Opportunities.htm - IT

Caldwell Partners www.caldwellpartners.com - Canada wide, top management & senior professionals

Computer-Tech Consultants www.ctctech.com - High Tech, Canada & US

Conlin Personnel www.conlinpersonnel.com - Various positions

Corporate Recruiters Ltd www.corporate.bc.ca - Technology

DDP Consulting Group www.ddp.ca - Contract positions, information and communications

EAGLE Professional Resources www.eagleonline.com - IT only, Canada wide

Holloway Schulz www.holloway-schulz.bc.ca - Clerical support to senior positions

JENEX Technology Placement www.jenex.bc.ca - Software professionals

Kirkpatric Personnel www.kirkpatrick.ca - Office administration, accounting & financial/securities

Manpower of Vancouver www.manpowervan.com - Clerical and technical, temporary and full-time

Our Compliments www.ourcompliments.net - Post resumes for Food Services positions

The Personnel Department tpd.com - BC, Alberta, Oregon, Utah and Australia

Positionwatch www.positionwatch.com - Network of sites

Raintech www.raintech.bc.ca - IT positions

Search West www.searchwest.ca - Sales & marketing

Senior Quality Personnel www.recruitex.com/sqp - Canada & U.S.A., older experienced professionals

Canadian Job Posting Boards

ActivEmploi www.activemploi.com - Many Quebec positions and Canada

Atlantic Canada Careers www.acc.net

Canada Careers www.canadacareers.com

Canadajobs.com www.canadajobs.com

Canadian Careers www.canadiancareers.com

Career Edge www.careeredge.org - Canada wide for recent graduates, 6 to 12 month internships with private or public agencies

Career Mosaic canada www.careermosaic.com

Job Positions; post resumes

Career Exchange www.careerexchange.com - U.S. and Canada

Education Canada www.educationcanada.com/index.htm - Canadian educational opportunities

Jobshark.com www.jobshark.com - Free sign up to view job positions; post resumes

The Monster Board www.monster.ca - The Canadian version of the very popular U.S. job board

NetJobs www.netjobs.com - U.S. and Canada technical positions

Workink www.workink.com/workink/bc - Virtual Employment Resource Centre On Disability

Workopolis www.workopolois.com - Canada's biggest job site

5.2. Learning and Distance Education Resources

The following selections range from comprehensive sites dealing with on-line learning such as the HRDC-sponsored CanLearn (http://www.canlearn.ca/) to examples of commercial providers of on-line training courses such as DPEC.

CanLearn	http://www.canlearn.ca/
CAP - Learning links	http://cap.ic.gc.ca/english/6500.htm
DPEC / MindLeaders.com - online training courses offered through several community networks under its WebShare & Affinity Channel Partners programs	http://www.dpec.com/
HRDC’s Interactive Training Inventory - registry of Ontario institutions offering on-site training	http://209.47.1.53:9010/iti/owa/users.opening_screen
Learning Technologies Tool Box	Http://olt-bta.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/pract/toolbox.html
OLT Learner's Corner	http://olt-bta.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/learning/index.html
ONESTEP Education and Training Resources	http://www.onestep.on.ca/online/knowledge.htm
Search the Canadian Education Resources Directory - Find it!	http://www.canlearn.ca/English/find/webdirectory/category.html
Entrepreneurship Online - from Canadian Business Resource Centre - fees; 6-module training course starting & running a business; e-mail-based assignments, scheduled CHATs	http://www.cbrc.com/edl/index.htm
Ministry of Education - Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Distance Education Links	http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/relsites/distance.html
Open Learning Agency	http://www.ola.bc.ca/
Open School (BC) Distance Education Guidebook - K-12 resources online	http://www.openschool.bc.ca/de/index.html
RIDE (Resources In Distance Education)	http://ccism.pc.athabascau.ca/html/ccism/deresrce/de.htm
SAVIE – Support Action to facilitate the use of Videoconferencing in Education	http://www.savie.com/
TeleCampus Course Directory - Index of 20,000 Online Courses worldwide	Http://courses.telecampus.edu/
TeleEducation NB – toolbox, searchable databases of distance education resources	http://teleeducation.nb.ca/home/
The EDEN Project – high school credit courses	Http://eden.on.ca/indexx.htm
University of Alberta – distance education subject guide	http://www.atl.ualberta.ca/disted/
University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies - Correspondence, distance & on-line learning	http://learn.utoronto.ca/distance/index.asp
www.ZDU.com - Learn MORE. Learn NOW.	http://welcome.zdu.com/

5.3.Internet Literacy and other Tutorials

The task of providing Internet literacy and basic computer skills training is made easier by taking advantage of free tutorials available on the Web. Examples are collected in the table below. Several community networks have created excellent help and resources pages on their sites including Brant FreeNet (http://bfree.on.ca/), Comox Valleylinks (http://www.valleylinks.net/help/index.shtml) and Chebucto Community Net (http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/), among others.

Beginners' Central, an excellent Users Guide to the Internet	http://northernwebs.com/bc/
Berkeley – tutorial – finding information on the Internet	http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html#Outline
Blackboard - Bringing Education Online - free hosting of Web-based courses for instructors	http://www.blackboard.com/
CompuMentor Resource Center - tutorials and resources for non-profits; web design resources	http://www.compumentor.org/cm/resources/articles/126.html
HTML tutorials in web page design - from Brant FreeNet	http://bfree.on.ca/html/
Internet 101 – the basics – instructions for people who don’t like to read instructions	http://www2.famvid.com/i101/
Internet Guides, Tutorials, and Training Information (Library of Congress)	http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/internet/training.html
Lanark County CAP - Online Tutorial on how to use Web browsers	http://www.lccin.on.ca/cap/tutorial/choose.htm
LEARN THE NET An Internet Guide and Tutorial	http://www.learnthenet.com/english/index.html
Learning on the Web – introduction to learning tools and creating on-line courses	http://teleeducation.nb.ca/lotw/content/c7.html
Macintosh tips & tutorials	http://users.supernet.com/ohora/MacintoshTips.html
Open Studio The Arts Online - Trainers Lounge - free tutorials and tips for Windows, Mac, Web site design - funded by National Endowment for the Arts and the Benton Foundation	http://www.openstudio.org/info-url1595/info-url.htm
PC Show and Tell - free desktop tutorials 20,000 videos for 100 titles	http://www.pcshowandtell.com/index.asp
The World Lecture Hall - university courses and other excellent resources	http://www.utexas.edu/world/lecture/index.html
WebTeacher Tutorial-resources for teachers- excellent Web tutorials and links	http://www.webteacher.org/winexp/indextc.html
Windows 95 Training Modules - free tutorials	http://rustysmith.com/Win95Train/Win95.htm

6.RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1.Overview

In a 1998 study entitled "The Information Highway and the Communication Household" undertaken by Ekos Research Associates Inc. and PIAC, it was found that 71% of respondents characterized themselves as likely (58%) or somewhat likely (13%) to use the Internet for activities related to training or education. Similarly, 59% said they were likely or somewhat likely to use the Internet to search for work.

Commenting on the study in "Community Networking and Access Initiatives in Canada", Andrew Reddick writes: "Education and personal improvement are highly valued and dominant reasons for many Canadians to use these new technologies. This is particularly true for middle and lower class Canadians."

Electronic networks can enhance their attractiveness to a large percentage of Internet users and potential users by fulfilling the demand for on-line employment, training and education resources.

The most successful community sites tend to feature job information and skills training information through prominent placement of links leading to up-to-date on-line resources. In addition to giving priority placement to such links -- especially the HRDC job banks and other services available from HRDC's site -- the most effective sites tend to present well organized resources with a strong local focus in addition to a range of provincial, national and international resources. Often the key is quality, not quantity.

There is a pressing need to provide on-line employment and training resources to Canadians. Electronic community networks are ideally placed to deliver these services locally.

While many are doing exemplary work and report that their organizations are strengthened by doing so, others -- more than half, according our Web site survey -- do not yet feature job and skills training resources effectively.

Telecommunities Canada can do much to encourage the involvement of electronic networks by assembling existing resources and actively promoting their use by all community-based electronic networking organizations.

6.2.A Toolbox for Electronic Networks

6.2.1Single Window to Resources

Links to essential on-line employment and training resources should be compiled on the Telecommunities Canada Web site to provide electronic communities with easy access to information.

1. Research and Information Gathering

A program of research and information gathering should be undertaken to expand upon the resources identified by this study, ensuring that information remains current and capturing new resources as they become available.

6.2.3Examples of Best Practices

Links should be displayed to community sites demonstrating ways to implement a strong focus on employment resources and training resources.

6.2.4Internet Literacy Tools and Other Tutorials

Links to web-based tutorials should be featured, especially those that teach:

• how to search the Internet effectively for employment, career and training information

• how to use web browsers, e-mail, listserves, discussion groups

• how to use popular desktop applications

• how to create Web pages

• how to use videoconferencing

6.3.Electronic Bulletin

Telecommunities Canada should produce a regular electronic news bulletin containing information of interest to electronic communities. The e-bulletin should be used to promote awareness among electronic communities of employment and training resources available through the TC Web site.

6.3.1Highlight Jobs and Training Resources

As a regular feature, each issue of the e-bulletin should highlight one or two employment and training resources. The e-bulletin should also direct community networkers to new or updated information on the Telecommunities Canada Web site.

2. Feature Exemplary Practices

Each issue should include a link to a featured community site demonstrating exemplary practices such as the effective use of on-line employment or training resources, noteworthy new tools, tutorials or new partnerships.

6.4.Encourage Exchange

6.4.1Electronic Forum

Community networks have a strong interest in learning from each other by sharing knowledge and information. Telecommunities Canada should provide an electronic forum for listserve discussions and web-based discussions among electronic communities. TC should actively foster exchange on employment and training matters as well as other issues of concern to electronic networks.

6.4.2Workshops

Telecommunities Canada should seek out opportunities for electronic communities to participate in conferences and workshops related to subjects such as distance learning and on-line training. TC's involvement might include co-sponsoring workshops in collaboration with other organizations or delivering existing workshops over the Web.

6.5.Develop Partnerships

Telecommunities Canada should promote an appreciation of the resources and capabilities of electronic networks among other organizations such as providers of distance education and on-line training. Opportunities for partnerships involving referral-commission arrangements between training providers and electronic networks should be developed.

Telecommunities should seek out funding opportunities to encourage training efforts by electronic networks, especially train-the-trainer workshops for volunteers and Internet literacy workshops for new users.

7.Next Steps

Canada's community-based electronic networks are ideally placed to provide on-line training and employment resources and Telecommunities Canada has a vital role to play.

TC's role can be realized most economically in the context of a Community Learning Network designed to strengthen community-based electronic networking organizations -- a community networking support initiative or "network of networks" that incorporates the recommendations of this study as essential elements in a broader objective.

8.APPENDICES

8.1.Survey forms

8.1.1Web Site Survey Checklist

Inventory of On-line Training/Skills-Building/Education Services:

Inventory of On-line Employment Aid/Jobs Services:

8.1.2Interview Form

Employment Aid and Employment Skills-Building Activities

Introduction

Hello, my name is ____________ calling from Telecommunities Canada.

We are conducting some research, funded by the Office of Learning Technologies at HRDC, into the kinds of services that community networks across Canada currently offer to their communities. We are focusing on the areas of skills training and employment aid. We’re interested in training resources and programs you offer that people might use to improve their skills, especially employability skills. We’re also interested in employment-related services and resources that people might use to find jobs.

In addition to doing a broad-based survey of Web sites, we are also conducting a number of in-depth interviews. The information you provide in this interview will be used in confidence without attribution to provide a more complete picture of the community networking world in general.

This interview usually takes an hour or more. Thank you for your time. Any questions?

Identification of Community Network:

Name of network/site/organization:

URL:

Mailing Address:

Contact:

Name

Title

Phone

Email

Location:

Profile of Community Network:

Services: Dial-up access __; Web Page Hosting __; Usenet News __;

Local Discussion Groups __; Telnet __; FTP___

Population of service area:

Size (# users/members/subscribers):

Date established:

Languages:

1.0 On-Line Skills Training Activities

1.1 Tell me about the kind of services or activities you provide on-line for people who want to upgrade their employability skills (see chart for examples)

1.2 (See chart above) Are these services that you’ve created yourselves? Or are they created by others but hosted on your site? or are they links to resources off your site?

1.3 (See chart above) Are you partnering with other organizations to provide these services? Which organizations?

1.4 How would someone find these skills-building services on your site? For example,

__ an area dedicated to skills training?

__ an area dedicated to employment?

__ an area dedicated to education?

__ search engine?

__ other

2.0 On-Line Employment Aid Services

2.1 How about on-line services for people who are seeking employment?

(See chart above) Are these services that you’ve created yourselves? Or are they created by others but hosted on your site? or are they links to resources off your site?

(See chart above) Are you partnering with other organizations to provide these employment aid services? Which organizations?

How would someone find these employment aid services on your site? For example,

__ an area dedicated to jobs?

__ an area dedicated to government?

__ an area dedicated to education?

__ search engine?

__ other

3.0 Off-Line Skills-Training Activities

Tell me about the kind of services or activities you provide offline for people who want to upgrade their employability skills (see chart below):

4.0 Off-Line Employment Aid Services

How about off-line services for people who are seeking employment (see chart below)?

5.0 Partnering Arrangements

You mentioned that you (have) / (do not have) partnering arrangements with other organizations to provide skills training or employment aid services. Do you feel such arrangements (are) / (would be) useful?

Why?

6.0 Characteristics of Users

6.1 Who seems to be using these services?

Age groups, for example

Gender

Education level

People with disabilities

Socio-economic status

Computer-literacy level

Other characteristics?

6.2 Do you keep any statistics about who uses the services? What are they?

6.3 Do people have trouble using the online services?

7.0 Demand for Services

What types of learning (or skills-training) are generally in demand, in your opinion?

Examples:

On-line skills training

Off-line skills training

Internet literacy

How to find training on-line

Life skills

Other

7.1 What kinds of employment aid (or job finding) services are most in demand?

7.2 Do you provide training for volunteers? What kind of training?

8.0 Assessment

As an organization, how much importance do you place upon providing the following community services:

Activity	Importance on a scale of 0 – 5 (0 = very little)
On-line skills training
On-line employment aid
Off-line skills training
Off-line employment aid

9.0 Future Directions

9.1 I’d just like to re-cap quickly the kinds of resources you are currently using to provide these services:

ReCap Currently Used	Other resources needed to be more effective
__ Databases
__ Job Banks
__ Volunteers
__ Classrooms
__ Computers
__Other

9.2 What other resources would make the current services more effective? (see chart above)

9.3 Are there any other services that you would like to offer in this area?

9.4 What would you need in order to do that?

10.0 Other Contacts

Who else should we interview about this – other community networks? Employment organizations? Agencies?

That wraps up the questions I wanted to ask. Thank you for your time. Do you have any other thoughts or questions?

Thank you again.

8.2.Database of 371 Community Networks/CAP sites

In addition to URLs, contact information was collected wherever possible including postal addresses, names and e-mail addresses of administrators, and telephone and fax numbers. This information is to be made available through the Telecommunities Canada Web site.