Longstanding Partnerships Make Us Stronger

PTP has long recognized that partnerships make us stronger. In particular, for many years we have nurtured partnerships with organizations such as WoodGreen and Seneca College. These relationships allow us to coordinate services and create programming that would not be possible for any single organization. As an example, WoodGreen’s Homeward Bound program helps single, female-led families living in unstable conditions make a successful transition to sustainable employment, permanent housing and independent living for themselves and their children. PTP delivers the academic upgrading that Homeward Bound participants require to advance to Phase 2 of the program, where they receive supportive housing, college tuition, and childcare. PTP’s partnership with Seneca, an accredited community college, has allowed us to develop a Grade 12 equivalent English and Mathematics curriculum that is recognized in Ontario community colleges. This three-way partnership is therefore the bridge that connects learners like these to post-secondary education and specialized training opportunities.

Partnering to Support Women in the Workplace

Opportunity for Advancement (OFA) has been developing and offering innovative groups for socially and economically disadvantaged women for over 30 years. Their work helps thousands of women gain confidence, self-respect and move towards economic independence. For over 10 years, PTP has been proud to partner with OFA in the delivery of the Women and Wellness program, in which OFA provides peer counselling support to women enrolled in programming at our PTP West Centre.  In a safe and encouraging environment, women support each other by sharing their experiences, learning to identify the different sources of stress in their lives and gaining an understanding of how stress affects their mental and physical health. Participants help each other develop new ways to cope with stress and emerge with stronger self-esteem and self-confidence.

New Partnerships Extend Our Reach

Over the next three years PTP will develop and test an innovative essential skills training model called Pathway to Work: Increasing Community Capacity through Training Innovations, in partnership with Indigenous communities and local employers in both British Columbia and Manitoba. The new model is geared to improving the essential skills and employability of Indigenous workers, and is tailored to construction-related occupations.

We were very excited to host the official launch of the project team in October 2018. Our partners include Futureworx Society, Truro, Nova Scotia; Open Door Group, Vancouver, British Columbia; and White Raven Consulting, Port Alberni, British Columbia. We were also fortunate to have a representative from Indigenous Works, a national social enterprise with a mandate to improve the inclusion and engagement of Indigenous people in the Canadian economy, join us and add his experience and advice during this gathering. The diverse perspectives provided by these partners significantly strengthen the team and extend the toolkit PTP can use in responding to community needs.

Throughout year one of the project we reaffirmed the importance of understanding community needs and cultural sensitivities before getting too quickly to a training solution – information that was essential in developing the new framework for engaging communities. In 2019, we will be beginning the work of community engagement and community needs assessments in Tzeachten First Nation British Columbia, and in Manitoba with Manitoba Building Trades.