Archive
Life After COVID – Your Road to Recovery
Leave a CommentLife After COVID is a new reference and referral website created by the DWA. It provides a comprehensive directory of resources available to the Durham community and will serve as an important hub of information for those seeking to build skills and re-enter the workforce.
The widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has had major implications for the labour force in Durham Region, and around the world. It has displaced thousands of workers and left businesses struggling. The Durham Workforce Authority created Life After COVID to help affected people find the resources they need to successfully re-enter the labour force.
Highlights of the resources provided by the Life After COVID website include links to;
- Job searching, resume help, and skills upgrading for job seekers
- Business support organizations, government assistance, and PPE suppliers for employers
- Local industry information specific to Durham Region
Life After COVID will host information on the community support organizations that can help with job search, resume creation and workshops. Links are also provided to the adult upgrading providers and local post-secondary institutions, along with a searchable list of occupation profiles with custom local labour market information.
As Durham Region’s economy reopens, many people will require support to help them rebound from the economic impacts of COVID-19. Life After COVID will connect people and businesses to existing resources which will enable a smoother road to recovery for the workforce in Durham Region.
Visit the Life After COVID website here: https://www.lifeaftercovid.net
Jobs First Durham Job Tools – Tying it all Together
Leave a CommentOver the past few weeks. the DWA has outlined the various Job Tools offered by Jobs First Durham to make searching for work easier for job seekers. Jobs First Durham can help you find a career path, find a job on that path, and find the services and locations you need to make that job work for your life. The best part of Jobs First Durham is how these tools work together in tandem to provide the best job searching experience available specific to Durham Region.
Career Explorer
The best place to start when using Jobs First Durham is the Career Explorer. When choosing your career path, it is important to know what jobs are actually in demand in the Region so you can ensure strong employment prospects in your field. After choosing a career, you will be able to see paths in and out of it and any associated job listings in Durham. This leads you to the Jobs Board.
Jobs Board
The Jobs Board shows you all of the specifics about the jobs you have discovered through the Career Explorer, including wages and minimum qualifications. You can then sort through other listings in the field and decide which job opportunity works best for you. It is always helpful to apply to as many jobs as you can to ensure you have the highest chance of finding employment.
Jobs Map
After you have decided on some jobs, the Jobs Map is a great place to plan your employment routine. Here you will find the location of the job postings alongside childcare centres, bus routes, and other services you may need to help you get back to work. The Jobs map helps to visualize the process, making it easier to plan out your employment journey.
Check out all of the Job Tools by visiting Jobs First Durham!
Student Spotlight – Connor
Leave a CommentMy time as a summer student with the DWA has been a great opportunity to further develop my research skills with a community centered focus. Though the work is done at home, the weekly team meetings with staff and peers bring all the necessities of the workplace right to my computer. The research I’m primarily tasked with is based around specific labour markets within Durham Region, reviewing and detailing critical information in order to aid the DWA in its mission to community success.
These challenging times bring a unique set of obstacles for each labour market as their recovery is paramount to the success of the Region. Gaining past and real-time knowledge of these developing markets is at the core of my work as I can contribute to finding solutions by engaging community partners and employers.
Though many of the projects I am tasked with completing are independent, the work environment is equally as collaborative. In addition to weekly meetings with permanent staff, my colleagues and I run our own team meetings in which we can discuss ongoing projects and individual success.
The work we are doing regarding labour market information is very rewarding and gives a sense of meaning to each ongoing project. Whether it is a new aspect of research or a continuation of our existing skills, it is always done collectively and with great purpose.
Student Spotlight – Brendan
Leave a CommentI started working for the Durham Workforce Authority as a student in the summer of 2020. Having recently graduated from university with an undergraduate in Political Science, I was thrilled to work with a team researching and developing tools for the development of the workforce in Durham Region – particularly in this interesting time of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve always been interested in policy at all levels of government, and this job has given me a glimpse into the large-scale practical impact that government policy and decision-making has on the local community and economy.
For safety reasons, this summer, the DWA employees have all had to work from home. This has been a new and interesting experience that has shown me both the benefits and downfalls of a work-from-home environment. While this makes it difficult to maintain a community between colleagues, regular Zoom calls and staff meetings help alleviate that feeling of alienation that is unfortunately “part-and-parcel” of the global pandemic.
However, there are many upsides to a work from home environment, which includes the loss of commute, saved money and time, my home kitchen, and the comfort of being in my own environment. While the business world struggles to develop continuity plans and weigh the benefits and downfalls, it will be interesting to see the forthcoming impact on the workforce, particularly in a commuter area such as the Durham Region.
Working for the DWA has also allowed me to explore government policy from a local lens, and the innovative ways local entrepreneurs are taking to adapt to this new business environment. Seeing first-hand how the DWA has developed tools for the local economy, to me, really demonstrates their commitment to the Durham Region community, to employers, businesses, and the general workforce. I can say with certainty that it has been both a challenging and rewarding experience thus far.
Student Spotlight – Katrina
Leave a CommentThe day in the life of a DWA summer research assistant consists of starting your day with a very big cup of coffee and sitting down at my work from home space. Twice a week for around an hour, we have a 10am Zoom meeting with the Executive Director, Director of Research, and the other two research assistants that were hired. During my 8 week contract at the DWA, my responsibilities consisted of analysis and evidence-based research to inform decision-making, completion of literature reviews and environmental scans on priority sectors in Durham Region, to compile and analyze data pertaining to the priority sectors in Durham Region, identify challenges and opportunities in the planning process, network building and outreach to employers, program, and agencies, consultation of meetings, focus groups, surveys, and other means in a variety of formats to engage with community stakeholders.
Working Monday to Friday 8:30 am until 4:00 pm is new to me. This is the first job in which my schedule is consistent and not a part-time job with scattered shifts – and it is amazing. Due to COVID-19, the student summer research assistant position is stationed at home. Unfortunately, my home workspace is not completely renovated yet. but due to my school courses for the next year fully online my workspace is being updated to promote a motivational and productive workspace.
My first day at DWA was honestly intimidating, I had my first Zoom meeting with everyone, and I had a lot of nerves. I did not know what to expect; however, the people I have met and work with are great. They are understanding, fun, knowledgeable, and my superiors are dedicated to teaching and making sure my co-workers and I understand are tasks.
My first task was difficult because I could not understand how to start the literature review. I have done literature reviews before but I was stressed and felt intimidated and therefore I had writer’s block. After talking to my peers over a Zoom meeting, I was able to bounce ideas around and begin writing.
I am halfway through my contract and I am continuously researching my assigned three sectors; healthcare, film and agriculture. My research consists of keeping an eye on the media and literature updated daily on the impacts of COVID-19 and the workforce in my three sectors. With the new information I continue to update the literature reviews, the sector overview narratives and the contact lists. I am amazed by this job because I get to learn about where I live – Durham Region. I am excited to learn more about my sectors, especially the healthcare sector because that is my chosen field of study.
Labour Force Report – An Overview
Leave a CommentThe Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) will release a custom extraction of the Statistics Canada monthly Labour Force Report for Durham Region. The report will use data from Statistics Canada on the Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), which is an area with one or more neighbouring municipalities situated around a major urban core, with a population of at least 100,000.
Statistics Canada only releases this data for the country, provinces and Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). Durham Region is divided into two CMAs, the Oshawa CMA including Oshawa, Whitby and Clarington, and the Toronto CMA which encompasses Ajax, Pickering and Uxbridge; Brock and Scugog are too small in terms of population to be surveyed on a monthly basis. In addition to including Ajax, Pickering and Uxbridge, the Toronto CMA also includes: Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Vaughn, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Milton, Newmarket, Caledon, Halton Hills, Aurora, Georgina, Whitchurch-Stouffville, New Tecumseth, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Orangeville, East Gwillimbury, King, Mono and the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation.
As such, the DWA uses the Oshawa CMA data as a proxy for what is happening in Durham Region, since Ajax, Pickering and Uxbridge are more similar to Oshawa, Whitby and Clarington than they are to the multitude of geographies included in the Toronto CMA.
The Labour Force Report aims to provide the most up-to-date statistics on:
- Employment
- Unemployment
- Labour force participation
- Population
- Includes analysis of year-over-year and month-over-month trends
You can view the most recent Labour Force Report here.
Job Search Report – An Overview
Leave a CommentThe Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) will release a monthly Job Search Report for Durham Region. The report is created using data collected from the job finding tools on the DWA website. All data is collected with consent and with the knowledge that it will be kept anonymous and posted publicly.
The Job Search Report tries to answer two simple questions: who is searching for work, and what are they searching for in Durham Region? Here you will find a breakdown of job searches by different demographics such as age, sex, skill type, skill level, and more. This information paired with the Job Demand Report will provide strong insight into disparities between what jobs are available and what jobs are being sought, allowing for a better understanding of how to adapt training programs and economic development to fill labour gaps in the Region.
You can view the most recent Job Search Report here.
Job Demand Report – An Overview
Leave a CommentThe Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) will release a monthly Job Demand Report for Durham Region. The report is created by the DWA using data collected from national, provincial and local job boards as well as local career pages.
This report will highlight important information about job demand in the Region, including job postings by month, municipality, skill type, skill level, and more. You will also be able to find information on the top employers and top occupations in the Region, along with the average length of job postings for each occupation.
The Job Demand Report will help employers, economic development and job developers better understand the landscape of job prospects within Durham Region, and thus better plan out hiring and training and development initiatives in the Region. New reports will be published monthly, with the previous reports also being listed for reference on the DWA website.
You can view the most recent Job Demand Report here.
Jobs First Census Map
Leave a CommentThe Jobs First Durham Census Map data tool provides students, employers, and community organizations with a visualization of 14 categories of census data.
The tool includes an interactive map of Durham Region broken down by municipality. Using the filters provided, users can compare census data from population, language, income, and education among other categories. Each category is broken down further into several subcategories, making for 897 individual data points to explore. Statistics can be compared either by absolute comparison or relative to the total population of Durham Region (by percentage).
Census data is often hard to understand, and the Durham Workforce Authority hopes its Census Map tool will allow broader access and understanding to an important data set for understanding Durham Region’s labour market. A main component of the DWA’s mandate is to provide high quality labour market information specific to Durham Region in a way that is easy for the public to consume.
You can visit the Jobs First Census Map here.
Jobs First Jobs Map
Leave a CommentThe job search process in Durham Region has never been easier. The Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) has several free to use tools including the Jobs Map that visually displays the locations of all the job postings pulled by Jobs First Durham to help job seekers plan employment routes.
There are a lot of important factors to consider when searching for a job: How will I get to work? Who is going to watch the kids? Where can I get the skills training I need to get the job? The DWA wanted to make it as easy as possible to answer these questions by providing all these resources on one interactive map, with the ability to customize the map to meet your individual employment needs.
When enlarged, the map will display job clusters across the Region, and will show more specific locations the more the user narrows into the map. From there, the user can overlay other useful services such as bus routes, childcare centres, skills training centres, and many more services related to employment goals to help streamline the job search process.
Durham Workforce Authority believes the Jobs First Jobs Map supplements the Jobs Board well by providing job seekers a great way to visually plan out their employment journey from start to finish.
You can visit the Jobs First Jobs Map here.