by Mary P. Brooke     |         August 18, 2010

SOOKE, BC.  There are men and women over the age of 50 who are prime candidates for the third offering of Prime Time, an 'older workers' employment preparation program being held at the WorkLink Employment Society office in Sooke this fall.  Registration begins Sept.7 for the interview process; successful candidates will start the program on Oct.11.

The program offers 5 weeks of paid class time followed by 5 weeks of job search support including free courses such as CPR, First Aid, WIMUS, Food Safe, and basic computer skills.

“We have already worked with two groups of Prime Time workers in the past year and 80 percent of them have had success finding jobs,” said Mark Whiteson, one of the two job developers with WorkLink, in an interview last Friday; Whiteson runs the program with co-worker Stephen Keaning. Of the 10 participants per course, some have found full-time work while others have found the part-time or casual work assignments they were hoping for.

“There are a small number of jobs in Sooke, so a lot of the job placements end up being in the broader area of Greater Victoria,” said Whiteson. “Employers might qualify for age-subsidy funding to help encourage some hiring commitments.”

The program is designed specifically for 55+ workers who are looking to re-enter the workforce or update their current skills.  Various lifestyle scenarios can be accommodated by realizing that a full-time office job is not the only suitable option for continued employment in later career years.

“Sometimes people fall out of the mainstream workplace and all they need is some basic skill development, and then they can try again to find employment,” said Whiteson. With attentive management by Whiteson and Keaning, the program participants will follow a process of multiple job interviews that have in some cases led to multiple job offers.

Some Sooke program participants have included Deb who found full-time employment, Cherie who found part-time employment to fit around family commitments, and Don who brushed up in targeted skill areas for casual and contract work.

The 10-week federally and provincially funded program will run October 11 to December 17. For the first five weeks participants will be in the classroom from 9 am to 2 pm, Monday to Friday, at 6625 Sooke Road then out looking for work with the support of the Prime Time team. The local program has served job-seekers in the East Sooke to Port Renfrew region. All applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada and be ready and committed to returning to work. A wage subsidy of 50 percent for up to 30 hours per week is paid to employers for a Prime Time worker to receive appropriate on-the-job training. If the worker requires training while on the job, some subsidy funding is available to the employer to provide or fund that training.   

Prime Time is jointly funded by the federal Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour together with the BC Ministry of Human Resources and Skills. MM

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