Have you ever wondered how you got to where you are in your life now? What are your personal or professional life accomplishments and how have you accumulated them all?
Municipal elections are the most complex because you vote for 3 representatives: a Mayor for your city, a Councillor for your ward, and a School Trustee for your ward.
Today the whole world knows what is happening in Ukraine. War came to my home in February of 2022 one morning at 5:30am with a deafening explosion from the airport about 15 kilometers from my street.
Robo-advisors which are online investment platforms, are also available to investors through various brokerage firms offering a variety of diversified ETF portfolios designed according to the investors appetite for risk
You’ve now reached a stage where you have completed your self- assessments, researched some work options and arrived at some conclusions. It’s time to set some goals.
Do you know one of the most significant workplace changes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic? It is the acceptance of remote work and the amount of business that is now conducted virtually.
Now that I think about it, teaching online was productive but long. In fact, I adjusted and managed very well. Two years later, I was back in the class and very happy to say how much I love teaching in person and that those online days are long gone; at least I hope they are.
Two years ago, Elon Osman and Bill Poon met at a basketball event and became fast friends. Knowing Elon needed a place to stay, Bill lent him his Toronto apartment while he was teaching in the Yukon.
Most of the time when we talk about a community, we assume that we are referring to a group of like-minded people who meet regularly in a public or private setting.
At 22 and with two small children to care for, I didn’t have many options. Though bilingual and with some work experience in an office setting, I’d been too long out of the workforce – a mere two years! - to merit any serious consideration.
In the first tech wave of COVID-19, we have seen a rise in fields like software, financial, digital media, information technology, big data, cloud computing, communications, e-commerce and adoption of artificial intelligence. This will continue to gain momentum.
When Brad Dalgleish dropped out of high school in grade 9, he didn’t imagine that he would be graduating from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Science 14 years later.
The intention of this article is to provide an overview of some basic information that prospective dividend investors would find useful in their pursuit of additional income streams.
I hope you remember me. It’s Josie Knight, Anna Bradley’s neighbor who asked you for a copy of Learning Curves in 2020. You encouraged me to submit a story, so here I am, sharing my travelogue.
We’re living in a culture that’s “credentials crazy.” These days you literally need to be certified to place bags of potato chips on a shelf (it’s called a food handling certificate.)
You probably won’t find many people who disagree with you when you say that good workplace skills are a necessity.
Congratulations to Terri Preston, this year's winner of the National Literacy Award recognizing a member or group of members who have promoted workplace literacy and clear language.
On November 18, Daniel Munro will likely feel the same elation and relief as thousands of other University of Toronto students that day: they are graduating.
For almost 75 years, JVS Toronto has had a single mission – to help job seekers find meaningful employment.
What does it look like to find a best friend for life in a 70-year-old woman? Might sound boring to some of you but to me, it is anything but that.
A story that comes right from the heart with countless memories that do not depart, a story that puts a smile on my face every morning, a glimpse I would like to share, hope that doesn’t leave you in a maze.
Several years ago, Waheed (Wayne) Mufti sang for a party where I was a guest. The hosts appreciated his music so much that he stayed for dinner, and entertained us well into the evening. Recently, I found his business card and had a chat with him.
In our Fall 2021 issue in this story I will summarize the changes I could see from the priorities recommended by the Report found in a scan of course offerings for the Fall term.
Often as adult learners we are focused on finding a course at a time we can make it, that meets a specific learning need, the micro level. But there are activities going on at a macro level which shape what we are offered at the micro level. Canada- A Learning Nation report describes the work of the Future Skills Advisory Council, an advisory council to the federal Ministry of Employment Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion. This report came out in December 2020 but I just found it scanning the net for what I can’t remember now.
Sometimes in life, it feels like we are in a catapult where we are pulled back before we can go forward. It is often adversity that creates the tension needed to release the energy that thrusts us forward and lets us reach higher. This is a metaphor that Shahina Suleman, Program Manager at PTP Adult Learning and Employment Programs, loves to use when talking about what the Elevate program does for its participants.
COVID has disrupted our continuing education plans as it has our economy-our job/career plans. We have been in the latest lock down since Christmas Day and when will it let up apparently mid February.
When we first got together via Zoom during the Spring and Summer months, it seemed as if by some fluke we had landed in a place that we had had no intention of visiting.
COVID has changed how education both full-time and continuing education are delivered mainly to online learning. But Covid has not led us to be more aware of what adult education contributes as it has to what international students contribute.
If you are reading this article, you might be interested in learning, or job searching, or just staying informed. Everyone around the world was informed in March of 2020 about COVID-19.
I remember the last day before March Break very well. The Minister of Education stated that all schools would be closed until April 5th due to COVID-19.
Learning outside of the classroom used to be considered an option, now it is to use today’s phrasing the “new normal.”
The Universities, Colleges, and Schools charts in this Mosaic of Adult Education help you find the doors to specific programs at an educational institution.
Do you know the new formula for job interviews? It is: Remote technology plus COVID-19 equals virtual hiring.
The chart below is organized by geography and school board, by the type of education offered. Find the right contacts for your area and your interest.
As you are transitioning into college/university, among the many novel thoughts on your mind – there may be one so glaring that it forces you to stop, observe your surroundings and re-evaluate your decision.
Happy Spring! I hope you enjoyed the books in the previous reading list as much as I did. In this article, along with my picks for this season, I would like to introduce you to two notable reading resources and activities I recently stumbled upon.
Reynosa Sarmiento has taken multiple courses throughout her undergraduate degree. Having graduated in November 2015, she’s had years of experience with online courses and online summer courses.
As a Career/Life Skills and Executive Coach, I often meet clients in career transition who haven’t had to look for a job for the past 15 to 25 years. They are called ‘long tenured workers’ who all of a sudden face the crude reality of a lay off (with or without severance pay) and with it a fast awakening to the fact that their skills have been either outdated, or not on par to compete with on today’s labour market. Let’s face it, no one has to hire anyone…we compete for opportunities, as the labour market of the 21st century.
Regular readers of Learning Curves will know that University in the Community (UitC) is an adult education program founded in 2003 by the Workers’ Educational Association, the publisher of this newspaper
Since its inception nearly two years ago, Epilepsy Toronto’s unique Bridge the Gap ambassador program has reached thousands of participants while promoting epilepsy awareness and helping ambassadors develop skills deemed essential for workplace success.
John Murphy has always been proud of his loud voice and intricate ideas with elaborate arguments, but more importantly, he enjoys giving people advice solely based on his own opinions.
Olga Saade found PTP on her journey towards entering the field of dentistry so that she can carry on in the profession she worked in and loved in El Salvador.
Julie Jackson and I first met at a public library concert two summers ago when she sat next to me.
“Enthusiasm is a state of mind natural to the lover of art,” wrote Max J. Friedländer, “indeed, to him almost something natural.”
Educational providers are constantly developing new courses to help us stay up to date.
Do you remember Duoli’s story? Are you interested in what’s going on with me recently. Since September 2011, I have insisted on learning English step-by step.
I often chatted with Tim when he worked at a store near Toronto’s Main and Gerrard Streets.
Beginning this journey back to school has been a long one, and has not been easy.
There is no static profile for students who come to PTP Adult Learning and Employment Programs.
We all make plans but then life happens.
When I first met Susan Shin in November 2017, she was a college student studying international business.
David is sitting in my office on a frigid February afternoon, explaining how he came to be studying – and succeeding – at U of T after being away from school for so many years.
Most people are surprised to learn that the Canadian Mothercraft Society’s reputation of providing high quality early education
We know that climate change is happening. We also know that it’s the result of increased carbon emissions from human activities like land degradation and the burning of fossil fuels. And we know that it’s urgent.
According MHCC, the average age of a Canadian trucker is 47 years old. By the age of 40, more than half the population have,
The world of work is competitive and further education may give particular candidates the competitive edge and legitimacy needed in their professions.
John has been a residential building custodian for many years on my street.
I am the coordinator of a humanities-based, adult education outreach program called University in the Community (UitC).
Little by little the walls of stigma surrounding mental health are starting to crumble.
Have you ever watched Storage Wars on TLC? On a recent episode there was a mime helping the storage guys.
Often we put off calling a university or college as we didn’t finish high school or did poorly or did it in a different country in a different language.
Ah, the kids have been in their new classes for a week. You have caught up on the pile of work that greeted you on your return from holidays.
Educational institutions are constantly developing new courses to help their students stay up to date and often they work in partnership with a professional group or industry.
The years of retirement should be a golden period. It means, one will be dignified, having a decent lifestyle, enjoying the fruits of their labour, families and friends.
When I first met Mugi last year, she was working at a Chinese supermarket. As we got to know each other, Mugi told me she would soon start evening English classes.
As a person who firmly believes that one should always be striving for personal growth, I share my “aiming for success” story, in the hopes that I can inspire other older adults to keep reaching for their educational goals.
Art gives us an experience like nothing else can. Art exhibitions, whether in a formal gallery or part of an informal event, provide the opportunity for art to be explored.
In Colombia, I was a young woman with a close-knit family, good friends, and a thriving career in psychology because I aspired to help my community that was sadly criminalized by trafficking and violence.
Recently while viewing www.womenofinfluence.ca, I read an article titled “A Changing Workplace: From Corporate Ladders to Corporate Lattices”.
When Saigon fell to the Vietcong, I was only in kindergarten. But soon, school became “re-education”. We swept streets and picked up garbage.
The Workers' Educational Association of Canada (WEA) has been a champion of free, public education for adults since its beginning in 1918.
As the late American journalist, Christopher Morley, once said “There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning and yearning”.
In today’s economy, a career in adult education can take many forms. Stella Han, Academic Advisor in the Centre for Adult Education and Community Outreach (CAECO) at Brock University
In the last issue of Learning Curves, an article, which I wrote The new, new economy, described how citizens around the world
Hundreds of mature students 20 years of age and over, will be heading back to school this fall through the University of Toronto’s Millie Rotman Shime Academic Bridging Program.
The world of work is competitive and further education may give particular candidates the competitive edge and legitimacy needed in their professions.
not easy. Figuring out what to study, what training program to take to get a job -- or a better job -- can be risky.
Often adult students had dropped out of high school, though they do this less than they used to, and later they often decide to go back to school. But there has been few community accessible learning information services to help adults go back. So often they start back based on what a friend advises or at an educational program they know in their area or at a program they have seen an ad for.
David Li has found the secret of teaching the complicated and rigorous practice of accounting by breaking it down to a simple and elegant format that is easy to understand.
Don’t let yourself get caught in the all-too familiar trap of waiting until your children have gone back to school before thinking about your own continuing education.
For several years, I would see Sonia’s welcoming smile behind a local library’s reference desk.
For many people, attending university after high school can be an intimidating task – especially at an institution like the University of Toronto.
Most people will remember November 4, 2008 as an historic moment when Obama was elected president of the United States. But, I will always remember it as the day I decided to go to grad school.
It is exciting to see that the Community Hubs Advisory Group, established by Premier Kathleen Wynne and chaired by Karen Pitre, is currently engaged in consultations across the province.
It’s Monday morning, and another week of work begins. Upstairs I hear my neighbour stirring
On my street lives Aaron Siu whom I met four years ago.
Recent news stories reporting that Toronto public schools are “under-utilized” paint a wildly inaccurate picture
In part one, we learned that eighteen-year old Sarah came from Tehran during the Gulf War to marry forty-year-old Yousef.
One summer, I temporarily rented an apartment where two young women next door welcomed me.
These days when you say that your grandparents rock, you don’t mean in a rocking chair! Baby boomers, many of whom are now seniors, have dramatically changed the face of retirement.
Summer is not a down time for learning. It is just that in the summer, it’s more work to find what’s offered.
According to a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives titled Degrees of Uncertainty:
If you are a job seeker, a question you might be asking is ‘how do I fit into a workplace that seems to be resistant instead of accepting?’
Three organizations are working together to support Aboriginal employment: the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), Toronto Employment & Social Services (TESS), and Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training.
As Canadians, it is important that we devote some time to learning about the First Nations of Canada.
If you have ever wanted to learn a new language, you will soon discover that it takes time and patience just to decipher the pages of online information, let alone to figure out how to register for a class.
Ontario has never had a Premier with such deep commitment to adult learning. Consider the following about Kathleen:
In the Winter 2012 issue, Learning Curves did a feature article on the GED General Education Development Test which, if you pass, earns you a high school equivalency certificate.
Because of the difficulty of drilling down into online calendars for schedules, Learning Curves has just picked one course area to survey this year: computers.
WEA Canada
157 Carlton Street, Suite 205
Toronto, M5A 2K2
Phone: (416) 923 7872
Email: info@weacanada.ca
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