AMDSB Centre for Employment & Learning Transitioning Out of Adult Employment Services
by Bob Montgomery
The Avon Maitland District School Board Centre for Employment & Learning has announced it is transitioning out of Adult Employment Services.
Superintendent of Education Jane Morris says the Board has made the difficult decision to not renew their Employment Services contract with Employment Ontario beyond March 31, 2025. This means that the AMDSB Centre for Employment & Learning will no longer be the provider of employment services for Huron County after a one year transition period. Morris says this has been a very difficult decision for the Board because they have been providing Employment Services in Huron County for decades. But she says circumstances have been shifting over the last few years.
“Increases in operating costs have been problematic for us. Fixed costs, like rent and utilities, and everything is going up and our Employment Service Contract itself is shifting a little bit so that the employment services are being encouraged to be delivered electronically or digitally. So the Employment Services Contract is shifting away from a face to face delivery model. And there are other structural changes that led us to step back and question what kind of risk this presented for the Board and does this really align with our core priorities of teaching and learning.”
Morris says they've had conversations with the Service Manager to point out this isn't really the core business of a school board. There will be Employment Services in Huron County moving forward and they are currently looking for a new provider. The board will be working with that provider as they transition because they will still be providing employment services for the next year.
Morris says it's difficult to say exactly how many people will be affected because they will still be providing their Adult Ed. Services. Some of the people that work in their CEL sites are both Employment and Adult Education, so they'll have to sort that out, but she suspects they're talking about twelve to fifteen employees.
Employment Ontario, through the Employment Services System Manager in Bruce County, will start a process to find another employment services provider for Huron County and that organization will begin service on April 1, 2025. Throughout the next year the Avon Maitland District School Board will collaborate with the Services System Manager to develop a smooth transition plan as they move towards this change.
