Helping Ontario Works Clients Get JobsNow

The Ontario government's JobsNow pilot program will help people who are currently on Ontario Works find and keep sustainable jobs. The program is a partnership between the province, WCG International and municipal social services offices.

WCG will run employment placement pilot projects in six municipal areas: Hamilton, Ottawa, Windsor, Nipissing, Peel and Durham. The job referrals will be aimed at Ontario Works clients who have been receiving social assistance for over a year and have been unsuccessful in finding long-term employment. JobsNow will provide participants with individualized:

• job matching services
• pre-employment supports
• job orientation information and
• follow-up on any job related issues.

JobsNow is based on the principle that different people need different supports to find and keep a job. The program will work one-on-one with individual social assistance clients and employers to match the right person to the right job. JobsNow focuses on helping people who have been on social assistance for more than 12 months to re-enter the job market through a combination of access to job opportunities and longer-term job retention supports.

JobsNow places an aggressive emphasis on job retention because research has shown that individuals who are employed for a period of more than 12 months have a higher likelihood of remaining in a job. Current Ontario Works employment supports include up to six months of job retention services. While this approach works for some clients, it has proven less successful in helping longer-term unemployed individuals return to the workforce.

JobsNow begins in April 2005 and continues to May 31, 2007, with a target of 12,000 participants referred to the JobsNow service. An independent third party will conduct a thorough, ongoing evaluation to measure at six-month intervals the success of JobsNow in helping people find and keep long-term employment.

WCG is a leading Canadian firm in workforce development and job placement and retention services. WCG was selected to run JobsNow based on its successful employment partnership with the government of British Columbia. Because WCG's payment will be based on actual savings that result from moving clients off of Ontario Works and into sustainable jobs, JobsNow will produce a net savings for both the province and participating municipalities.

JobsNow further restores integrity to social assistance by building on the improvements the McGuinty government has already made, improvements that emphasize treating social assistance recipients with dignity and respect, improving employment outcomes and making the welfare system more efficient and effective.