EcoEquitable

“Tailoring for Success” Grant

2017–2019

The goal of “Tailoring for Success” (Since renamed Sewing for Jobs) was to improve access to the Canadian labour market for immigrant women experiencing multiple barriers to integration. Our aim was to work with individuals to improve labour market outcomes through more targeted employment readiness tools such as ESAT and by providing additional supports including language tutoring. We also wanted to improve training tools and processes within the organization through a training guide and by formalizing our industrial co-op training.

Over the life of the grant, EcoEquitable formalized and delivered Sewing for Jobs to 132 students. This work included creating a formal curriculum and lesson plans that indicated the skills and outcomes that their students need to succeed. They also developed a partnership with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board so students could work toward their Ontario Secondary School Diploma by completing co-op hours. These students also completed certificate trainings including workplace health and safety (WHMIS), First Aid/CPR, and the Safe Food Handler course. Participants also learned about customer service, understanding workplace safety, discussed labour standards and workers’ rights and participated in employment preparation including the completion of a resume and cover letter. For students whose language proficiency was too low to participate in this program, a partnership was formed with World Skills to provide ESL classes tailored to the Sewing for Jobs curriculum.

EcoEquitable used a combination of the Most Significant Change approach and the Adult Hope Scale to evaluate their program.

In 2018, EcoEquitable wrote Sewn Goods Sector Focus Group Report for the Ottawa Employment Hub. This report was based on focus groups with employers and participants in the Sewing for Jobs program and looked at the issues and opportunities for both employers and job seekers in the sewn goods sector in the Capital Region.

A key insight from this work

One of the factors in achieving our grant result is the diversity of our participants. By accepting students from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds with a range of language proficiency and education we are able to integrate and connect people into a wider community they may not have access to.

About EcoEquitable

EcoEquitable Inc. is a registered Canadian charity, providing temporary employment and skills development training through small-scale textile recycling.