There was some discussion around the program organizing a networking event between agencies and the students so the students could get a more up close and personal chance to explore their employment opportunities. The job fair at the college is a great event but it would be helpful to have an event more specific to the field. Continuing/Distance Education: There are two Foundations courses running in Winnipeg with a total of 48 students and one Supervision course with 23 students. A Supervision course is being offered in Dauphin. Katherine Wong indicated that she would be willing to run a Foundations course in Swan River if there were at least 15 students and an instructor could be found. Barrier Free Manitoba (Jeannette DeLong) The proclamation of The Accessibility for Manitobans Act in December 2013 led the way to the first proposed standards being developed in the area of Customer Service. Barrier Free Manitoba developed responses to the discussion papers in early spring 2014 and participated in the public consultations calling for stronger, more effective content in the standards. Even though this Act was landmark legislation and draft standards had been proposed, there was no mention of commitment to implementing the Act in the November 2014 throne speech. With the provincial political climate being in a state of unrest, a change in Minister and a leadership challenge in the NDP, the progress in developing standards was seriously delayed. The Minister finally released the recommended customer service standards developed by the Accessibility Advisory Committee in mid-March 2015. Barrier Free Manitoba is once again developing a response calling for a higher standard to be achieved. Once public consultation is complete in May 2015 and considering public feedback, the Minister will submit a final proposed customer service standard to Cabinet for approval. Upon Cabinet approval, the Standards will become law, requiring all public, private and non-profit organizations to comply with Customer Service Standards. The next standard that will be developed is in the area of employment. Innovation Working Group (Maria Freeman)
There was some discussion around the program organizing a networking event between agencies and the students so the students could get a more up close and personal chance to explore their employment opportunities. The job fair at the college is a great event but it would be helpful to have an event more specific to the field. Continuing/Distance Education: There are two Foundations courses running in Winnipeg with a total of 48 students and one Supervision course with 23 students. A Supervision course is being offered in Dauphin. Katherine Wong indicated that she would be willing to run a Foundations course in Swan River if there were at least 15 students and an instructor could be found. Barrier Free Manitoba (Jeannette DeLong) The proclamation of The Accessibility for Manitobans Act in December 2013 led the way to the first proposed standards being developed in the area of Customer Service. Barrier Free Manitoba developed responses to the discussion papers in early spring 2014 and participated in the public consultations calling for stronger, more effective content in the standards. Even though this Act was landmark legislation and draft standards had been proposed, there was no mention of commitment to implementing the Act in the November 2014 throne speech. With the provincial political climate being in a state of unrest, a change in Minister and a leadership challenge in the NDP, the progress in developing standards was seriously delayed. The Minister finally released the recommended customer service standards developed by the Accessibility Advisory Committee in mid-March 2015. Barrier Free Manitoba is once again developing a response calling for a higher standard to be achieved. Once public consultation is complete in May 2015 and considering public feedback, the Minister will submit a final proposed customer service standard to Cabinet for approval. Upon Cabinet approval, the Standards will become law, requiring all public, private and non-profit organizations to comply with Customer Service Standards. The next standard that will be developed is in the area of employment. Innovation Working Group (Maria Freeman)
Annual-Report-2014-15-8.07.52-PM.docx