Loyalist received two of the nine awards for Excellence in Service Quality which were presented to Job Connect sites across Ontario. The awards recognize achievement in service quality, service innovation and service results. Managers and staff from the Belleville and Bancroft Loyalist College offices of Job Connect were honoured in Toronto at a Minister’s Awards event on December 4th. The Belleville site received a silver award, and the Bancroft Job Connect program a bronze.
“With hundreds of sites delivering the Job Connect program across Ontario, it was very exciting for Loyalist to earn two awards," said Program Manager Warren Gee. “Recipients of the prestigious Excellence in Service Quality Awards have met or exceeded challenging program benchmarks set by Employment Ontario, the provincial agency which funds the programs. The selection is based on a number of criteria that focus on efficiency and effectiveness. Two important factors are the number of clients served, and the outcomes for our clients who have participated in our program, both in terms of gaining employment, and the quality of that employment.”
“It was a wonderful evening," added Tom Malloy, Loyalist Dean, Schools of Skills Training, Access and Continuing Education. “This is the sixth year for the awards program, and I am particularly proud of our manager and staff for their hard work and commitment to our communities which resulted in us receiving these awards."
Job Connect is a provincial program operated through Employment Ontario, a one-stop shopping division of Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Presenting the awards were MTCU Minister John Milloy and Assistant Deputy Minister Kevin French.
“Each year Loyalist’s Job Connect offices provide employment counselling and job development to nearly 1,000 clients in Belleville and close to 500 in Bancroft,” said Maureen Piercy, College President. “In addition, there are Community Resource Centres at each site that are open to the community. Job Connect works with individuals to prepare them for employment and to succeed in the job market. Receiving these awards validates the energy and commitment that our Job Connect employees bring to the program.”
Media Contact: Marilyn Warren, Communications, Loyalist College, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2332, e-mail: mwarren@loyalistc.on.ca or Warren Gee, Program Manager, (613) 966-0205