E-learning Tools - Work-readiness Skills Action Plan

Work Readiness Skills: Making Learning Accessible to Achieve Employability

Brampton

Organization	Academy of Learning, Brampton
Address	60 Queen Street East, Suite 106
Contact Person	Raman Joshi (Director)
Phone	905 488 5627
Fax	416 913 2106
Email	raman@aolBrampton.com
Website	www.aolBrampton.com
Services
Hours of Operation	Mon-Thurs 9:00am-8:00pm, Fri 9:00am-2:00pm, Sat 10:00am-2:00pm
Community Access (y/n)	meant for student use
# of Computer Stations	20
# With Internet Access	20
Fee for Use?	meant for student use
Accessibility Features or Equipment	can provide height adjustment, ergonomic support devices, alternative mouse systems & keyboards as required by clients. These are typically paid for by WSIB
Staff Trained on Adaptive Equipment	No (most of what we provide requires our staff to just read vendor instructions and follow)
Contact Person for Accessible Equipment	Sharmila Marathe
Plans for Accessible Equipment	As dictated by client needs.
Entrance	wheelchair access to building
Washrooms	stairs to washroom
Training Rooms	steps to training room
Plans for Accessibility	new washroom to be built on same floor
Issues Preventing Accessibility	none
Accessibility of Website	To some degree
Website Advertise Availability of Adaptive Equipment and Support	Yes
Partnerships or Affiliations	no
Government Support	no
Charitable Support	no
Programs to Develop Employability Skills	All of our Diploma, Certificate and Skills Upgrading courses are designed for the development of Employability Skills. The programs include job specific skills such as numeracy, business correspondence, PC skills, technical skills, customer service, office skills, etc. as well as soft skills such as problem solving, time management, teamwork, presentation skills, employment success strategies, workplace success strategies, etc. All of our Diploma programs also include a course on Job Search and resume writing.
Programs targeted to Persons With Disabilities	Almost all of our programs are designed for self-paced learning with individual, one-on-one attention. The learning method is ideally suited for persons with disabilities who may need to take frequent breaks, may have erratic schedules or unplanned absences or may be slow learners.
Cost	All of our programs are fee based.
Criteria for Participation	Ontario Grade 12 or equivalent
Monitoring Success	In our competency based learning system, students are tested every few hours (at the end of each lesson) and have to write our centralized on-line exam at the end of each course. Certificates are issued only to those who achieve a passing score of 75% or more.
Participant Feedback	Yes. Formal feedback is requested at the end of each course and we also follow an open door policy for students to give immediate and ad hoc feedback.
Follow up Program	We typically work with all our graduates to assist them in their job search. We have partnered with many placement agencies in the area who give a preference to our graduates. We also work directly with employers in the area to arrange for co-op placements and jobs for our graduates. We remain in contact with our graduates well after they complete their studies.
Obstacles Facing Program	Level of funding is always an issue. Students with disabilities typically have special needs and take longer to complete their studies (sometimes much longer) as compared to our regular students. They also consume a lot more of our resources (staff time, workstation time, instructor support, etc.) and this needs to be taken into consideration when determining the funding required for such students.
Is Program Well Utilized	It can be better utilized through increased awareness of the value we offer. Current marketing efforts are focused on agencies who are Primary Service Providers to WSIB.
Marketing & Recruitment	Current marketing efforts are focused on agencies who are Primary Service Providers to WSIB
Organizational Level of Programming Decisions	Director & H.O.
Other	We offer unmatched level of scheduling flexibility as well as morning, evening and week-end batches. Our classes are small with a low student – teacher ratio. Our competency based learning system ensures that students use all their senses (listening, observing, reading & reflecting and doing). The emphasis is on achieving competencies rather than spending a pre-determined amount of time in class (which is often treated as a measure of progress).