Comments related to insufficient funding were frequent and were important enough to be the overall number one wish. Many of the funding comments related to the short-term dollars for programs that do not support the client long enough. Participant E stated this issue clearly, “We give somebody a few months of training, and they’re going to run out into the workforce and be employees forever; it’s not working.”
Participant C also gave a good example of the program not meeting the needs of the client, “If they need upgrading for more than a year, [we] really [need to have]…. some flexibility to help people with that because they need literacy.”
Management support and guidance on workplace performance was infrequent for most of the participants. Participant D described this well, “I’m more or less left to do my job and hope I do it well.”
Many participants agreed that they did not feel politically supported, and Participant C offered an example stating, “Sometimes you feel supported, but it’s often when things are higher profile.”
The EC is stuck between the restrictions of the job, lack of resources, isolation, inconsistent workplace support, and the demands of the client. As Participant C explained, “We need a boss that can think outside the box.… We need to look at things more globally.”
Participant B added that, “I feel supported by my manager, but … they don’t have much authority.”
It appeared that the ECs have had a lot of difficulty finding opportunities to impact the decisions being made about their programming needs. Participant D provided an example of the lack of inclusion when “being handed a project without being involved in the negotiation.”
Participant D went on to wish for “more program dollars and the flexibility to negotiate within our tolerances … and involve the ECs right at the start.”