The following are some examples of this type of training:

R.I.S.E. (Re-entry Into Successful Employment)
This course is sponsored by the Kamloops Women's Resource Centre (telephone 376-9009).

Phase one is 6 weeks of half-day workshops in self esteem, self-confidence, self-defence, assertiveness training, aptitude testing, career development, and labour market trends. Phase two is 18 weeks of full days covering on-the-job work experience, job specific training, computer orientation, academic upgrading, first aid, CPR, communications, financial and stress management, and job search techniques. Phase three consists of maintenance of skills and on-going support.

Employment skills for women
Sponsored by Pacific Legal Education Association Vancouver (telephone 683-3439). This is a 12 week course, 5 hours a day for women 19 or over who:

• are in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction
• have been in trouble with the law
• are in a relationship with an offender or ex-offender
• are in recovery from an eating disorder
• are in recovery from a psychiatric illness
• are survivors of sexual or physical abuse

Topics covered include: career awareness, self discovery, job finding techniques, career exploration, workplace issues, assertiveness, communication skills and building a support system.

EIC-sponsored training
EIC will pay for some training in marketable skills. Most offices have Training Information Sessions where they explain to groups of people how to go about getting funded to go to school. There are basically two kinds of funding:

Full sponsorship
EIC pays for the course and continues your UI or gives you a training allowance while you are in the course. You have to pay for books, student fees and most equipment fees.

Partial sponsorship or Fee payer
You pay for the cost of the course, books, student fees and equipment. EIC continues your UI while you take the course.

What EIC will fund under this program depends on what you present them with. You have to make a case for the reasons you need training to find a job: how this training will lead to a job and how you know this is something you would like to do and could be successful at.

The key here is training in a marketable skill that will lead to a job. Some of the things they don't normally fund are university courses, night time or weekend courses, or anything less than 25 hours a week.

There are examples of partial sponsorship in Sarah's story (page 29) and the experiences of Nicky and Susan who got partial sponsorship to take the sheet metal course at BCIT (See page 41).

Workplace-based training
If you are in danger of losing your job because of changes in the economy or in technology, your employer can apply to this program for financial assistance to train you in skills that have current and future demand. This program also covers self-employed people who need to upgrade their skills in order to remain in business.