IEP Conference

So the annual IEP Conference is finally here again! Here's the addresss: 255 Front St W, Toronto, ON M5V 2W6.

Please make your own arrangements with your classmates to get there by car pooling or on the TTC.


Be sure to pick up your lunches and meet near the entrance of the Marketplace for a group photo, around 12:20 p.m.

Here's the schedule for the day for you to enjoy:

Program Schedule

TIME	PROGRAM	ROOM No.
7:30am	Registration in MTCC North Building	LOBBY
	INFORMATION AND RESOURCES MARKETPLACE Opens	Room 106/107
OPENING CEREMONY
8:30am	Welcome Remarks/Opening Ceremony	Room 105
8:45am	Keynote Speaker	Room 105
PANEL
9:15am	Successful IEP Panel	Room 105
10:15am	Information and Resources Marketplace	Room 106/107
REGULATORY FOCUSSED SECTOR HUBS- Accreditation, Academia WITHSKILL BUILDING SESSIONS
10:45am	Engineering	Room 105
	Information Technology	Room 103
	Sales, Marketing & Communications	Room 104D
	Finance & Accounting	Room 104C
	Healthcare and Related Professions	Room 104AB
LUNCHEON / INFORMATION AND RESOURCES MARKETPLACE (Room 106/107)
12:30pm	Light lunch and visit the Information and Resources Marketplace (Room 106/107) and take advantage of this opportunity to network! Notes:  1. Light lunch provided for delegates from 12:30 – 1PM. 2. Marketplace closes at 2:30pm.
EMPLOYER FOCUSSED SECTOR HUBS - Employers/HR Managers and Networking with employers
1:45pm-4:00pm	Engineering	Room 105
	Information Technology	Room 103
	Sales, Marketing & Communications	Room 104D
	Finance & Accounting	Room 104C
	Healthcare and Related Professions	Room 104AB
CLOSING REMARKS AND DRAWS
3:50pm	Closing Remarks in Sector Hubs, Collection of Evaluation Forms and Drawing of Prizes
4:00pm     Conference Ends

Thursday's assignment

Good afternoon everyone,

We have two parts on today's blog.

Part 1:

We are still working on our Power Statement. Click on this link to help you create your profile.

Task 1:

As discussed in our class, use the ten points accomplishments you have accomplished in your profession life and create your ‘Power Statement’ now. 

Task 2: 

Click on this link and create your own profile. Make sure to use your "Power Statement" to impress employers!

Task 3:

After creating a profile, try to connect with at least ten from your classmates together with your instructor today. 

Part 2: 

During our Health and Well-being Session, a lot of new words were mentioned. Here is a table with the majority of the new ones, take your time and follow the tasks below in order to nail this vocabulary down.

Task 1:

Fill in the following table and you can add any more vocabulary that you have caught during the session. The first one was partially done for you.

Word	Word structure	Definition	Sentence
Cope with	Phrasal verb
Walk-in clinic
Procrastinating
Cognitive
Physical
Vigorous intensity
Moderate intensity
Alternative
Second hand smoking
Quit
Reappraisal
Meditation
Dealt with
Shout out
Resiliency
Competence
Optimism
Bounce back
Recap

Task 2:

Write a quick paragraph to share how you benefited from the session. Use the following questions to guide you in your writing.

• Did you have stress in your life?
• Are you able to identify which level your stress is at?
• What did you do to reduce it?
• Share some strategies that you have tried and worked with you with your peers. 

Wednesday's Assisgnment

Scanning Job Advertisements

Hello everybody,

Task 1:

Pick one/two relevant jobs for yourself from each website.

Here are three good websites that you can scan: Job Bank, Monster.ca, and Charity Village

Task 2:

Summarize the three main job duties for each ad, and the main requirements as well.

Task 3:

Check this link, and write down at least five new ideas that you learned from it. 
Pick your peers' brains for their ideas, and add more to yours.

Task 4:

Another excellent career site is here. Click on it and plan your career accordingly.
Then, assess your abilities through this website. After you have done, please write down a short summary about your future plan based on the information and date you have learned today. 

Tuesday's assignment

Good morning everyone,

Task one:

In order to get familiar with the Canadian workplace, there are a lot of things we need to consider. Click on this link and follow the instructions given. 

Task two:

Here is a list of business idioms that are taken from this website. Please go over them and try to understand each one’s meaning and then follow the tasks below.
Pick five to six of the following idioms and use them in sentences of your own.

Take three:

Compose a short story about any event/meeting that has happened to you at your previous workplace. Use at least five to six from these idioms n your story.

Request two from your peers to check and edit your work before you publish it on your blog.

time's up	"Time's up" means that the time for something or someone has ended.	I think his time's up as the CEO. They're going to replace him as soon as they find a suitable candidate.
touch base	To "touch base¨ means to make contact with someone.	Let me make a few phone calls to try to get an answer to your question. I'll touch base with you later today.
twist someone's arm	To "twist someone's arm" means to persuade or convince someone to do something that he or she does not want to do.	The owner thought the advertising budget was a little high. We had to twist his arm to get him to agree to it.
under the table	Something done secretly (and usually illegally) in the business world is done "under the table."	To avoid paying taxes, they paid some of their employees under the table.
up in the air	If something is undecided, it is "up in the air."	We're looking for a test market right now, but nothing has been decided yet. Everything's still up in the air.
uphill battle	Something that is difficult to achieve because of obstacles and difficulties is an ¨uphill battle.¨	Winning the election is going to be an uphill battle. He doesn't have a lot of support at the moment.
upper hand	If someone has an advantage over someone else, he or she has the "upper hand."	He was more experienced and well respected, so he had the upper hand in the argument.
white collar	A ¨white collar worker¨ is someone who works in an office (customer service, management, sales, etc.) The opposite of a white collar worker is a ¨blue collar worker.¨ A blue collar worker is someone who works with his or her hands (manufacturing, construction, maintenance, etc.) ¨White collar¨ (and ¨blue collar¨can also be used to describe a job, position, or place.	There are mostly manufacturing positions here. There aren't a lot of white-collar jobs here.
win-win situation	A "win-win situation" is a situation where everyone involved gains something.	We were happy to get the contract, and they were happy to get such a good price. It was a win-win situation.
word of mouth	If something spreads by "word of mouth," people hear about it by informal conversation with friends, family members, acquaintances, etc.	A lot of local restaurants rely on word of mouth to get new customers.
writing on the wall	The "writing on the wall" refers to the evidence and clues that something (usually negative) is going to happen.	I'm going to get my resume ready. I can see the writing on the wall.
yes man	A ¨yes man¨ is someone who always agrees with his or her superiors.	The company isn't looking to hire someone who is going to try to make a lot of changes. They're basically just looking for a yes man.

Monday's assignment

National Occupational Classification

The National Occupational Classification (NOC) is a system of organizing information about occupations in Canada. Every occupation in Canada has a NOC job description, which provides listings of the main duties, employment requirements and job titles. These descriptions are identified by a four-digit code called the NOC code.

Knowing the NOC code for the job you are interested in can make online research easier and quicker. This is because many job search services organize their job listings and occupation information by the NOC code. Here’s how the NOC code works:

• The first number identifies the sector. There are 10 sectors in total (0–9). For example, 0 refers to management occupations, while 6 refers to sales and service occupations.

• The second number refers to the level of education or training the job requires (1–6). Generally:

1 requires a university education

2 or 3 requires a community college or apprenticeship training

4 or 5 requires a high school diploma and/or job-specific training

6 usually requires a short demonstration or on-the-job training

• The third and fourth numbers refer to specific occupations within the sector.

In the example on the right, the 2 refers to the sector Natural and Applied Sciences; the 1 means it generally requires a university degree; together, the code 2146 is the code specific to aerospace engineers. Because the NOC groups occupations that are similar to each other, it is easy to find information about occupations that are related to your occupation of choice. This can be useful if you cannot find a job in your occupation and want to broaden your job search.

Locate the NOC website (www5.hrsdc.gc.ca/NOC). 

Task 1:

List the 10 sectors that the first digit of the NOC code refers to. In small groups, brainstorm three occupations for each sector.

0	6
1	7
2	8
3	9
4
5

Task 2:

Think of an occupation you would like to enter in Canada (either as a survival job, or in the occupation you are trained for). Which of the above sectors is this occupation in?

Task 3:

Find the NOC code for an occupation that interests you. Read the NOC description for this occupation.       

a) How many Major Groups are listed in this sector? What are they?

b) What types of occupations are within this Major Group (represented by the three-digit code)?

1. Read the example titles in the NOC description. Do you think knowing these titles can be useful in your job search? How?

2. Read the main duties in the NOC description. List the duties you think are most relevant to this position.

Task 4:
Prepare a short presentation for the class about this occupation. Include related job titles, main duties and employment requirements.

Friday's assignment

Hello all,

Hope that everyone has enjoyed yesterday’s field trip.

Task one:

Our first task is to write a short paragraph describing your previous workplace culture/system/rituals (if you had any), using at least five from each of the vocabulary list and the buzzwords we have learnt today.

Task two:

Write a short trip report about yesterday’s field trip. Describe what you liked, what you didn't like, what you learned, and if you would like to repeat it again or not and why.

Task three:

Please register on the IEP conference that is coming up on Feb. 26^th. Click here and send me the confirmation after the registration.

Toronto Ski Trip: Feb. 11, 2016

Toronto Ski Trip

It's back! Our annual journey to Earl Bales is here again.

For those who are taking the lesson at $35 per person, here are your details. You can bring your friends and family. Be sure to pay up before Feb 5.

For those not taking the lesson, don't be late. Be there by 10 a.m. for a walking tour and introduction to skiing/snowboarding in the City of Toronto!

Monday's Assignment

Good morning, our first activity this morning is on accent reduction. Do you have an accent? How thick is your accent? How much have you spent on accent reduction?

Everybody has an accent. Is your accent sin or sick, thin or thick? More cartoons here.

How important is it to have a Canadian or North American accent? Why? Discuss with a partner.

Here are your tasks:

1. Check out the following accent reduction programs:
1. Accent Master
2. Accent School
3. Accent Science Systems
4. Test Den
5. Udemy
2. Fill in the following table:

Program	Pros	Cons	Price	Rank (Best = 1)
Accent Master
Accent School
Accent Science Systems
Test Den
Udemy

Post the table of your results on your blog. Feel free to comment specifically on Accent Science Systems. Then visit your classmates' blogs and publish your comments.