Employment Essentials Program

Brief Description

The Employment Essentials Program is offered within secure and reduced custody facilities in Saskatchewan. It is an employment readiness program that helps offenders work on all five areas of employability as defined by the Canadian Career Development Foundation including: career exploration, skill enhancement, job search enhancement, job/work maintenance and other (a broad category used to recognise the responsivity issues that affect a person’s successful attachment to the labour market).

The program culminates with 25-35 hours of training, an industry recognized acquisition certificate of training to enhance offender labour market attachment.  It is the gateway program to more intensive employment programming. 

The program is centered on literacy enhancement and skill training.

Goals

The main goals of the Employment Essentials Program are to:

• Increase offender understanding of the employability dimensions and how they affect employment;
• Help the client attain the highest level of skills and personal knowledge to maximize their potential for positive labour market attachment; and
• Help clients increase their employability.

Clientele

Subject to available resources, all offenders in the province of Saskatchewan who have identified criminogenic risk in the area of education and employment are offered admittance into the program.

Core Components

The program components of the Employment Essentials Program include the following:

• Employability assessment designed to self-inform client on their level of employability;
• Engagement in all aspects of the five dimensions of employability; and
• Industry accepted vocational training.

Implementation Information

Some of the critical elements for the implementation of this program or initiative include the following:

• Organizational requirements: Specialized Trained Offender Employment Coordinators.
• Partnerships: Limited information on this topic.
• Training and technical assistance: Limited information on this topic.
• Risk assessment tools: Saskatchewan Primary Risk Assessment (PRA)
• Materials & resources: Limited information on this topic.

International Endorsements

The most recognized classification systems of evidence-based crime prevention programs have classified this program or initiative as follows:

• Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development: Not applicable.
• Crime Solutions/OJJDP Model Program Guide: Not applicable.
• SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices: Not applicable.
• Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy: Not applicable.

Gathering Canadian Knowledge

Canadian Implementation Sites

The Employment Essentials Program is available to all offenders in the province of Saskatchewan who meet the criminogenic risk factor requirements.

Main Findings from Canadian Outcome Evaluation Studies

No information available.

Cost Information

No information available.

References

There is no Canadian reference available at this time.

For more information on this program, contact:

Ministry of Justice, Corrections and Policing
700-1874 Scarth Street
Regina, Saskatchewan, S4P 4B3
Telephone:  (306)787-5467
E-mail: Doris.Schnell@gov.sk.ca