Ontario’s Employment Services Transformation

A Year in Transition: Ontario’s Employment Services Transformation

Ontario’s employment services transformation is 1 year underway and First Work has been monitoring the transition on-the-ground to deliver insights and recommendations for a better employment system for all.

First Work began monitoring the Ontario employment services transformation in late 2020, with the aim to capture and understand the successes and challenges faced by the prototype regions. Through ongoing research and open dialogue during this transformation, First Work has generated insights on the experiences of employment service providers (ESPs), service system managers (SSMs), and job seekers from a secondary research, ESP and SSM perspective

First Work has undertaken an extensive research process culminating in this report in absence of transparent monitoring, evaluation and communication from government. In fairness to the challenges that come with an undertaking of this magnitude, First Work prioritized balance in reporting, as reflected in the document.

“The complexity of this undertaking, the uniqueness of the local and regional landscapes, and the unexpected impacts of the pandemic on the planning and execution of this transformation cannot be underestimated.” – Akosua Alagaratnam

Read the news release