Provincial Government Gives Boost to DOXA and C2U

The following information is excerpted from a release from the Government of British Columbia.

Government is providing more funding for Lower Mainland job-seekers to gain paid work experience at high-profile events to help them on their paths to full-time employment.

The Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation is contributing $25,698 to The Documentary Media Society for its DOXA 2017 Audience Development Project, an initiative that will see two people get hands-on experience in festival production, event management, marketing, design, outreach, team building, problem solving, and communication. They will work on the project for 29 weeks in the lead-up to, and the duration of, the DOXA Documentary Film Festival, which runs from May 4 to 14 in Vancouver.

One of the participants will take on the role of communications assistant focusing on visual promotion and marketing, while the other will act as a program outreach assistant with a focus on expanding and diversifying the festival audience, as well as youth outreach.

The participants will leave the project with real-life work experience they can add to their resumes in their search for jobs, while helping a local documentary film festival reach its full potential with an expanded audience and deeper community impact.

This is the fourth time the Province has funded a work experience project with The Documentary Media Society, with more than $105,000 committed over four years for 12 people to enhance their employment skills working behind the scenes at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival. Two former participants are now employed with the society.

The Province is also providing $4,740 for a Simon Fraser University project that will give two job-seekers 15 weeks of work experience in organizing the C2U Expo, a bi-annual Canadian-led international conference designed to strengthen communities through community-campus partnerships.

The C2U Expo is being held at SFU’s Vancouver campus this year from May 3 to 5, and the project’s two participants will assist in planning and promotion while honing their skills in volunteer recruitment, engagement, coordination, management, event planning, administration, evaluation, communication and documentation. One participant will act as a conference assistant, while the other will take on the role of organizing volunteer ambassadors – more than 50 people with barriers to employment are expected to volunteer at the event.

Funding for both projects is provided through the Job Creation Partnerships stream of government’s Community and Employer Partnerships program.

Job Creation Partnerships are part of the Employment Program of British Columbia’s Community and Employer Partnerships, which fund projects that increase employability and share labour market information.

Community and Employer Partnerships are featured in B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint and provide more support to people who are struggling to gain a foothold in the job market. It helps build stronger partnerships with industry and labour to connect British Columbians with classroom and on-the-job training, while making it easier for employers to hire the skilled workers they need – when and where they need them.