TeleGo Program Celebrates Successful Particpants

June 23, 2011 - Lutherwood’s Practice Firm, TeleGo is celebrating the achievements of nearly 400 participants who have benefitted from the employment program over the past eight years. A remarkable 85% of participants successfully found employment.

“TeleGo provides a very real working environment in which we deal with all kinds of business transactions, which is a wonderful practice both for our accounting skills and software skills” said Sharon Liu, a recent TeleGo graduate. “The staff provide unlimited help, including suggestions on work habits, instructions on work procedure, cover letters and resumes, and interviews. I feel I have more confidence through their help.”

“There is nothing more valuable to a company than having motivated, skilled and experienced employees,” said Steve Sherrer, Chief Operating Officer of Lutherwood. “We carefully screen our TeleGo applicants to ensure they are motivated to find work, and have a level of skill and experience that we can build on to help them enter the workforce. This has been key to the success of this program since its inception.”

"With 70 per cent of tomorrow’s jobs requiring postsecondary education and training, Kitchener is fortunate to have the staff of Lutherwood ready and able to help jobseekers find a job, or the training and education that will lead to a job," says John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. "Lutherwood is part of the Employment Ontario network that helps more than one million people every year – building the skilled workforce our economy needs."

TeleGo is a simulated business that provides hands-on experience to newcomers, recent graduates and those re-entering the workforce. The business is the foundation of a 12-week program that builds on participant’s strengths, offers relevant Canadian workplace experience, and provides assistance connecting with local employers. The program is particularly helpful for newcomers to Canada and people re-entering the workforce after a multi-year absence.

Lutherwood is a not-for-profit organization that provides a wide range of children’s mental health, employment, housing and family counselling services to more than 18,500 people annually in Waterloo Region and Wellington County.

This Employment Ontario program is funded by the Ontario Government.