Memorandum

MEMORANDUM TO: Employment Ontario (EO) Program Service Provider Network

FROM: Teresa Damaso Director, Program Delivery Support Branch

DATE: March 24, 2016

SUBJECT: 2016-17 Changes Affecting Employment Ontario (EO) Programs

MEMO #: EO 2016-15


 

The purpose of this memo is to inform the Employment Ontario (EO) network of operational changes that will take effect at the beginning of the 2016/17 fiscal year.

This memo will provide you with some background on the introduction of new and/or revised EO forms and changes related to the next Employment Ontario Information System – Case Management System (EOIS-CaMS) release. It will also provide an update on the Service Coordination program referral options and communicate changes to the EO Visual Identity and Communications Guidelines and Transfer Payment Agreements.

While this memo provides a summary of upcoming changes starting in the new fiscal year, program specific memos and more technical advisories offering more comprehensive details on specific operational changes will be released shortly.

Service Coordination Update

This Service Coordination update will affect the following program areas:

  • Employment Service (ES)
  • Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS)
  • Youth Job Connection (YJC) and Youth Job Connection: Summer (YJCS)
  • Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW)
  • Youth Job Link (YJL)

EO Service Providers are encouraged to make referrals to EO programs that best meet the needs of their clients. As a follow-up to the memo entitled, “Interim Measure for Referring Clients to the Youth Job Connection (YJC) program”, dated December 17, 2015,  the Ministry has since added YJC, YJCS, YJL and TIOW to the drop down options in the referred in and out categories of CaMS to support service coordination within the EO Network.  Service providers should no longer select “EO-Service Provider-Other” when referring clients to other EO programs or when capturing referrals made in from other EO programs. Instead, they should select the name of the actual program from the list of referral options provided.

The Ministry is currently working on providing service coordination credit to service providers who make suitable referrals to other EO programs. In order to continue supporting service integration among all EO programs, the Ministry will be looking at providing credit within the service coordination core measure where it make sense for those programs that have performance management frameworks. The Ministry will keep you updated as progress is made in this area.

CaMS Release 6.0 Summary of Changes

EOIS-CaMS Release 6.0 is tentatively scheduled for April 16, 2016.

New Youth Employment Programs Added

Disabling of the YJC Temporary After-School Service

A YJCS service plan will be added in the new release for the launch of the program. Therefore, after April 1, 2016, the Youth Job Connection (YJC) Temporary After-School template will no longer be needed and will no longer be available for creating a new service plan. Existing Youth Job Connection (YJC) Temporary After-School service plans can continue to be managed through to closure, after which follow-up reviews will continue to generate.

Youth Job Link (YJL)

The upcoming release will also include a new YJL Service Plan template type as well as system enhancements to allow for reporting of YJL aggregate level workshop and client/employer data. Additional specifics of the enhancements will be part of an upcoming system release ‘go live’ communique.

Job Fund Agreement requirements

The Performance Management Framework for the Canada Job Fund Agreement (JFA) with Provinces and Territories requires the ministry to modify the scope of data collected for the following programs:

  • Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG),
  • Literacy and Basic Skill (LBS),
  • Second Career (SC), and
  • Apprenticeship.

EOIS-CaMS Release 6.0 will include enhancements to ensure we are meeting the federal reporting requirements. A summary of changes in EOIS-CaMS can be found in Appendix B (for COJG) and C (for LBS and SC) of this memo. Service providers should become familiar with these changes as they may have an impact on existing business processes.

As noted later in this memo, the related program forms have also been revised to meet the JFA requirements.

New Process for Registering Employers (for all EO service providers that collect employer information in EOIS-CaMS)

In spring 2015, COJG service providers began collecting employer information in EOIS-CaMS using a new structure that was implemented to support corporate and branch site relationships. With the launch of EOIS-CaMS Release 6.0 on April 16, 2016, all employer information captured in EOIS-CaMS will begin to use this construct.

Aside from those participating in COJG, employers are currently captured exclusively at the employer (branch) level when registered in the system. With the move to the new structure, corporate information will now be collected for every employer. The “corporate entity” captures all of the information relevant to the overall corporation, such as its CRA number and corporate address, and can be associated to multiple employer branches.

All employers, including those with only one location, will be registered with a corporate entity. The majority of the data collected will continue to be captured under the existing employer profile.

For service providers that deliver COJG in addition to other Employment Ontario services, this transition is expected to be seamless. Additional supports will be provided to non-COJG service providers responsible for employer management.

Changes to EO Forms

New Aligned EO Participant & Employer Registration Forms

Effective April 1, 2016, the Ministry will introduce two new dynamic forms titled, “EO Participant Registration” and “EO Employer Registration”. The EO Participant Registration form will be used for registering participants  in the following programs:

  • Employment Service (ES)
  • Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS)
  • Youth Job Connection (YJC) and Youth Job Connection: Summer (YJCS)
  • Youth Job Link (YJL)
The EO Employer Registration form will be used to register employers in the following programs:

  • ES
  • YJC and YJCS
  • YJL

These two forms will consolidate and align multiple existing and new forms. The content of the forms will adjust depending on the fields selected. For example, once a user selects a program option (located at the top of the form), the relevant program content will be displayed  in addition to the common section. To view/print the new forms, service providers will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (version 9.0 or above) installed on their computers.

For an outline of the changes to these forms, see Appendix A. Service providers delivering the ES, LBS, YJC, YJCS or YJL programs should become familiar with the use of these forms. For LBS e-Channel service providers, MTCU will work with you over the following weeks to incorporate these changes into your online systems.

Canada Ontario Job Grant (COJG)

Employer Online Application Form

To meet the requirements of the JFA, the COJG Employer/Consortium Online Application form will be updated. A new version of the application form PDF is tentatively scheduled for release on April 16, 2016. Application forms downloaded prior to April 16, 2016 will be accepted until May 31, 2016. A detailed COJG specific memo will be released shortly and will include details on the interim measure to capture the additional information required by the JFA.

Participant Registration Form

The COJG Participant Registration form has been redesigned. Similar changes have been made to align with the new EO Participant Registration form. Additionally, the question, “At the time of registration, I am: An Incumbent (I am on the employer’s payroll) or A New Hire (I am not on the employer’s payroll), have been added. A chart detailing all of the changes is available in Appendix A of this document.

LBS Exit & Follow-up Form

The LBS Exit & Follow-up form has been updated to support the JFA requirements and to improve data integrity. A number of questions pertaining to participant satisfaction have been revised and/or added to the Details section of the form. A chart detailing all of the changes to this form is available in Appendix A of this document.

New EO Visual Identity and Communications Guidelines

Effective April 2016, MTCU will introduce new Visual Identity and Communications Guidelines for Employment Ontario service providers.

The updated guidelines replace guidelines developed in 2010 for Employment Service providers and those developed in 2007 for Literacy and Basic Skills providers as well as other members of the Employment Ontario network. A detailed list of the changes and timelines for implementation is available through the Memo entitled, “New consolidated Visual Identity and Communications Guidelines for Employment Ontario Service Providers”  posted on the EOPG on March 11, 2016.

Summary of Changes to All 2016/17 EO Agreements

Changes have been made to 2016/17 EO Transfer Payment Agreements to support the ministry’s focus on continuous improvement, strengthened accountability and better aligning Employment Ontario programs. The following is a summary of changes affecting all 2016/17 EO Program Agreements:

  • Schedule A

Monitoring details have been inserted into Schedule A and are no longer  incuded in the Audit and Accountability Requirements.

  • Schedule D

The Estimate of Expenditure Report dates have been updated.

  • Schedule C

The numeric payment table has been deleted and replaced with text outlining the payment schedule.

  •  Schedule F  (or Schedule G for LBS e-Channel)

The Audit and Accountability Requirements have been incorporated into Schedule F (or G) and now form a part of the agreement.

  • Notice of Consent (where applicable)

The language has been updated to reflect recent changes in privacy legislation.

A memo listing all of the 2016/17 agreement changes by programs will be posted on the EOPG in the near future. In the interim, service providers are encouraged to carefully review their agreements with the assistance of legal counsel, if necessary.

Appendix A - Detailed List of Changes to Employment Ontario Forms

Employment Ontario Participant Registration Form

The following chart outlines the revisions made to the EO Participant Registration Form that affects ES, LBS, and YJC/YJCS.

FIELD

TYPE OF CHANGE

ES

LBS

YJC/YJCS

Date Format for all date fields changed from “YYYY/MM/DD” to “DD/MM/YYYY”

Revised

x

x

Preferred Name

Added

x

x

x

Gender

 

 

 

 

“Gender” changed to “I identify as”

Revised

x

x

x

 “Undisclosed” changed to “Prefer not to disclose”

Revised

x

x

x

 Trans

Added

x

x

x

 Other (specify)

Added

x

x

x

 

 

 

 

 

Place of Birth

___________

(Country)

Added

x

x

x

Social Insurance Number

Mandatory

x

x

Preferred Communication

Added

x

x

 Phone

Added

x

x

x

 Email

Added

x

x

x

 Hard Copy

Added

x

x

x

Self-Identify

 

 

 

 

 Aboriginal Ancestry

Deleted

x

Participant Address and Contact Information

 

 

 

 

“PO Box” changed to “PO Box/Route Number”

Revised

x

x

x

Education

 Grade 8

Added

x

 Grade 9

Added

x

 Grade 10

Added

x

 Grade 11

Added

x

 Grade 12 (or equivalent)

Added

x

 OAC

Added

x

 Some Apprenticeship

Added

x

 Certificate of Apprenticeship

Added

x

 Journeyperson

Added

x

 Some College

Added

x

 Certificate/Diploma

Added

x

 Some University

Added

x

 Applied Degree

Added

x

 Associate Degree

Added

x

x

 Bachelor’s Degree

Added

x

 Post Graduate

Added

x

 

The following chart outlines the revisions made in the EO Participant Registration Form that are specific to the Employment Service (ES) program.

FIELD

TYPE OF CHANGE

Labour Force attachment

 “Employed Full-time” and “Employed Part-time”

Revised & Added

 Unemployed

Added

Source of Income

 Employed

Added

 Self-Employed

Added

 “No Income” changed to “No Source of Income”

Revised

“Time out of school/work” changed to “Time out of school/work/training”

Revised

 “6 months to 12 months” changed to “6 months to 1 year”

Revised

 “more than 12 months”

Deleted

 1 year to 6 years

Added

 More than 6 years

Added

 N/A

Added

The following chart outlines the revisions made in the EO Participant Registration Form that are specific to the Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) program.

FIELD

TYPE OF CHANGE

Language Spoken at Home

 Indigenous

Added

 LSQ (Langue des signed du Québec)

Added

 Other

Added

Time Out of Formal Education

 N/A

Added

Time Out of Training

 N/A

Added

Time Out of Work

 N/A

Added

Assessment

 EARAT

Added

 ESEE

Added

 ESOT

Added

Learner Gains Exempt

Added

Intake Learner Gains Score:

Added

Reading                  

Added

Document Use        

Added

Numeracy               

Added

The following chart outlines the revisions made in the EO Participant Registration Form that are specific to the Youth Job Connection (YJC) and Youth Job Connection: Summer (YJCS) program.

FIELD

TYPE OF CHANGE

When are you available to start work? (For YJC: Summer Participants Only) (dd/mm/yyyy)

Added

When are you planning to return to school? (For YJC: Summer Participants Only) (dd/mm/yyyy)

Added

Family Household Circumstance

 “Low income household”, “Lacks familial/parental support”, “Primary caregive/lone parent”, “Lives alone with low or no income” : “N/A” option changed to “Unknown”

Revised

Socially Marginalized

 “N/A” option changed to “Unknown”

Revised

School Factors (For YJC Summer Participants Only)

Added

 Failing Courses

Added

 Skipping classes/frequent absences

Added

 Being bullied

Added

 Feeling of not belonging at school

Added

Time out of School

 “6 months to 12 months” changed to “6 months to 1 year”

Revised

 “more than 12 months”

Deleted

 1 year to 6 years

Added

 More than 6 years

Added

 N/A

Added

Time out of Training

 “6 months to 12 months” changed to “6 months to 1 year”

Revised

 “more than 12 months”

Deleted

 1 year to 6 years

Added

 More than 6 years

Added

 N/A

Added

Time out of Work

 “6 months to 12 months” changed to “6 months to 1 year”

Revised

 “more than 12 months”

Deleted

 1 year to 6 years

Added

 More than 6 years

Added

 N/A

Added

“YJC Eligibility Verification” changed to “YJC/Summer Eligibility Verification”

Revised

Employment Ontario Employer Registration Form

The following chart outlines the changes made to the Employment Ontario Employer Registration Form:

FIELD

TYPE OF CHANGE

ES

YJC/YJCS

Date Format for all date fields changed from “YYYY/MM/DD” to “DD/MM/YYYY”

Revised

x

Registered/Legal Name

Mandatory

x

“Trading/Business Name” changed to “Corporate Business Name (hereinafter referred to as the “Employer”)

Revised & Mandatory

x

x

“Business Number” changed to “Canada Revenue Agency/Business Number”

Revised & Mandatory

x

x

Total Number of Employees in Corporation (Registered Corporation)

Added & Mandatory

x

x

“Number of Years in Business” changed to Year Business Registered

Revised

x

Preferred Communication

Added

 Phone

Added

x

x

 Email

Added

x

x

Corporate Mailing Address

Added

x

x

PO Box Corporate

Added

x

“Size of Business (number of employees)” changed to “Employer Business Size (Total Number of Employees in your Branch/Location)”

Revised & Mandatory

x

x

Type of Sector

Mandatory

x

x

Type of Business

Revised & Mandatory

x

x

“Primary (incl. agriculture)” changed to “Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting”

Revised

x

x

 “Manufacturing” changed to “Manufacturing including food”

Revised

x

x

 “Other, specify:” changed to “Other Services (except Public Administration), please specify”

Revised

x

x

 “Retail” changed to “Retail Trade”

Revised

x

x

 Management of Companies and Enterprises

Added

x

x

 Transportation and Warehousing

Added

x

x

 Finance and Insurance

Added

x

x

 Construction

Added

x

x

 Administrative and Support, Waste

Added

x

x

 Management and Remediation Services

Added

x

x

 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

Added

x

x

 Health Care and Social Assistance

Added

x

x

 Public Administration

Added

x

x

 Utilities

Added

x

x

 Wholesale Trade

Added

x

x

 Information and Cultural Industries

Added

x

x

 Educational Services

Added

x

x

 Accommodation and Food Services

Added

x

x

 Mining, Quarrying

Added

x

x

 Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

Added

x

x

 Arts, Entertainment and Recreation

Added

x

x

 Service

Deleted

x

x

 

Canada Ontario Job Grant Participant Registration Form

The following chart outlines changes made to the COJG Participant Registration Form:

FIELD

TYPE OF CHANGE

Canada’s Economic Action Plan logo

Removed

Preferred Name

Added

Social Insurance Number

Mandatory

“Gender” changed to “I identify as”

Revised

 “Undisclosed” changed to “Prefer not to disclose”

Revised

 Trans

Added

 Other (specify)

Added

Education

Mandatory

 Associate Degree

Added

Employment

Employment Type

Mandatory

Name of Employer

Mandatory

Country of Employment

Mandatory

Employment Start Date

Mandatory

Employment End Date

Mandatory

Pay Period        

Mandatory

Wage Amount

Mandatory

Employment Hours per Week        

Mandatory

Employment History

 

Question #1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Mandatory

“At the time of registration, I am:”

Added

  An Incumbent (I am on the employer’s payroll)

Added

  A New Hire (I am not on the employer’s payroll)

Added

Employer Information

Mandatory

Skills Training Information

Mandatory

Training Provider’s Address Information

Mandatory

Literacy and Basic Skills Exit & Follow-Up Form

The chart below outlines changes made to the LBS Exit & Follow-Up Form:

FIELD

TYPE OF CHANGE

Under “Details” section:

On a Scale of 1 to 5, how likely are you to recommend the LBS Program to someone looking for similar services?

Revised

 1 – strongly not recommended       

Revised

 2 – rather not recommend        

Revised

 3 – no general opinion        

Revised

 4 – generally recommend              

Revised

 5 – strongly recommend           

Revised

 No Response – Client did not respond to survey    

Revised

Answer the following questions by selecting one of the provided options

Added

As a result of participating in LBS program, your employment situation has improved

Added

Strongly Agree    

Added

Agree    

Added

Neither Agree nor Disagree   

Added

Disagree   

Added

Strongly Disagree

Added

As a result of participating in LBS program, you are better prepared to find and maintain employment.

Added

Strongly Agree    

Added

Agree

Added

Neither Agree nor Disagree   

Added

Disagree

Added

Strongly Disagree

Added

As a result of participating in LBS program, you have developed and/or increased skills.

Added

Strongly Agree    

Added

Agree  

Added

Neither Agree nor Disagree   

Added

Disagree

Added

Strongly Disagree

Added

Under “Assessment” section:

 

Exit Learner Gains Score

Revised

Reading                  

Revised

Document Use        

Revised

Numeracy               

Revised

Under “Details” section:

Has the learner completed all goal path requirements identified in the learner plan?

Revised

  Yes                    

Revised

No

Revised

No Response     

Revised

Under “Outcome at 3 Months”, “Outcome at 6 Months”, and “Outcome at 12 Months” sections:

 

Completed Date (dd/mm/yyyy)

Added

Appendix B – Systems Related Changes to Accommodate Job Fund Agreement Requirements for the Administration of the COJG Program

  • Collection of New Skills/Training Data

New data that will be collected to support the reporting of JFA performance indicators include:

  • The number of participants by type of skills to be learned. This information will be collected in the COJG Employer/Consortium Online Application form and will  reflect the following categories:
    • Essential Skills
    • Specialized or technical skills
    • Management and business skills or
    • Soft skills
  •  The number of participants who completed training by type of certificate/credential earned. This information will be measured by collecting the expected certificate/credential in the employer application and its completion upon Exit. The data values will include:
    • No credential
    • Educational
    • Industry/occupation
    • Proprietary

To help quantify the impact of COJG on job creation, the actual number of incumbent and new hire employees by grant will now be tracked at the participant level. This information will be collected in the COJG Participant Registration form and then captured in the COJG Participant Service Plan in EOIS-CaMS.

  • New Exit Questions in EOIS-CaMS

COJG Employer Service Plans closed after April 16, 2016, will have the following new questions on Exit:

    • Your skills/training needs were met?
    • Your expectations of the program were met?
    • You would have accessed this training without COJG?
    • The above questions employ the following scale: Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neither agree nor disagree, Agree, Strongly agree, or No Response.

The following questions will be removed from the exit questions:

    • Did the Canada-Ontario Job Grant enable you to invest in training for your employee(s) that otherwise would not have happened?
    • Did the skills training meet the workforce needs of the employer?
  • New Follow-up Questions in EOIS-CaMS

COJG Employer Service Plans closed after April 16, 2016, will generate the associated 3- and 12-month reviews with two new questions:

    • Your skills/training needs were met?
    • Your expectations of the program were met?
    • The above questions employ the following scale: Strongly disagree,

Disagree, Neither agree nor disagree, Agree, Strongly agree, or No Response.

The following questions will be removed from the 3- and 12-month review questions:

    • Did the Canada-Ontario Job Grant enable you to invest in training for your employee(s) that otherwise would not have happened?
    • Did the skills training meet the workforce needs of the employer?
  • Potential Impacts on COJG Service Provider Business Processes

Changes to Closure and Follow-up questions may impact follow-up forms or other such tools used by COJG service providers to collect this information from employers and participants. For the one-year period from April 17, 2016 to April 17, 2017 there will be two unique sets of 3- and 12-month follow-up questions: one for cases closed before April 17, 2016 (i.e., the current follow-up questions) and one for cases closed after April 16, 2016 (i.e., the new follow-up questions). Please plan accordingly.

Over the next several weeks, the ministry will provide additional details of upcoming changes in EOIS-CaMS Release 6.0.  This will include a ‘go live’ bulletin and updates to EOIS-CaMS and report user guides.

Appendix C – System-Related Changes to Accommodate Job Fund Agreement Requirements for the Administration of Second Career and Literacy and Basic Skills

  • New Second Career and LBS Exit/Closure and Follow-up Questions in EOIS-CaMS

Second Career product delivery cases and Literacy and Basic Skills service plans closed after April 16, 2016, will have the following new questions on exit/closure and 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-ups:

    • Your employment situation has improved?
    • You are better prepared to find and maintain employment?
    • You have developed and/or increased skills?
    • The above questions employ the following scale: Strongly disagree,

Disagree, Neither agree nor disagree, Agree, Strongly agree, or No Response.

In order to track post-intervention changes in hours worked and wages, the following fields will be added to the data captured at exit/closure and 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-ups:

    • Hours per Week
    • Wage
    • Wage Per

These three fields use the same format as the income data currently captured in the Employment History and will be mandatory when any of the following outcomes are chosen: 

    • Both employed and in education
    • Both employed and in training
    • Employed Apprentice
    • Employed in a prof occ/trade
    • Employed in area of training/choice
    • Employed in a more suitable job
    • Employed Full-time
    • Employed Part-time
    • Self-Employed
The following question will be removed from the exit/closure and 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-ups:

    • Did your training help prepare you for future employment?
    • Potential Impacts on Service Provider Business Processes

Changes to closure and follow-up questions may impact follow-up forms or other such tools used by ES and LBS service providers to collect this information from participants. For the one-year period from April 17, 2016 to April 17, 2017 there will be two unique sets of exit/closure, 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-up questions: one for cases closed before April 17, 2016 (i.e., the current questions) and one for cases closed after April 16, 2016 (i.e., the new questions). Please plan accordingly.

Over the next several weeks, the ministry will provide additional details of upcoming changes in EOIS-CaMS Release 6.0. This will include a ‘go live’ bulletin and updates to EOIS-CaMS and report user guides.