Practice firm helps people get hands-on job training

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DFL International knows that experience leads to employment.

Since 2002, the Hawkesbury-based practice firm has been helping people find work in a variety of areas including, human resources, information technology, marketing and sales, computer graphics, finance and accounting, clerical and translation, to name a few.

Operations manager Gilles Fournier noted the firm is part of a network of more than 3,900 practice firms worldwide and is a member of the Canadian Practice Firm Network, which represents 15 practice firms in Ontario, 25 in Quebec and one in British Columbia.

The firm is funded, in part, by Employment Ontario. Jean-Louis Diamond, of JLD Associés and Consultants serves as a co-ordinator of the firm, while Thériault Électronique is a sponsor.

“Our main goal is to help people find office/clerical work,” he explained. “I’ve been doing this for eight years now and I have to say, I really love my job. We really do make a difference in the lives of people looking for work. Every success story that comes out of here is like a trophy for me. It just puts a big smile on my face.”

Fournier explained that the practice firm is a 12-week employability and training program that simulates virtually all of the commercial activities of a real small business.

“Each practice firm develops and markets a variety of products or services and then carries out transactions with other practice firms across the country,” he stated. “In our case, because Thériault Électronique is our sponsor, the products we develop and market are electronics.”

Fournier said the commercial exchanges truly take place, meaning the publicity material, purchase orders, bills and even cheques really do circulate throughout the international practice firm network.

“This firm operates like a real small businesses,” he commented. “The only thing is, the production and delivery of goods does not happen…no products actually move. No real money is used during the transaction, but employees are getting the hands-on experience they need.”

Participants, Fournier said, are unemployed persons or students looking to update their skills, change careers and/or ease the integration into the job market. Fournier said the program, which is free to all participants, is open to anyone looking for work in the clerical field, whether they are collecting employment insurance, social assistance or not receiving any financial assistance at all.

“By carrying out their duties here, just as they would in a real firm, these people can acquire concrete professional experience in a real office environment,” he remarked. “People can update their skills, increase their efficiency, update computer knowledge, obtain technical and professional support, you name it. Participants don’t get paid to be here, but the work they are doing here is similar to what they would be doing in the real world. It offers excellent preparation for what participants can expect to encounter at a real job.”

Fournier noted that the placement rate of practice firm participants is more than 85 per cent.

“We build excellent relationships with our participants and employers,” he said. “Employers know that the participants who come out of this program are skilled, professional and ready to work. They have no problem hiring someone who has gone through this program successfully.”

He added that often, when prospective participants come in for their first interview, they are suffering from depression, low self-esteem and anxiety about their employment situation. Once they get into the program, he said, many begin to regain confidence in themselves and their abilities.

“It is so exciting to see that change take place,” Fournier commented. “Some people come in here and they are just at the end of their rope. But give them a few weeks in the program, and that all changes. The thing is, often, it doesn’t take 12 weeks for a person to find a job. Sometimes, you’re here for two weeks and you find a job. Knowing that gives people the motivation to keep coming in and doing the best they can.”

For more information on DFL International, please call 613-632-5300.