Planning a Labour Market Information Workshop

Miranda Vande Kuyt © 2006

Table of Contents 1

Purpose ...................................................................................................................... 3

2

Preliminary Questions .............................................................................................. 3 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4

3

Set-Up.........................................................................................................................5 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4

4

Budget ............................................................................................................................ 5 Marketing........................................................................................................................ 5 Registration .................................................................................................................... 6 Resources ...................................................................................................................... 6

Implementation.......................................................................................................... 7 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4

5

Who ................................................................................................................................ 3 What ............................................................................................................................... 3 Where............................................................................................................................. 4 When .............................................................................................................................. 4

Venue Preparations........................................................................................................ 7 Registration .................................................................................................................... 7 Recognition .................................................................................................................... 7 During the Workshop...................................................................................................... 7

Follow-Up ................................................................................................................... 8 5.1

Evaluation....................................................................................................................... 8

Appendix A: Event Planning Checklist ......................................................................... 9

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A Labour Market Information Workshop is an event used to bring awareness to current career information and career resources. It is facilitated by a knowledgeable presenter or panel to a target audience.

1

A Labour Market Information Workshop is an event used to disseminate current career information and career resources.

Purpose

Why would your organization want to host a Labour Market Information (LMI) Workshop? This is the foundational question you need to answer before you can begin to set up such an event. You may see a need for a particular audience to receive career information. You may even be looking to establish your organization as LMI specialists or be seeking to attract new clients, employees, or contracts. Whatever your reason for hosting an LMI event, you will first need to establish your purpose for the event. Every decision you make while planning your event will be in consideration of your desired outcome.

2

Preliminary Questions

Set-up of an LMI event begins with the basics: why, who, what, where and when. After you have established why you are holding the event you can move on to decide your event’s preliminary questions in light of your purpose.

2.1 Who There are a number of different audiences that you may wish to put on an LMI workshop for. Depending on your desired outcome, you could put your workshop on for people who work in the career development industry, such as practitioners, career counsellors, case managers, or other front line workers. The benefit of targeting career development practitioners is that you will reach a larger audience when they share the labour market information learned from your workshop with other practitioners and their clients. You may also decide to target clients, students or other unemployed people in your community. Additional audiences to consider are: stakeholders, business people or potential employers. Whatever your goal for hosting an LMI workshop, there are a number of audiences that may assist you in meeting your desired outcome. You will need to choose the best audience that will assist you in achieving your desired goals.

2.2 What When deciding what topic your workshop will focus on consider the needs of your audience and your desired outcomes. By definition a LMI workshop is an event used to disseminate current career information and career resources. There are two main presentation topics; either a general “what is LMI and how do you use it” or sector specific. A sector specific workshop could focus on a hot sector in your local economy or a specific under represented career field experiencing labour shortages.

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Coupled with choosing a workshop topic is choosing a presenter. For a general LMI workshop you may choose to have a staff member present or a guest speaker who specializes in LMI possibly from a local post secondary institution. For a sector specific workshop you can invite a leader from a sector council, local industry representative or an employer from your community.

Sector Council Contact could be found on: www.workapedia.com www.councils.org

It is important to find a presenter who supports your desired outcomes so that they may partner with you. Remember to explore the desired outcomes of your presenter as well so that you may also partner with them. Partnering with your presenter and their organization could give your presentation increased credibility and attract a larger audience. Partnering will also benefit the presenter with new contacts and marketing. To increase the success of your workshop, review with your presenter the diverse needs and expectations of the audience and how they could best meet those perceived needs. To avoid any confusion, clarify with your presenter who will be providing and doing what (i.e. who is marketing, who is providing handouts, technology [i.e. laptop and projector], etc.) A sector specific workshop could cover: The latest LMI produced by the sector What type of workers that industry is looking for What skills and knowledge does the sector desire How can practitioners assist their clients to find and maintain employment in that industry Where can people go for more information and resources about the sector

2.3 Where Choosing a venue for your workshop is another decision made in light of your purpose and audience’s needs. You may consider hosting the workshop at your own place of business if you have the space available. Other options are at a community centre, library, high school, college or at a stakeholder’s place of business. Choosing a room size for your event is important. Too big of a space will feel cold and impersonal, too small of a space will feel cramped and uncomfortable. Your space should allow enough space for people to be seated comfortably with enough room for the presenter and any technology that may be used (i.e. laptop and projector). If you decide to provide refreshments, you will also want to leave space for your audience to mingle and network. Some other things to consider are adequate parking, accessibility (wheel chair access) and restrooms.

2.4 When The date and time of your presentation should be according to your audience’s needs. If you are targeting high school students you may want to do it after school hours or during a lunch hour. If you are presenting to stakeholders they may appreciate an event that takes place during business hours. If you are hosting the event in

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conjunction with another special event your workshop may take place on the weekend. Deciding when to host your event also requires you to keep in mind the time of year. Some seasons have many career development events while other seasons may be peak vacation times. There are special occasions to host a LMI Workshop such as “Career Week” in early November. Whenever you decide to host your event it should be a time that works for you, your presenter and your audience.

3

Set-Up

Once the preliminary decisions are made you can move on to the next stage of planning for a successful event.

3.1 Budget When creating a budget for your event there are a few things you need to plan for: Staffing and administrative support Refreshments and supplies Printing and photocopying Venue (i.e. hall rental and décor) Technology (i.e. rental of sound system, projector and screen) Marketing Presenter honorarium

A good marketing strategy doesn’t necessarily advertise everywhere but a few places well.

You do not need to spend a lot to host a successful event. By partnering with your presenter and their organization you may have all the handouts provided by them. You may want to partner with a local restaurant to have the refreshments supplied. You can offer these sponsors mention in your marketing. This definitely would appeal to the smaller business owner with a minimal marketing budget.

3.2 Marketing Creating an effective marketing strategy starts by asking: Who am I targeting? What would appeal to them? Where can I reach them? A good marketing strategy does not market everywhere but rather it targets a few places well. There are a number of different types of media you can use: posters, flyers, brochures, email list serves, website event listings, newspapers, etc. You can also promote your event through professional associations, stakeholders and through any sponsors or partnerships you may have for the event. The media you choose will need to convey some basic information about your event, such as:

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•

Who is invited

•

What date and time is the event taking place

•

Where will it be and where they can park (transit directions)

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How much does it cost

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How to register

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Who is hosting

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Who is partnering and sponsoring

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Who is facilitating and their credentials

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Why they should attend (What are the benefits)

3.3 Registration Depending on the size of your audience you may want to have the attendees pre-register. Some of the benefits of pre-registration are: You will know how many people are planning on attending, this will allow you to prepare the right amount of handouts and name tags, as well as set up the correct number of chairs and refreshments Collecting contact information will allow you to pre-print name tags and attendance certificates Collecting contact information will allow you to send out reminders or notice of changes You will know who is making up your audience and who is not represented in your audience Following the workshop you will be able to send out thankyou notes and any follow-up questionnaires You will be able to build a contact list for future events

To identify hot labour market sectors in British Columbia visit www.bccma.ca/nids.asp

Although pre-registration will give you an approximate number in attendance, do allow for people who show up unannounced or people who fail to come. Some registration information you may want to collect is: name, job title, organization and/or school, program name, phone number, email address.

3.4 Resources Due to the vast amount of information and statistics involved in labour market information, a well put together power point presentation increases the professionalism of the presentation and creates impressive looking handouts. A professionally run event usually includes some form of handouts or resources. These may be provided by your organization or your presenter. You may want to provide the audience with program brochures or other resources that will enhance their knowledge of the labour market, your organization or any partner organization involved. Assembling all handouts into a presentation folder is another way to establish a professionally run event. Your presenter’s organization may provide these for you.

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Pacific Community Resources Presents this Certificate of Attendance to

Miranda Vande Kuyt for attending the 3 hour Labour Market Information Workshop Series: The BC Tourism Industry

4

Implementation

Advanced preparation will assist workshop to run more smoothly. There are a number of tasks that will need to be completed on the day of the workshop.

4.1 Venue Preparations Set up your space to allow the audience to be seated at a comfortable distance from each other and the presenter. If you are providing refreshments remember to have a space for the refreshments set up prior to the start of the workshop. Set up any technology be utilized and test it (i.e. laptop, projector, and/or sound system). Make sure the presenter knows how to use the technology provided and uploads their power point presentation before the audience arrives. You may want to have the presenter send their presentation via email ahead of time. If you are using the internet make sure to test your connection.

To demonstrate a commitment to professional development (C1.2) and to keep current with labour market information (C3.1.8) are core competencies of a career development practitioner according to the Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners.

Temperature can often cause your audience to be uncomfortable. Remember to adjust the room temperature prior to the start of the workshop depending on the season. It can be frustrating to arrive at an event and not be able to find the location of the session. If possible, clearly mark from the entrance of the building how to get the workshop. You should also mark or point out the location of the restrooms and elevators. An LMI Workshop is a good venue to set up a display about your organization or the presenter’s organization and resources.

4.2 Registration Having a registration table set up allows you to warmly greet anyone attending the workshop. It will also enable you to track who has attended. You may want to provide any handouts, resources, nametags, attendance certificates and session evaluation forms to your attendees upon their arrival. For more benefits of registration see section 3.3.

4.3 Recognition LMI workshops can be a form of professional development or education for your audience. Certificates of attendance should be provided. To “demonstrate a commitment to professional development (C1.2) and to keep current with labour market information (C3.1.8)” are core competencies of a career development practitioner according to the Canadian Standards and Guidelines for Career Development Practitioners. Also be sure to thank your guest presenter with a certificate of appreciation or a gift.

4.4 During the Workshop To start off on the right foot, begin your workshop on time! Your opening should welcome your guests, orient them to the facilities and the agenda of the workshop. It is important to remind your audience to turn off their cell phones. Encourage your audience to network

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and ask questions. You may also want to inform them where to return their completed session evaluation forms. Conclude your opening with a well-put together introduction of your presenter. During your workshop you may want to take photographs or a video. Remember to get consent from the audience. This could easily be done by having them sign a photo release form upon registering. Depending on the length of your presentation you may want to have a short refreshment break during the presentation. This is a great opportunity to mingle with your guests and allow your guests to network among each other. Upon the conclusion of your workshop remember to thank your audience for attending and your presenter for their time and support.

5

Follow-Up

Good follow-up is an important part of a successful event and is planned ahead of time. Follow-up consists of:

Good follow-up is an important part of a successful event and is planned ahead of time.

•

Return of all equipment and supplies used

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Phone calls and emails to your presenter, partners and sponsors letting them know how they contributed to the success of your workshop and thanking them for their support

•

Thank your staff and site leaders for all their efforts

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Send thank-you notes and electronic resources to the audience for their attendance and participation

•

Final Report of evaluations, summary of what you accomplished and what you would change for next time

5.1 Evaluation Effective evaluation consists of a couple of stages: 1. Distribute and collect evaluation or feedback forms from participants. You may want to ask questions such as: “How would you rate the presenter?”, “How could this workshop be improved?” or “The best part of this workshop was?” Ask your presenter if they have any feedback they would like to gather from the audience. 2. Compile or analyze your evaluations. If you use multiple choice evaluation forms you can calculate what percentage of people responded positively or negatively to individual questions. These statistics could help you in promoting a future workshop and in completing your Final Report. Your presenter and sponsors may be interested in the findings of your evaluations. 3. Consider doing a 90-day follow-up to your workshop. This could be done as an e-survey asking questions about the usage of information gathered at the workshop or by phoning different participants (ex. www.surveymoney.com or www.survey.com).

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Appendix A: Event Planning Checklist Done

Pre Event Task List Discuss and set purpose for the event

Who

Due By

Team

Set a budget for the event Decide on target audience Select a day and time Choose topic and secure a presenter Book a location for the event Create a marketing strategy and implement Track pre-registration Prepare handouts and resources Create name tags & attendance certificates Prepare evaluation forms

Done

Day of Task List Set up location of event with chairs and tables

Who

Due By

Team

Set up and test any technology being used Set up any handouts, name tags and certificates Prepare the registration table Set up any refreshments Hang up any signs needed to direct participants Collect evaluation forms

Done

Post Event Task List Send out thank-you to presenters and sponsors Send out thank-you to participants Send out e-copies of handouts to those who could not make it Compile evaluation results and send to presenter

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Who

Due By