1. OCASI PD Conference 2010
The Common Assessment Process (CAP):
Connecting Immigrant and Employment Needs
~ Sergio Chuy & Carol Stewart ~
Employment Sector Council
of London-Middlesex

2. Presentation Outline
• Introduction to the ESCLM
• The Common Assessment Process (CAP)
• The Employability Dimensions: A Case Study
• The CAP Steps
• CAP for job seeker clients
• CAP for career development practitioners
• CAP for the community
• Diverse applications of the CAP training model
• Applicability of CAP for Immigrant Sector
• Questions?

3. Employment Sector Council –
London/Middlesex (ESCLM)
Vision Statement: “A dynamic service delivery
system that provides opportunity for all people to
meet the changing labour market needs in our
community”
Mandate: “to promote „best practices‟ for the
employment and training sector”
40+ members comprising nonprofit and public
employment service delivery, community and
economic development, labour, education, training,
and government organizations

4. ESCLM: Promoting Best Practices
• Service Delivery Standards
• Information Sharing Agreements
Principles for the Protection of Personal
Information
• Shared technology platforms

5. Promoting Best Practices, cont.
The Common Assessment Process (CAP):
A standardized means for exploring a
client‟s situation to identify needs for
assistance and develop a plan to link the
client to community resources that can
help to meet those needs.
CAP has been used by the ESCLM network
since 1996.

6. CAP: A Systems Overview
Objectives:
• Client-centred approach
• “No Wrong Door”
• Community employment resource
information
• Best client referrals
The CAP practitioner community: over 500
people trained from 45 agencies

7. 1. In your groups, please take a few
minutes to read Zeinab‟s case study
2. Based on what you have learned about
her, suggest what you think Zeinab‟s
most important needs are (3-5 needs Max)
3. Rank these in terms of priority

8. Zeinab worked for 11 years in Iraq, doing admin and accounts for a busy
medical practice, also computer repair work as needed
She enjoyed this and would like to do something similar in Canada, but she
doesn‟t know what qualifications are needed. She would consider returning to
education, but not now as she can‟t afford it and finding a job is a priority
If she can‟t do that, she‟s interested in learning about other careers. She
enjoys being with children and always thought she would be a great teacher or
children‟s nurse. She almost applied to train as a nurse, but her parents talked
her out of it because they felt that business would be a better career with more
family-friendly hours
Zeinab says she doesn‟t really care what she does as long as she can get a job
quickly. Maybe in retail or as a receptionist, or in a hotel as a housekeeper
She has a bachelor‟s degree in business administration and was working on a
Microsoft certification in computer networks and troubleshooting

9. Zeinab worked for 11 years in Iraq, doing admin and accounts for a busy medical practice,
also computer repair work as needed
She has a bachelor‟s degree in business administration and was working on a Microsoft
certification in computer networks and troubleshooting
Zeinab says that she is very organised and able to multi-task. She is used to greeting
people at the front desk at the same time as answering the telephone and directing calls,
and she has a really good memory for information. She is proud of her ability to look calm
and unflustered while balancing multiple priorities
Zeinab has excellent oral communication skills. She often wrote letters and took minutes,
sometimes in English as one of the doctors corresponded with a doctor at a British
hospital
She is very comfortable with computers, but all the software she used was in Arabic, even
when she typed in English
She doesn‟t know what skills she might need here. She saw OHIP billing on one job
posting for a medical office assistant. She does not know what that is
Zeinab has three children, and is highly organised around household maintenance and
organising activities. She volunteered at her oldest child‟s school in Basra, helping with
outings and activities
Zeinab had a full driving licence in Iraq, but in Canada has only G1 licence and no car

10. Zeinab has never had a job in Canada. She left her last job, in Iraq, three years
ago
Zeinab brought a resume to her appointment. It is in the format acceptable in
Iraq, six pages long and with a large „personal information‟ section at the top,
including date of birth, religion, marital status, children‟s ages, parents‟
occupations - and a photograph
Zeinab has never had to look for work. She found her job in Iraq through a
friend of her husband‟s. She has never had a job interview and doesn‟t know
how to prepare for one
She has been in Canada for four months and so far knows no-one other than
her Ontario Works caseworker, a couple of neighbours, her oldest child‟s
teacher and some people at the mosque
Zeinab has excellent computer and internet skills, and has been looking up job
websites - so far, she knows about Monster, Workopolis and Job Bank and a
couple of other sites. She has a computer and internet access at home
She is reliant on bus transportation
Zeinab has not researched local employers and has no idea how to do that

11. Zeinab worked for 11 years as a medical office administrator in Iraq
Zeinab has never had a job in Canada. She left her last job, in Iraq, three years
ago because at the time she had two children, the youngest of which was one
year old and had just been diagnosed as hearing-impaired
She is now a single parent with three children, aged 7, 4 and six months. The
oldest is in school, but she is still trying to find a kindergarten place for the four-
year-old and she has no daycare for the baby
Although Zeinab has driven all her adult life, she has only a G1 licence in
Canada and no car. She is currently reliant on the bus
Zeinab is new to London - she has been here four months - and doesn‟t know
the city very well
Zeinab is not able to supply references from her previous employer in Iraq, as
the building was destroyed in a mortar attack and she doesn‟t know where her
employers went - she thinks at least one of them was killed and another fled the
country
She believes that she was very good at her last job and can give examples of
managers, co-workers and patients praising her. But she feels she is out of
practice and less well-qualified than other job-seekers

12. She used to live in Basra, Iraq, and had a very nice home with a good standard
of living. She came to Canada as a refugee four months ago
Her husband was killed by a car-bomb six months ago
Zeinab has three children, aged 7, 4 and six months. The seven-year-old saw his
father die. The four-year-old is hearing-impaired. Sometimes, Zeinab feels
completely overwhelmed with all of her responsibilities
Zeinab wants a job so that she can start to feel normal again, but her children
come first
Although she has managed to get her oldest child into school, she hasn‟t yet
found a kindergarten place for her middle child or daycare for the youngest
Zeinab and her family are living on the 12th floor of an apartment building. Her
neighbours have complained about cooking smells and the baby crying
Her Ontario Works caseworker insists that she make every effort to find entry-
level employment or her cheque might be suspended
Zeinab is worried that no employer will hire her because she hasn‟t worked for
three years and she has no Canadian experience

13. CAP: The Employability
Dimensions
Now that you have heard all the pieces of
Zeinab‟s situation, has your thinking
changed about what she should do?

14. CAP: The Employability
Dimensions
All information must be gathered or you can
“misdiagnose” or solve the wrong
problem or solve the wrong problem at
the wrong time.
Assessments will be incomplete, if not
wrong.

15. CAP: The Employability
Dimensions
1. Personal and Environmental
2. Job/Work Objectives
3. Skills and Requirements
4. Job Search Skills
5. Employment Maintenance
Which of these reflects your Zeinab case?
(See handouts and your “Cheat Sheets)

16. CAP: The Employability
Dimensions
1. Please take out your envelopes
2. Briefly share your client concerns with
your individual group
3. Within which Employability Dimension(s)
do these concerns fit?
4. Each group shares 1-2 concerns with
larger group

17. CAP: The Steps
1. Establish collaborative relationship
2. Define consumer context
3. Explore current career/vocational expectations
4. Identify and assess job specific skills and
qualifications
5. Assess readiness to seek and maintain
employment
6. Synthesis of information and formulation of
options
7. Establish Action Plan
8. Follow-up

18. CAP Training for Career
Development Practitioners
• All new CDPs in London & Middlesex undergo
two-day training in CAP
• Flexibility built in for diversity of CDP groups
• Reflects current labour market contexts and
employment programs
• By the community for the community: facilitators
all experienced CDPs
• Two days‟ intensive training & assessment before
facilitator certification. Ongoing PD

19. CAP: Benefits for Clients
• Process emphasizes respect and
relationship-building
• Clients only have to tell their „story‟ once,
regardless of where they enter the system or
the number of agencies they visit
• „Pick and mix‟ approach to obtain the best
„menu‟ for clients‟ particular situation
• Return -to-work Action Plan recognized
across network
• Same language and process used across
agencies

20. CAP: Benefits for Career
Development Practitioners
• Connection to and relationships with other
community agency staff; increased trust
• Reassurance that clients will get to the
appropriate service and will receive high quality
service at other agencies
• Reduced duplication of work
• Facilitated case management
• Sharing best practices and information

21. CAP: Benefits for the
London-Middlesex Community
• Emphasis on client-centred service
• More coordinated, professional approach
• Ease of movement of clients across system
• Trust, partnerships, cooperation between
agencies
• Ability to share program and labour market
information efficiently across network
• Knowledge about range of services available
in the community

22. Training for Other Employment
Sector Stakeholders
• Immigrant and Settlement Sector
• Action Centres (for company closures)
• Employment Resource Centre Staff
• Support Staff
• Executive Directors and Management
• Aboriginal Communities

23. Best Practices and
Lessons Learned
• Client-centred approach
• Community partnerships and planning
• Making best use of resources in the community;
avoiding duplication of services
• Information-sharing and resource-pooling
• Effective case management
• Flexibility and adaptability
• By the community for the community
• Career Development Practitioner supports

24. CAP: Applicable for
Immigrant and
Settlement Sector?
Your opinions of the value of the CAP
Process for your sector?
How can we improve information-gathering,
information-sharing, and referrals across
the community?

25. Questions?