BRIDGING THE GAP FROM EDUCATION TO EMPLOYMENT: PROJECTS THAT LINK VITAL RESOURCES TO ASSIST RURAL WORKERS IN FINDING MEANINGFUL WORK OPPORTUNITIES

The Bridging the Gap (BTG) Implementation Strategy is allied to the 
 Canadian
 Rural Partnership's Model for Rural Development and the Capacity Building
 Initiative. It is underpinned by the need to provide new opportunity for
 individuals residing in rural communities in Canada. The program is integral to a
 wide range of community partnerships that all have a stake in how youth and adults
 are trained, recruited to, and assimilated into meaningful workplace
 opportunities.

The BTG program connects prospective employers
 with
 individuals who experience barriers when seeking and obtaining employment. It
 links
 private sector, labor groups, and governmental and non-governmental
 groups
 to learning resources that been
 seen useful to better preparing workers that have been marginalized by the
 challenges of a technological age that overshadows rural community development where bridging
 strategies are fleeting.

A vital component of the program is an instructor development philosophy that prepares instructors who would deliver the component services of the BTG
 strategy. The LBW philosophy was developed to be more conducive to the challenges that are associated with training program
 development and articulation in rural settings.


This poster will report on the (1) findings of the study of the BTG program, (2) samples of brochures and information that describes the BTG strategies, (3) photographs of sites where the BTG strategies have been deployed, and (4) guidelines that are used to develop community based instructors that are used in the BTG training strategy approach.

It is anticipated that this poster presentation will be of use to those who would be charged with developing instructors
 who would be involved in designing and delivering training education for rural workers. As such the poster information will further elaborate the factors that should
 be reviewed when training programs are conceived and developed for small-scale industrial development
 settings.