Posted: 14 May 2010 04:02 AM PDT

As part of Employment Ontario's employment and training network, the Job Gym is dedicated to assisting job seekers, employers, educators and the community-at-large. We help everyone - there are no age restrictions. Our free services are the perfect solution to your worries! If you are looking for information and resources or have questions about anything related to finding a job/career, education/training, employment standards, recruitment and employee retention, apprenticeships, workplace safety and WHMIS, starting a business, the local labour market, etc. we can help. Our resource centre at 620 Niagara Street is equipped 12 new computers with high speed Internet and MS Word and WinWay Resume Writer programs, fax, phones and photocopier. Let us help you find what your looking for! Visit 620 Niagara Street (across from McD's), online at www.jobgym.com, or phone 905-732-7655.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Career Day: Help or Hindrance? - Wall Street Journal

Posted: 14 May 2010 07:09 AM PDT

By Sarah E. Needleman

A few years ago I was invited to speak at a career day event at a New Jersey middle school about my job as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. It was possibly the longest 20 minutes of my life.

While adults I meet often remark that my line of work sounds interesting, I quickly learned that in the eyes of sixth- and seventh-graders, what I do to make a living is about as exciting as a thumbtack. Some stared at me blankly when I posed questions. A few actually yawned. A teacher tried stirring up excitement by asking me what celebrities I've gotten to meet on the job, I but could only point to a few CEOs of some big companies whose names I didn't expect to ring any bells. Finally one student asked if I'd ever gone undercover to investigate a crime story. But as a business reporter, I had to sheepishly admit that most of my interviews are done over the phone, in company offices or at trade shows.

Before leaving, the career-day volunteers were invited to get together for some coffee and snacks–and it suddenly became clear what I was up against. A pet therapist with an adorable little pooch. A fireman in uniform. A movie producer with free posters in tow. I didn't have the slightest chance at making a favorable impression. And so, I left with a slightly bruised ego and a new outlook on my "boring" career.

I was reminded of the experience the other day when a friend told me he'd recently participated in a career day at another suburban middle school. A videogame programmer, he apparently walked away a star. While he pointed out that his job involves a lot of math and science, he says students were more interested in his opinions on the different consoles he plays, his favorite games and what name he uses when playing Xbox Live.

All this made me wonder, what do young people think of the workplace? If they only hear from professionals in fields that involve fun or danger, might they be missing out on the reality that many jobs are somewhat lackluster? Will they consider that developing marketing plans, analyzing data or preparing taxes might still be rewarding work, even if not quite as gratifying as a police officer saving lives? Might they fail to grasp that choosing an occupation involves more than just pursuing a passion but also a decent paycheck, health benefits and a retirement plan?

To be sure, middle schoolers don't need to contemplate the serious side of choosing a career path. But when attempting to expose them to a realistic mix of professions, cubicle dwelling parents may have to work a little harder at showing why we've chosen our path.

Readers, have you ever volunteered at a career day? How did students react? Do you think such events help young folks get started in choosing a career or does it hinder them from seeing the big picture about what an occupation entails?

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

HPC Wire Job Bank - HPCwire

Posted: 14 May 2010 10:07 AM PDT

HPC Wire Job Bank

The HPC Wire Job Bank is an international job site for the best talent and leading employers in high performance computing (HPC) providing career opportunities in hardware, software, middleware, sales, marketing, consulting, design, development, engineering, research, testing, customer support and production.