Employment Transformation Update

Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development logo Ontario

The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, and Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services announced the upcoming Employment Service Transformation roll out plans for Ontario.

This is the continuation of the transformation that began in 2019/20 with the introduction of catchment areas and Service System Managers (SSM’s).  Currently, only three (3) regions in the province are operating under this system – Hamilton/Niagara, Muskoka/Kawartha, and Peel Region.

Between now and the end of 2023 nine (9) more regions will undergo transformation.  The areas are as follows:

Excluded from the ES Transformation at this time is Toronto, Northeast Ontario and Northwest Ontario.  The Ministries plan to introduce the SSM system to these regions at the end of 2023.

Please see the memo from Cordelia Abankwa, Assistant Deputy Minister Memo Employment Services Transformation – Provincial Rollout (gov.on.ca)

And please review the FAQ document Employment Services Transformation: Provincial Rollout Implementation Questions and Answers (gov.on.ca)

The Ministry will conduct information sessions between June 21 to 22, 2021.

Interested organizations must pre-register for the information session(s) by June 16, 2021, 17:00 (Toronto, Ontario time). Please pre-register at the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/408Pg7XxK6

Participation in the information session(s) is on an optional basis. The sessions will provide key highlights on the Employment Services Transformation provincial project and the RFQ process. All material review and questions/answers exchanged will be posted on Ontario Tenders Portal in the form of an Addendum.

The Request for Qualification 2021 – Employment Services Transformation has been released on the Ontario Tenders Portal.  The Service System Managers will be selected through a two-stage competitive process, starting with the Request for Qualification. The Request for Qualification will be used to qualify organizations and those who pass the RFQ stage will be invited to the subsequent Call for Proposal stage of the selection process. 

The RFQ Tender #14920 – request for Qualification 2021 – Employment Services Transformation (Project Reference: Tender_14920) can be found on the Ontario Tenders Portal.

Information updates will be available on the Employment Ontario Partners’ Gateway under the sub-heading “Programs and Services”, where you will find Employment Services Transformation under “Special Initiatives”.  Employment Services Transformation (gov.on.ca)