The "OPPORTUNITIES" Conference 2007 is presented by an alliance of government, non-government and community agencies that have an interest in career development, employment preparation and job development. Two non-profit organizations, the Ontario Alliance of Career Development Practitioners (OACDP) and the Ontario Network of Employment Skills Training Projects (ONESTEP) are taking the lead role in managing the event with a multi-stakeholder Advisory Group.

Opportunities is the largest gathering of career counselling and employment preparation professionals in Ontario, and grows in popularity each year (it is now in its eighth). In 2005, nearly seven hundred people attended the conference. The overall satisfaction rate for the 2005 conference was 82%, and 84% of participants indicated they would be able to apply what they learned from the Conference in their day-to-day work.

The three-day conference is scheduled for April 30th to May 2nd, 2007 at the Doubletree International Plaza Hotel, Toronto Airport (Hwy. 27 and Dixon Road).

• Non-profit employment and career counsellors
• job developers, case managers
• Private sector employment preparation and career development providers
• Life Skills and job coaches
• Human resource professionals
• School guidance counsellors
• Students who are currently involved in employment preparation and career development course work in post-secondary institutions
• Practitioners and employers in the education and training field
• Career development educators from Ontario's Colleges and Universities
• Employee associations, business associations, and sector council representatives
• Government or public sector providers - federal, provincial and municipal

The umbrella theme of this conference is Transitioning Toward Success. Three key streams have been identified, and sub-themes have been developed to assist presenters in targeting the content of their workshops.

Organizational capacity-building
This stream of workshops may be of particular interest to HR managers, program managers, EDs, board members and employers.

Lifelong Learning: Personal and Professional Development
This stream of workshops may be of particular interest to job developers, counsellors, front-line staff, other CBT practitioners, and students.

Social Policy and Program Development
This stream of workshops affects all delegates.

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