After more than three years, the Ottawa Talent Initiative Action Centre will close its doors, effective Dec. 31. In its place, enhanced funding from the Ontario government's Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) will be provided to the Information Technology Orientation (ITO) organization through the government's Youth Employment Services bureau effective Dec. 3. The ITO has two locations in Ottawa: 2339 Ogilvie Road in the Beacon Hill Shopping Centre and 301 Moodie Drive in the Standard Life Building. According to its website, the ITO is a three-day workshop that is designed to present current Ottawa labour market information to individuals who are in the process of developing or implementing a return-to-work action plan within the IT and communication sector. Since its development in 1999, the program has helped more than 4,500 technology job seekers in "making a more informed decision regarding skills development, transferable skills, current labour market requirements and potential opportunities in the Ottawa area," according to its site. Calls to the ITO were not immediately returned. The OTI, on the other hand, began as a grassroots organization to help laid-off tech workers find a way back into the workforce. Federal funding in 2004 allowed it to open its Action Centre in north Kanata and provide more comprehensive services to the community. Gary Davis, executive Director of OTI, said the ITO does good work, but he doubts whether it will be as affective for tech workers in Ottawa as the OTI. "They are saying, 'if you are a tech person, this is what we have to offer.' They run a three-day program, which is excellent, but that's all they keep doing over and over," he said. "Here, we're all over the place, active, long-term and varied."
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