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THEO BC - BC Society of Training for Health and Employment Opportunities
Making every future count by assisting over 3,000 people per year
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Success Stories
All the work we do at THEO BC has one goal: helping people to realize their full potential. That's how we measure our success!
Whether it's getting back into the workforce after a long absence, or volunteering, or learning new skills the impact these changes have on individual lives is what puts smiles on our faces.
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Become an ACE at Interviews
Paul came to THEO in June just 11 days after leaving his last job. He was a very
motivated job seeker. He had over 20 years of experience as a Senior Technical
Management professional but felt he needed more work on his interviewing skills.
He eagerly signed up for all the workshops in the ACE program. When video taped
interview day came around, Paul was feeling a bit nervous. Together Paul and I
reviewed his taped interview and I commented on many positive answers he gave
and also pointed out some areas for change. He went away, worked on the changes
and asked me to conduct another mock interview. The next interview was great!
There was a marked improvement and Paul even noticed the difference. He was
confident! The following week he went for a Front Line Supervisor position with
Canada Post. Paul called with good news, he secured the position!
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Brush up your resume!
Tami Strople came to THEO’s ACE program hoping to secure stronger resume and cover letter documents. She was very reluctant to write her Accomplishment Statements as she said “I hate to toot my own horn.” She spent time with our Resume Development Facilitator and was pleasantly surprised with the final result.
Quote from Tami:
“I now had a beautiful resume that I could be proud to send out. It was amazing to see me on paper and the information on my new resume wasn’t tooting my horn, everything there was real. I was so excited that I signed up for the whole program”.
Tami quickly went on to negotiate and secure a Part–time Administration position, great location and terrific wages.
Jean Singer
Facilitator
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Bonnie's Perseverance
My name is Bonnie Gale and I have Dominant Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). EB is a rare genetic disease characterized by the presence of extremely fragile skin and recurrent blister formation.
I am over 50 years old and have been dealing with the pain of EB as well as depression. There are many ways to deal with pain of EB,
and I deal with the depression through medication. Again, there are different
meds for different situations and sometimes one must try different meds to find
out which is the best. I have also found that there is no escape from pain. If
you want to do things such as go to school, volunteer, or have part-time
employment, pain is just a fact of life. Fortunately, for me, I have been
involved with THEO BC. I have just graduated with a diploma in office assistant.
The program included self-paced computer courses that were wonderful. I could
work my own pace and advance at my own rate. I have received a lot from THEO BC
beyond mere education. I gained a renewed self-confidence which earned me a
part-time job at THEO as a substitute receptionist. I am also involved in a
practicum at the Craft Association of BC. Two days a week I volunteer in their
resource library and in their shop selling items made by local artists. When
they are short-staffed due to illness, vacations, or emergencies, I am now on
their list to call for casual employment. I will not say that what worked for me
is going to work for everyone. But, even though I still experience great pain, I
am a happier human being. I acknowledge that I have a choice -- do nothing and
be almost pain free or live a reasonably fulfilled life and bear pain. I have
chosen the latter.
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Finding your skills to find you a job
Finding employment for someone with a disability can sometimes appear to be a daunting task. However, hard work and intuition about a client’s skill can lead to a good match between the job seeker and the employer. Jason, THEO's Job Developer at Port Coquitlam, shares a story to illustrate this.
Last summer, Richard, a “cool,” well-dressed, young man, was accepted into the Achieve program after completing a modified program at his high school. Richard’s diagnosis is a developmental disability and a mathematics disorder. By the end of the planning phase with his Employment Services Coordinator, Liz Besseling, his goal was to find a paying job that would combine his customer service skills with his computer skills.
Richard began working with Jason in Supported Employment and was soon impressed with
Richard's ability to troubleshoot computers. Seeing a possible match, Jason worked hard to get him an interview at Best Buy, a local company with a
"Geek Squad" of computer whizzes whose expertise lies in helping people solve their computer woes.
The hiring manager at Best Buy, a “cool” fellow himself, sensed Richard’s nervousness in the interview and worked hard to put him at ease. Suddenly, he stopped the interview and asked Richard to come out on the store floor with him to demonstrate his computer ability to the store technicians. The result of Richard’s hands-on demonstration of his skills – the manager offered Richard a permanent job on the spot!
More success stories to be posted soon!
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