1 EVALUATION FORM “ABOVE AND BEYOND” OAHC Conference – May 26th, - 28th, 2003 1. Were you satisfied with this event? Y N 40 2 2. Overall conference evaluation: Excellent 20 Good 20 Fair 2 Poor 0 3. What did you like most about the conference? ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! STIC models and the work they have done Keynote speaker Neil re: laughing Ideas and brainstorming Networking/Sharing ideas/Location, cost and food/Over 3 days-good for travel Sharing best practices on a formal and informal level Speakers Open friendly people/Diversity of views Interesting topics and exchange of information/Sharing experiences, ideas and solutions Topics relevant/Always enjoy the networking valuable experience Well structured/Focused topics/Relevant to the issues The “Alternative Careers for Workers Facing Retirement” workshop Feedback and interaction with other Help Centres was most beneficial 2 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Presentations and resources/Speech by the Minister/Ideas/Food and facilities were amazing Learning of best practices and solutions/Wonderful accommodations Meeting other people with the same concerns The last session Sharing good information/Meeting others from other Centres As a newcomer to the field of employment help, I very much appreciated (and needed) the accesses to the various experiences and expertise found here Meeting people from other agencies/Enjoyed the Job Developing sessions/Food was good All the information/Great workshops/It is nice to get together with others experiencing the same difficulties and benefits/Positives as our Help Centre Sharing common experiences and issues with fellow employment counsellors Good networking Topics and shared ideas Job Development/Panel discussion/Small group discussions/ITI and STIC info/Hon. Dianne Cunningham’s speech Networking with those from all over Networking/Relevant and useful information shared/Very practical approach Interaction with other Centres Sharing/Only 2 topics/Great, but could get more intense about them Focused theme/Discussion group Getting to learn about other agency practices The streamlining of workshops Streamline workshops/Great keynote speech Networking/Exchange of ideas and best practices Ideas and support from other agencies Well organized/In excellent location/Streaming the managers and front line staff made the sessions more constructive and meaningful Level of presentations Well planned sessions/Good variety/Good speaker, presenters and facilitators/Minister at Monday dinner – very passionate Health and safety/Management meetings Information gained in Older Worker workshops 3 ! Excellent management working group/A lot covered and accomplished/Really enjoyed this ! Practical application of the presentations/Sharing of experience in Pilot Projects/Interesting and practical topics of the day ! The beginning of a conference is always important and I liked the opening guest speaker Neil 4. What could we have done to improve the conference? ! End the day a little earlier as there was evening events to attend to/It made the day very long ! More frontline staff attending ! Seating poor/Not enough space for lunch/Seating not conducive to networking/Coffee more available/Too long in evenings/A little free time would be better ! Allotted more off time/It felt as though there was not a lot of “relax” time ! Room temperature ! More room for seating at lunch ! Library Tour was great/Too bad there was not more of a plug to encourage people to go/Breakfast was not that satisfying, however all the other great, abundant food was wonderful ! I felt it was excellent ! List of delegates with email addresses/Better indication of where seminars would be ! Needed more free time/Too tired ! More facilitation/Less group work ! Small details (housekeeping)/Handouts for some presentations/More time for speakers and presentations ! Needed to push the hospitality room more ! Day two was too busy/Exhausting/More allowance for individual time ! Table set up awkward to converse/Room numbers for group session ! More “down time” on Day 2/Information was good, but the time (presentations) could have been condensed ! Optional outings/Larger venue to allow for all delegates to go ! Some sessions would have had more time ! Day 2 was too cramped and too long/It would have been nice to have one less workshop on Day 2 to give us some down time ! Better work in between around where to go: signs and communication ! More handouts provided by the organizations who presented/A little more direction regarding “housekeeping” stuff ! It was great/Always room for improvement/Can not think of anything right now 4 ! More specialized speakers/Further organizations (is in conference rooms setting up conference rooms/Material i.e. Chairs ! A little time provided to become acquainted with London ! On Day 2, allowing for more “down time” in addition to breaks offered/Will keep participation “fresh” and alert ! More organization and clarity/Luncheons should have been at tables with different arrangements (i.e. round tables, or tables facing each other) ! Tuesday felt like an exceptionally long day ! Softer seats ! ITI needs improvement ! Some sessions were long/Winded whereby the presenter simply read a great report or showed websites ! Packages distributed earlier/More general profiling of the conference/Press coverage ! Warm – up 1st Day to introduce one another/Hospitality Room open between 4:30 – Supper ! Could have invited professional or more experienced facilitators ! More information on differences happening in our Help Centres 5. Were there other topics, issues or speakers you felt should have been included? ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Apprenticeships No, I think that there was a full schedule I would have liked to have been able to participate in both streams Better housekeeping (the place was freezing)/More on Apprenticeships/More handout material in presentations Job Development techniques and strategies More specialized/professional/Nice to hear from colleagues though Not that I can think of right now No, but it may have been beneficial to have Group 1 in ITI on Day 1 (Group 2 in Over 40) then switch for Day 2 to allow us to attain ALL the valuable information I would like to see more discussions on Job Development Speakers were great Intermix Over 40 and ITI so that everyone gets both Excellent speakers Economic and Labour market topics would have interested me but the agenda was full More apprenticeships 5 ! It would have been great to visit the London Help Centre ! Great 6. Arising out of the conference topics are there any other questions or information you require? Yes: 4 7. Comments: ! A lot of work is always done to run a conference, so the amount of effort is always appreciated ! Overall, I enjoyed my stay in London/Thanks for a great job done/The co-ordinators of this event should pat themselves on the back ! It would have been great to have visited the London Help Centre ! Good luck next year Maralyn ! It would be helpful to have a list of conference participants and presenters by name and contact info, inducting phone numbers and email ! Every workshop presenter should have had a handout to summarize ! Looking forward to the future/It was great to hear how our hard work fits into the bigger picture ! Apprenticeships with Older Workers/Fact etc/Have Help Centres bring their JDPS marketing packages ! Overall, a very good and uplifting experience ! Overall, I found this conference very informative and positive ! I would await further experience in this field before I feel qualified to comment ! There is always more that can be learned/Continuous learning just seems necessary/Overall, good job ! Food was excellent/Thank you/I learned a lot from peer input ! A summary/handout of all sessions compiled and sent to participants of conference ! Thank you ! Disappointing ! Good energy/Need to feel connected as a whole/Need a mutual joined website