AT A GLANCE
Help people find the right support, get to work and hear back about applications.
I'll improve referrals through London's existing employment network, connect practical help to real vacancies and make City hiring communication clearer.
WHAT I'LL WORK ON
Here's what
I'll bring forward.
Make employment referrals work
I'll seek a review with London Regional Employment Services, LEDC and providers to find failed referrals and make existing job search and support routes easier to use.
- Who can act
- The City manages the regional employment service system under funding agreements. Partners deliver services and keep their own responsibilities.
- How we'll pay for it
- Start with existing coordination and communication capacity. Service changes need eligible funding and partner agreements.
- What we'll check
- Publish a service map and starting figures. Track time to a meaningful contact, completed referrals and accessible feedback.
- What could get in the way
- Capacity and eligibility vary between providers. Personal information needs consent and proper protection.
Try practical help tied to real vacancies
I'll bring forward a limited, costed pilot through existing providers for barriers such as travel, equipment or training, tied to verified jobs and employer commitments.
- Who can act
- Council approves municipal money. LRES and providers follow program rules, employers make hiring decisions, and the responsible institutions handle training and credentials.
- How we'll pay for it
- Check eligible existing provincial funding first. Disclose and cap any municipal contribution, with new grants counted when confirmed.
- What we'll check
- Report participation, paid placements, retention, job quality and cost per sustained result, including cases that didn't work out.
- What could get in the way
- Vacancies can disappear and people may need longer support. Include people who need more help and be clear that a placement can't be guaranteed.
Communicate better with City job applicants
I'll seek a review of City postings, accessible applications, legal compliance and applicant updates, followed by published service standards and aggregate results.
- Who can act
- Administration and human resources manage hiring under law, policy and collective agreements. The mayor proposes oversight and budget priorities while staff handle individual recruitment.
- How we'll pay for it
- Use existing HR systems first. Extra staffing or automation needs a costed case.
- What we'll check
- Check postings, acknowledgements and interview update times. Report totals with applicant privacy protected.
- What could get in the way
- Processes differ and legal exceptions apply. Define the measures clearly so applicants know what to expect.
Take the practical barriers seriously
A job ad can be the easy part to find. Getting to an early shift, buying required equipment before your first paycheque or completing an inaccessible form can be the thing that stops you. Some people need help explaining their skills. Employers may need a better way to find suitable applicants and help a new employee settle in. I'll focus on those connections and the practical barriers the City can help address.
Through London Regional Employment Services, the City manages the employment service system across London and Elgin, Middlesex and Oxford counties. [1] That's a substantial existing responsibility. Individual providers, funders, training bodies and employers each have roles too. I'll make the responsible organisation and funding conditions clear for each proposal, including the decisions that sit outside City Hall. People looking for work need that network to be understandable and useful.
My first priority is making the existing services easier to reach. Someone should be able to understand eligibility and get a human response when a referral fails. I'll ask where people are being passed between organisations without receiving help. We should track useful contacts and, where possible, sustained paid work. Registrations and website visits can tell us about activity, while the person using the service still needs something concrete to happen next.
Make better use of the tools already here
LEDC's Working in London page links to sector job boards, including health, manufacturing and technology, plus the Workforce Planning and Development Board's Local Jobs Hub. It also links providers and career resources. [2] LRES has its own directory for job seekers. [3] I'll improve the route to these tools and establish who keeps referrals current. Maintaining the resources people already use gives us somewhere practical to start.
I'll ask LRES, LEDC and providers to test common journeys with people seeking a first job, changing careers, arriving in Canada, returning after time away or applying with a disability. That can reveal broken links, confusing eligibility, inaccessible forms and repeat assessments. Telephone and in person options need to be available where an online route isn't suitable. The receiving service also needs enough capacity to respond, or a clearer link just leads to another wait.
With consent, providers could confirm that a referral was received and explain the next step. A person shouldn't have to share their whole case history just to ask a question. I'll seek aggregate reporting on time to a meaningful first contact and completed referrals, with privacy safeguards. That helps identify coordination problems while protecting the people using the service. If a connection breaks down, there needs to be a person who can help sort it out.
Connect help to an actual opportunity
I'll seek a limited work access pilot through existing providers, starting with verified employer demand and participants' needs. Possible supports include eligible travel assistance, equipment or short training connected to an identified opportunity. First, we'll check what existing programs already provide and where gaps remain. Any municipal contribution needs a clear reason and a costed proposal. Providers doing the work should help shape something they can realistically deliver.
Participating employers would need to set out the vacancy, pay, schedule, essential requirements and supervision. Paid work is the objective, with protections against subsidised placements replacing regular staff. Providers would assess the fit and explain conditions to participants. Training can prepare someone for an opportunity, while the hiring decision, business conditions and a person's circumstances can still change. Everyone involved needs an honest account of what participation offers.
I'll seek follow up at agreed intervals to learn whether jobs lasted, hours and pay matched the description and further help was needed. Reports should include unsuccessful outcomes, delivery costs and the quality of work, with identities protected. Participants needing more support deserve a place in the design and evaluation. It's easy for a program to look good by choosing people likely to find work anyway. We need to examine who it reaches and what difference the support makes.
Give applicants a clear account of the rules
Ontario's publicly advertised job posting requirements took effect January 1, 2026. In general, covered employers with at least 25 employees on the posting date have requirements for compensation disclosure, AI use, vacancy disclosure and Canadian experience requirements, with exceptions. The provincial guide explains how employees across Ontario locations are counted and where to report possible breaches. [4] I'll link City information to that guidance so people can find the authoritative rules and enforcement route.
The interview update rule needs care too. Ontario Regulation 476/24 requires covered employers to tell an interviewed applicant whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days after the interview, or the last interview if there are several. It doesn't guarantee a final decision in that time. The duty concerns interviewees, and preliminary screening is excluded from the regulation's interview definition. [5] People deserve an accurate explanation of what response they can expect.
For City hiring, I'll seek an administrative review of posting templates, accessible applications, compliance, acknowledgements and interview updates. Service standards should explain what applicants can expect and where to get help. Human resources manages recruitment under law, policy and collective agreements. Individual hiring decisions stay with the proper staff process. As mayor, my role is to seek accountable communication and support fair administration, with applicant privacy respected throughout.
Connect jobs with the rest of someone's day
Employment planning needs to connect with transportation. A placement won't work if someone can't reach it at the required time. I'll ask employment partners and LTC to identify major gaps using real shift schedules and available travel options. That information can feed into costed transit planning. Some difficulties may be helped by scheduling or coordinated employer arrangements, while others need service options assessed against available resources.
I'll ask providers about recurring barriers for newcomers, young people, older workers and people with disabilities, while recognising that individuals within those groups need different help. Services should recognise skills and experience. Regulated credentials and immigration decisions sit with the relevant bodies. I'll bring institutions together and advocate where we see problems, and explain when a change needs someone else's decision. An applicant should know who can actually address the barrier they're facing.
Unstable housing, health concerns and caring for family can also shape someone's ability to work. With consent and within program rules, employment services should coordinate with other support. People need assistance suited to their situation as they work towards stability. I'll keep housing and healthcare access separate from employment targets. Providers also need room to support people who take longer to find a suitable role. A useful service should recognise that lives are complicated.
Bring a funded proposal to Council
In the first 100 days, I'll seek a shared service map, a review of failed referrals and a baseline for City hiring communication. In year one, I'll bring a limited pilot to Council after providers and employers help establish its scope, eligibility and price. Changes to provincial funding arrangements need the responsible funder's approval. The proposal should clearly identify any permissions still outstanding before work can begin.
It needs to separate eligible existing employment funding, partner contributions and any municipal cost. Staff time, participant help, evaluation and administration all count. I'll seek a spending cap and a date to decide whether it continues. If current resources can't absorb the work, Council should see what would be displaced or what extra allocation is requested. Any future grant or tax revenue needs evidence before being counted towards the funding.
Through the term, I'll seek aggregate reporting on referrals, paid work, retention, cost and job quality, with the limits of the data explained. Employment across London also depends on the wider economy and individual decisions. I'll focus on the City's own contribution: whether referrals work, people hear back and practical support helps them reach opportunities. Feedback from participants belongs alongside the numbers, especially when the service hasn't worked well for them.
WHEN I'LL BRING IT FORWARD
Where I'll start.
What follows.
This is the order I'll work in. Council decisions, detailed costs, procurement and partner agreements can affect the timing. I'll explain changes as they happen.
First 100 days
- Map employment services and referrals with existing partners, find failed connections and establish a City hiring communication baseline.
Year one
- Publish proposed hiring service standards and bring a limited, costed pilot to Council with employer commitments and required funder approvals.
Years two to four
- Report aggregate referral, paid placement and retention results. Assess cost and job quality before continuing or expanding the pilot.
CHECK THE DETAIL
Sources and notes.
Here are the sources used in this chapter, with their publication and access dates. The notes explain what each source tells us and where it has limits.
- Customer Service Charter
Explains the City's service manager role, the area covered, confidentiality and accessible service commitments.
Return to citation:1 - Working in London
Links existing sector boards, the Local Jobs Hub, providers and career tools. Promotional job counts aren't used as unemployment or vacancy statistics.
Return to citation:1 - Job Seekers
The existing local job search and support directory provides a starting point for improving referrals.
Return to citation:1 - Requirements related to publicly advertised job postings
Explains January 1, 2026 requirements, the threshold of 25 employees, counting across Ontario locations, exceptions and provincial enforcement.
Return to citation:1 - Ontario Regulation 476/24: Rules and Exemptions re Job Postings
Sections 1, 2 and 5 cover the threshold exemption, interview definition and 45 day duty to say whether a hiring decision has been made. That duty applies to interviewees.
Return to citation:1