Le français au travail: a professional development day for bilingual agency and OPS staff

In February 2014, the South East Regional French Language Network* offered a one-day training event for the bilingual staff of the MCSS and the MCYS and transfer payment agencies serving Kingston. The goal of the event was to support and encourage bilingual staff working within largely Anglophone organizations, some of whom are the only French-speaking staff members in their workplace.

The event was designed to strengthen their confidence in their job as bilingual professionals by providing them with tools and resources. It was an opportunity to engage and network for the 60 participants from various French-speaking social services organizations as well as OPS ministries and agencies.

The agenda for the learning sessions included discussions on bilingual customer service, an introduction to Antidote, online training resources in French and interactive group discussions focused on the health, justice and social services sectors. Following the event, a facilitator’s guide and toolkit were developed so that the event could be easily replicated in other communities.