WORLD SKILLS SERVICE CHARTER

At World Skills Employment Centre, we are committed to providing welcoming, accessible, equitable and professional services to clients, employers and community partners. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, fairness and respect.

OUR COMMITMENT

We will:

• Provide client-centred services that recognize individual strengths, circumstances, goals and needs.
• Offer respectful, professional, timely and supportive service, with clear information about eligibility, available supports and next steps.
• Foster an inclusive environment that values different cultures, identities, religions, abilities, languages and lived experiences.
• Work to prevent harassment, discrimination, intimidation and other conduct that undermines safety, dignity or participation.
• Identify and respond to accessibility needs and accommodation requests in accordance with applicable requirements.
• Protect personal information and maintain client records in accordance with our privacy and confidentiality procedures aligned with existing legislation.
• Use client feedback and service outcomes to improve our programs and respond to labour-market needs.
• Review concerns and complaints fairly, respectfully and without retaliation.

OUR SERVICE STANDARDS

We will:

• Communicate how and when our services are available.
• Respond to telephone messages within two (2) business days and provide an initial response to written enquiries within three (3) business days.
• Acknowledge referrals, service requests, and meeting or appointment requests within three (3) business days, providing information about next steps and anticipated timelines, where applicable.
• Make every reasonable effort to begin appointments on time and advise you of unexpected delays or cancellations.
• Explain service decisions and keep you informed about agreed next steps.
• Acknowledge formal complaints within two business days and aim to resolve them within ten business days, or provide an update if more time is needed.

WHAT WE EXPECT FROM YOU

We ask clients and everyone participating in World Skills activities to:

• Communicate respectfully with staff and other participants, including in virtual sessions, chats and written messages.
• Provide accurate information relevant to services, and tell us when contact details or appointments change.
• Participate in scheduled activities as able, if not able to attend, kindly notify in advance as much as possible.
• Let us know about barriers or accommodation needs that may affect your participation in our services.
• Respect others’ privacy and follow the World Skills Client Code of Conduct.
• Choose whether to receive World Skills’ communications and let us know if preferences change.

YOUR FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS

Your feedback helps us improve. You may share a suggestion, concern or complaint verbally or in writing, and you may request assistance or an accessible format. Raising a concern in good faith will not result in retaliation or unfair treatment.

• Speak with a World Skills staff member or the Director of Client Services.
• Email ws@ottawa-worldskills.org
• If you provide contact information, we aim to respond to general feedback within five business days.

WORLD SKILLS COMPLAINT RESOLUTION

You may choose an informal discussion or submit a formal complaint directly. You do not have to attempt informal resolution first. We will handle information discreetly and share it only with those who need it to review and respond.

Informal resolution

You may speak with a staff member about your concern. They will listen, clarify the issue, explore possible solutions and, where appropriate, refer the matter to someone with authority to address it. If you prefer, you may proceed directly to the formal process.

Formal complaint

You may contact the Director of Client Services verbally or in writing. Written complaints may be addressed to:

Director of Client Services | World Skills Employment Centre
237 Argyle Avenue, Ottawa, ON K2P 1B8

We will:

• Acknowledge receipt within two business days.
• Review the concern impartially, seek relevant information and provide an opportunity for those involved to respond as appropriate.
• Explain the outcome and any steps we can share, while respecting privacy.
• Aim to resolve the complaint within ten business days; if additional time is required, explain the delay and provide an update.

Further review and impartiality

If you remain dissatisfied, you may request review by the Executive Director. If your complaint concerns the Director of Client Services, you may contact the Executive Director directly through the general World Skills contact channel. If the complaint concerns the Executive Director, an appropriate Board-designated representative should review it under organizational governance procedures.

SAFETY, RESPECT AND ACCESSIBILITY

Immediate safety or conduct concerns may require prompt intervention under the World Skills Client Code of Conduct and staff response guidelines. These actions are separate from the complaint process. Requests for accommodation will be considered individually; respectful disagreement or making a complaint is not, by itself, misconduct.

MATTERS OUTSIDE OUR RESPONSIBILITY

If a concern falls outside World Skills’ authority, we will, where possible, help identify an appropriate organization or process to contact.