Work placements offered through Kohai LIFE provide participants with on the job experience in a fun, social environment. We have partnered with local businesses and charities in our community, offering diverse placement experiences. Current placement partners include Cineplex, Salvation Army Thrift Store, The Bull, and St. Louis Bar & Grill.

What do Kohai LIFE work placements entail?

Cineplex

Job tasks at Cineplex include:

  • Maintaining the theatre’s lobby area by identifying and tidying any messes

  • Checking theatres for garbage left behind once a movie has finished and clean as required

  • Performing washroom checks and ensuring washrooms meet hygiene standards set out by Cineplex management

  • Maintaining and cleaning the arcade as requested by shift management

  • Working at the podium checking tickets and guiding guests to their theatre

    *All tasks are currently performed as supervised by a job coach or Cineplex staff member

Salvation Army Thrift Store

Job tasks at the Salvation Army Thrift Store include:

  • Organizing the inventory of books to look neat and tidy by placing titles in the correct sections

  • Re-stocking an array of books onto shelves as assigned by the store manager

  • Organizing shoes by colour and type

  • Maintaining and cleaning the store floor as required

  • Organizing clothing on racks by clothing type and size

*All tasks are currently performed as supervised by a Kohai LIFE job coach.

St. Louis Bar & Grill

Job tasks at St. Louis Bar & Grill include:

  • Wiping down restaurant table and chairs using a wet cloth

  • Organizing and setting the tables for the opening of the restaurant

  • Wiping down menus

  • Sweeping and mopping the floor

The Bull: A Firkin Restaurant

Job tasks at The Bull include:

  • Switching on TVs and lamps in the restaurant

  • Organizing and placing chairs at tables

  • Filling ice tray at the bar

  • Dusting the ledges and baseboards in the restaurant

Skills and Goals

Beyond teaching the job tasks involved in these work placements, we are also teaching vocational skills that will assist the participants in better coping in the work environment. It is the goal of the vocational skills to help the participants fit in and work more seamlessly in a work environment. The following vocational skills are being taught as informed by the Assessment Functional Living Skills (AFLS) tool;

  • Follows verbal instructions 

  • Follows written instructions

  • Identifies supervisors and pays attention while they speak

  • Repeats instructions given by a supervisor

  • Focuses on job duties for a designated timeframe

  • Performs all tasks assigned including non-preferred tasks

An important element of Kohai LIFE’s programming is setting achievable, realistic and meaningful goals for our participants to meet. We want our goals to really benefit our participants in their day-to-day lives and to give them a better chance to succeed in their own personal goals moving through their adult years. 

We have designed our job placement programme as informed by the AFLS assessment tool. Participants are assessed every 6 weeks via AFLS to track their progress and to allow for their goals to be adjusted according to their progress.

Here’s what one of our work placement partners has to say about Kohai LIFE:

My name is Lisa Anderson and I manage volunteers at North York Harvest Food Bank. Since 1986 North York Harvest Food Bank has been the primary food bank in northern Toronto. An independent, charitable organization, we envision a community where all members are able to meet their food needs. Last year, we distributed over 2.7 million pounds of food across 77 different partner programs: neighbourhood food banks, shelters, programs for new parents and community kitchens. Every month, approximately 175 volunteers assist us in supporting these programs. In September 2017, a group of young adults from Kohai Life began volunteering with our food bank. This group of amazing individuals has been sorting food on most Thursday mornings between September and June. Every participant is engaged in some aspect of food sorting: checking for expired and damaged food products, placing food products into the correct categorized food boxes, constructing boxes, weighing and packing these boxes and recording the weights of these boxes. Our staff and other volunteers enjoy working and interacting with participants from Kohai LIFE. These young adults are extremely hardworking, reliable and personable. Our food bank is very fortunate that Kohai LIFE has chosen to volunteer with us.
— Lisa Anderson, North York Harvest Food Bank