Jason Pratt Email and Phone Number

As a Team Lead, I lead a team of Instructional Designers who's main project is to create a 10-day training program geared to newly appointed managers at the CBSA as part of a large Management Development Program.

This position requires a strong sense of design time ratios used to develop complex learning products, knowledge of the organization, the ability to manage budget considerations, and project management skills. It also involves the ability to provide instructional design advice to a varied team of designers.

As a Senior Learning Specialist, I worked in the Client Portfolio Management Unit. On this team I acted as the single window into training design, which involved liaising with clients to help determine their learning needs and prepare them to work with an Instructional Designer.

In addition, I have also developed a costing model which provides estimates for design activities undertaken by the Division. This model allows me to provide accurate costs to both internal clients as well as for inclusion on larger Government of Canada initiatives.

I am also the lead for the Standards Committee, a group which develops standards and tools for my divisions use, as well tools to be used between our division and other stakeholders.

As an employee of the CBSA, I have designed and developed training on a wide variety of topics which make up the core business of the Agency. The learning products, either in-class or e-learning, range from Use of Force, Enforcement and Intelligence, Occupational Health and Safety as well as various Detection Technology tools.While with the CBSA I have also been a member of the Standards Committee. This committee developed design time ratios which allows us to give clients an estimate of how much time it takes to design various products based on their level of complexity. Finally, I also have had the opportunity to work with the Sri Lankan government to develop a training unit for their Department of Immigration and Emigration. The purpose of this ongoing mission is to build capacity in their department as well as to create a specific training product relevant to their needs. I did this by facilitating 4, 2 week long sessions in Colombo which brought learners through the A.D.D.I.E. cycle, which giving them the chance to develop key training for their department.

While working for the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS), I held a variety of positions which developed my skills in a number of areas. To start, I worked as ESL teacher. In this capacity, I worked with public servants to develop their second language abilities in English. Working with them, I gained a broad view of the public service of Canada. In addition, I worked as a Pedagogical Advisor, which meant that I was the team lead full time ESL training at the Asticou Centre. My duties involved advising on staffing needs based on learner enrolment, managing the day to day running of the program, liaising with management on program issues, dealing with conflicts in the learning context and creating workshops aimed at the personal and professional development of teachers.After this assignment was completed, I worked with the Research and Development Unit of CSPS to develop and pilot a number of products aimed at enhancing language training while meeting the goals of the CSPS.

Working for the National School of Languages (NSL), I developed English as a Second Language (ESL) lessons for teenage and adult learners. My classes ranged from private students to group classes where I was in charge of designing and developing lessons for students from a wide variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. I was also in charge of providing progress reports to learner which outlines achievements and areas to work on as well as recommending advancing learners to higher level groups as appropriate. Further, I also spent approximately one year as the International Marketer for the organization. In this capacity I worked with a database of contacts of international agencies to promote the school as an excellent provider of language learning. This was particularly important to support the youth summer camps offered by the organization as well as during traditional low periods of in the winter months.

As a Sales Associate at Charm Diamond Centre, client service was a key skill I employed. Helping clients select jewellery that met their needs, working with retailers to ensure that orders were filled, my job was to manage and meet client expectations.

As a teacher with GEOS, I developed and presented interesting, well rounded lessons on various conversational points, ranging from grammar to idiomatic phrases. I also encouraged students to purchase GEOS Publishing books to supplement classroom study, as well as encouraged students to renew for further language lessons.As this was a private language school, client satisfaction was of great importance otherwise the school would lose students and the company would lose revenue. I was open to feedback from students and provided those who asked for supplemental materials to ensure they were able to grasp the point of each lesson.

As a Technical Support Agent, I troubleshot complex computer problems over the phone with novice and advanced users for various internet connections.Client service was key to my position, as I was tasked with ensuring that Sympatico users were able to connect to the internet. I often dealt with irate customers who were frustrated by a lack of internet connectivity. I did this by maintaining a pleasant manner and using the tools provided to the best of my ability. For complex cases I worked with senior technicians to try novel approaches to restoring internet connectivity in as timely a manner as possible.