CASE Member Spotlight: Southwest Employment Services
CASE Member Spotlight
In Conversation with Southwest Employment Services
CASE Member Experience Coordinator, Kateryna Zmytrovych, spent time last December talking with the following staff from CASE member Southwest Employment Services (SES):
- Rhonda Zasitko – Executive Director
- Kirsten Surette – Project Coordinator
- Denise Nickerson – Project Manager / Team Lead (CCDP-Case Manager)
- Charlotte Scott – Employer Engagement Specialist
They talked about the work they do, why they do it, and some of the challenges they face. SES staff also shared some of their holiday traditions and how they like to relax.
Kateryna: Rhonda, please introduce your organization.
Rhonda: In a nutshell, we help job seekers and employers to make a good match in their own unique way.
Southwest Employment Services helps Nova Scotia’s employers with recruitment, planning, and HR support, and we help job seekers with career planning, job searching, and on-the-job development. We help clients navigate a range of programs and services that can support their career and job success.
Kateryna: Kirsten, can you share a story of success or impact that makes you proud?
Kirsten: Every youth that we serve has success in this program to some degree, whether it be employment or even just leaving the house for the first time in a couple of years. But one of these stories really stands out to me.
It was a young man with whom we worked, and he was given a quality employment opportunity at a restaurant. But he made some mistakes, and the employer wasn’t necessarily willing to work with him further. We assessed the situation and determined that it wasn’t a good fit for the job seeker and employer.
We were able to find a better fit where he still made mistakes, but the employer was willing to coach him and allow for mistakes. And he is actually still working there and is very happy.
Kateryna: Charlotte, behind every organization are passionate people. What drives you personally in this work?
Charlotte: I’ve been with this organization for eight years now. From the beginning in this role, seeing how employers work every day and what their needs are and how I can personalize my help, made me feel passionate.
And when we’re able to match the job seekers with employers and it works out, and the people get full-time jobs and the employer is happy, means that I must have done something great. So that always brings me joy.
Kateryna: It really sounds like you’re in the right place in the right time doing the right thing.
Charlotte: I do feel lucky.
Photo above: Sherry Robertson, former Executive Director for Yarmouth Life Skills (centre), accepting a Recognition certificate from SES Executive Director Rhonda Zasitko (right) and Employer Engagement Specialist Kellie-Ann Perry (left) for being nominated for The NS Works Employer Award – Champions of Inclusion. (Credit: SES)
Photo above: Suzanne Mahaney, Manager of Shelburne’s Museums by the Sea (left), accepting a Recognition certificate from Charlotte Scott, SES Employer Engagement Specialist (right), for being nominated for The NS Works Employer Award – Champions of Inclusion. (Credit: SES)
Kateryna: Every journey has challenges. What is one challenge your organization faced, and what did you learn from it?
Denise: One of the challenges we face is finding time to complete all of our work responsibilities (meetings, front-end client services, administrative work, reporting, etc.). Over the years there have been some funding cuts, with our client numbers growing (which is a good thing!), and many of the staff are now juggling several positions. And they do this well.
I think all of the staff at SES have learned to adapt, multi-task, and prioritize, even more than they have in the past. Leaning on co-workers for support and assistance also helps.
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We have to wear so many hats in this organization. But that is honestly one of my favourite parts about my role.
Kirsten
Kirsten: We have to wear so many hats in this organization. But that is honestly one of my favourite parts about my role.
Kateryna: With all these hats, how do you relax?
Kirsten: I am a very creative person, which I get to be in my role. When I’m home, I’m very crafty and I like to work with my hands. I paint and I do clay, like pottery, and a little bit of crochet. That really allows me to unwind from my day. By the way, we do a lot of crafty things within the organization as a team-building activity.
Rhonda: I feel with all the hard work we do, it’s just really good for us to be able to have the time to connect outside of work.
Kateryna: The holiday season means different things to different people. What personal traditions or activities bring you the most joy during this time of the year?
Charlotte: Just being able to see friends and family, having a reason to be with other people and be happy and everybody just seems in a better mood. Then getting a little snow is always nice. And the big turkey dinners and spending Christmas morning with family, just the traditional great things that I always enjoy.
Rhonda: I really enjoy the food and do a stocking with no big stuff in it. I remember one time, I had forgotten to give the kids their stockings. After Christmas, we always talk about what we’re thankful for. And they’re like, “It was a wonderful Christmas,” but my son says, “I really miss the stocking this year.” And I went, “My gosh, I totally forgot it in the closet!”
Kateryna: And speaking of food, what is your favourite treat?
Rhonda: I really like “holubci,” which is a Ukrainian traditional dish of cabbage rolls.
Kirsten: My favourite Christmas tradition that we’ve done since I was young is me and my mom decorate the tree together, just us, and we talk about where all the ornaments came from or who gave them to us. And it just sparks a lot of memories and the same conversations every year, but that’s why it’s a tradition.
Kateryna: What experiences of being a CASE member would you share with another organization considering joining CASE?
Rhonda: I’ve gone to a lot of CASE conferences and I continuously learn from them, and they’re my favourite conferences to go to. You not only learn so much from the events and the workshops, but from other people and the time in between workshops and the networking and learning about what other people do. There is a lot of training that CASE offers too, which is very helpful.
Kirsten: I actually just attended my first CASE conference in June 2025, and I had an excellent time. I really enjoyed every breakout session that I went to. And like Rhonda said, it was so nice to be able to network with people in between.
Charlotte: The resources, especially for me with employers, like the HR toolkit and just all those types of things are very convenient, and I think would be good for any organization that would like to become a part of this.
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I’ve gone to a lot of CASE conferences and I continuously learn from them, and they’re my favourite conferences to go to.
Rhonda
For more information about Southwest Employment Services or to get in touch with their team, visit their website.
Photo on the right: SES staff in Yarmouth during NDEAM. (Credit: SES)
