Human Resources 101

September symposium to focus on industry best practices

Edmonton… The Alberta government has released its long-term labour force development strategy, which outlines a number of ways government and organizations can work together to meet skill and labour shortages and ensure the province remains globally competitive.

Building and Educating Tomorrow’s Workforce: Alberta’s 10-Year Strategy is based on extensive consultation, which resulted in 17 priority actions to inform, attract, develop and retain people in the workforce. The next step involves work with partners to develop sub-strategies this year for specific labour force areas and sectors: Aboriginal, construction, energy, health care, manufacturing, retail trade, tourism and hospitality.

“Without the right people with the right training in the right jobs, Alberta is not going to be able to manage its economic growth,” said Alberta Human Resources and Employment Minister Mike Cardinal. “Clearly, with more than 86,000 additional Alberta workers needed over the next 10 years, we must take steps now to ensure that we have a common plan – with our partners – for building Alberta’s workforce. This strategy is about the leadership that is needed to make sure we are all moving in the same direction.”

The strategy, co-led by Minister Cardinal and Advanced Education Minister Denis Herard, will help shape government direction as departments prepare their future business plans and program delivery models. It will also be the basis for the sector sub-strategies.

“Ultimately, for Alberta to be a leader in innovation and respond to future challenges and opportunities, we need to ensure that all Albertans can realize their full potential,” said Minister Herard. ” We must pave the way for all Albertans to discover their true passions and achieve their dreams. Post-secondary education is the key to making that happen and is a cornerstone of this strategy.”

As a major step in moving the strategy into action, the Ministers announced a fall symposium with key stakeholders to discuss industry best practices, new directions for businesses, innovative approaches to employee and student training and business success in attracting highly skilled workers in the knowledge economy. Some examples of symposium presentations will include: a panel of companies including Intuit Canada, Blue Falls Manufacturing and Tim Hortons sharing ideas on attracting and retaining talent; a panel of businesses and educators discussing innovative approaches to developing existing talent; and creative partnerships between businesses and post-secondary institutions like Bow Valley College in Calgary, MacEwan College in Edmonton and others.

New strategy released to combat skill and labour shortage