Programs

Employee training and development needs to suit your organization’s context, job descriptions, employment contracts and collective agreements. When selecting employee training and development methods, it is important to remember the learning process. There are many ways to provide employees with learning opportunities, including:

On-The-Job Experience

• Committees
  Committees are part of every-day activity in any organization. They can also be effective learning tools, with the right focus. Committees made up of staff from different areas of your organization will enhance learning by allowing members to see issues from different perspectives.
• Conferences and forums
  Employees can attend conferences that focus on topics of relevance to their position and the organization. Upon their return, have the employee make a presentation to other staff as a way of enhancing the individual’s learning experience and as a way of enhancing the organization.
• Field trips
  If your organization has staff at more than one site, provide employees with an opportunity to visit the other sites. This helps your employees gain a better understanding of the full range of programs and clients that your organization serves.
• Job aids
  Tools can be given to employees to help them perform their jobs better. These tools include: manuals, checklists, phone lists, procedural guidelines, decision guidelines and so forth
• Job expanding
  Once an employee has mastered the requirements of his or her job and is performing satisfactorily, s/he may want greater challenges. Consider assigning new additional duties to the employee
• Job rotation
  On a temporary basis, employees can be given the opportunity to work in a different area of the organization
• Job shadowing
  If an employee wants to learn what someone else in your organization does, your employee can follow that person and observe him or her at work
• Peer-assisted learning
  Two employees agree to help each other learn different tasks. Both employees should have an area of expertise that the co-worker can benefit from the employees take turns helping their co-worker master the knowledge or skill that they have to share

Relationships and Feedback

• Coaching
  Coaching refers to a pre-arranged agreement between an experienced manager and his or her employee. The role of the coach is to demonstrate skills and to give the employee guidance, feedback, and reassurance while s/he practices the new skill
• Mentoring
  Mentoring is similar to coaching. Mentoring occurs when a senior, experienced manager provides guidance and advice to a junior employee. The two people involved have usually developed a working relationship based on shared interest and values
• Networking
  Some professional specialties have informal networks designed to meet the professional development need of the members. Members meet to discuss current issues and to share information and resources
• Performance appraisal
  Performance appraisals are partly evaluation and partly developmental. In traditional performance appraisals the manager and employee evaluate the employee’s strengths and weaknesses. In a 360-degree performance appraisal, feedback is gathered from supervisors, peers, staff, other colleagues and sometimes clients. The results of an appraisal can be used to identify areas for further development of the employeeClassroom Training
• Courses, seminars, workshops
  These are formal training opportunities that can be offered to employees either internally or externally. A trainer, facilitator and/or subject matter expert can be brought into your organization to provide the training session or an employee can be sent to one of these learning opportunities during work time

Off-the-job learning

• Courses offered by colleges or universities
  Many colleges and universities offer courses relevant to employees in the non-profit sector. Employees may attend these classes on their own time or your organization may give them time off with pay to attend. Employees are often compensated by the organization for the cost of the course
• Professional associations
  Professional associations, like networks, provide employees an opportunity to stay current in their chosen field

Once you have assessed and prioritized the need for training, the next step is to plan and deliver the training. The factors you’ll want to consider include:

• Your budget
• Training delivery
• Internally
• On-the-job
• Coaching
• Mentoring/a buddy system
• Externally
• Professional seminars
• Private trainers
• Conference attendance
• Types of Training

Impact on Business

Training can be costly, so you will want to assess its impact. However, sometimes its effect cannot simply be translated into bottom line dollars and cents.

You may need to review why you sought training to begin with and whether your concerns have been remedied. If the training was on customer service, the end result may be fewer customer complaints and/or see an increase in sales. Training on a new computer may net less errors or quicker processing.

Changes may not occur overnight, so it’s important to be patient.

Analyze Your Needs

Take the time to carefully analyze your needs when designing your training plan. This will help you choose the right type of training for your requirements.

This article is an extract from the www.go2hr.ca webpage.

With the abundance of early retirement programs considered good practice in times of down-sizing and the trend of taking early retirement to enjoy the fruits of one’s labour, mature workers have not been considered a hot commodity. Now, with an impending skills shortage and an aging population, businesses must recognize the need to keep mature workers and hire back retirees.

The most successful businesses will tap into the vast experience of this cohort and be smart about how they use it, such as using Mature Workers as consultants to train younger staff and as part-time support that need little “ramp time”. Today’s seniors live longer, healthier lives and are making positive contributions to the flexible organizations that recognize their potential!

Myths & Realities about Mature Workers

Myth: Older workers are biding their time until retirement
Reality: Many older workers want to continue to work

Myth: Older workers are less productive
Reality: Older workers can be as productive as younger workers

Myth: Older workers will retire before the investment in training pays off in the long-term
Reality: The term for return on investment in training is getting shorter

Myth: Older workers are unwilling or unable to adapt to new technologies
Reality: Older workers have the ability to learn new knowledge and keep pace with younger workers

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Are you interested in hiring a mature worker?

Passport to Employment Through Tourism!

The Passport Program was developed to assist mature workers to get back into the work force.

As a Tourism Operator:

• Would you be willing to speak to the passport groups about your business?
• Are you interested in having our groups tour your business?
• Would you be interested in recruiting from this labour market
• Why hire an older worker?

Service with Experience – Mature workers often have excellent customer-service skills
Loyalty & a Strong Work Ethic – Once hired, older workers usually choose to stay at a job longer, which will save you time and money finding, hiring and training new staff
Satisfied Customers – Since the population is aging, more of your customers are getting older too. If you hire older workers, your older customers will appreciate it.

For more information please contact Kim at (902) 566-5008; toll free 1-866-566-5008 or email ksmith@tiapei.pe.ca.

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Are you interested in hiring a Youth?

While Youth have been the most commonly targeted employment group for the tourism industry, the fact that the labour market now demands that other groups be targeted with specific recruitment efforts does not lessen the need to actively promote your organization to young people.

Youth can be categorized into two groups: those seeking part time or temporary employment, usually while attending high school or completing their post-secondary education, and those looking to establish themselves in a career.

Ready to Work Program

Overview:

Ready to Work (RTW) delivers a structured transition into the tourism workforce through classroom and workplace training based on emerit National Occupational Standards.
Over 11,000 unemployed and underemployed people across Canada have accessed job readiness training and career planning through the Ready to Work internship program

The program provides participants with the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and experience required for long-term, stable employment in tourism – the world’s fastest growing industry.

Benefits to Employers: 

• A new employee who has received appropriate training for an entry level position in the tourism sector
• emerit training resources to be used for ongoing in-house training of additional staff

For more information on how you can hire youth from this program – please call Kim, TIAPEI, 902-566-5008 or email ksmith@tiapei.pe.ca.

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Are you interested in hiring Persons with Disabilities?

There are thousands of Canadians with disabilities and they bring a wide range of capabilities to your business!

In the past, persons with disabilities were referred to as “handicapped” – like many other terms, this is no longer acceptable. When considering a person with a disability for employment in your business, focus on what the person can do instead of what they can’t.

Attitude and physical barriers are the main reasons why so many talented and educated persons with disabilities are unemployed, or under-employed. Removing these barriers and tapping into the talents of persons with disabilities makes great business sense.

Quality Customer Service:  Deaf Barista up to Job

Reporter: Bob Nixon, CBC News – Vancouver, January 2, 2009

“Why is a deaf man working on the front line of a customer service job? Because he can.”

A Starbucks store manager in British Columbia has developed a simple system for an employee with a hearing impairment to take orders from customers.  Even with a seemingly endless amount of combinations for coffee, the employee is able to quickly ascertain what a customer wants as they point to their selections on a board itemizing the products.  A small sign beside the cash lets the customers know that Jason, the counter attendant, is deaf and to use the board he shows you.  The feedback has been positive with customers commending the store and chain for making the accommodation for their employee.

The open acceptance and proactive steps are actually the result of a successful human rights claim from a former employee stating that Starbucks had been discriminatory in the termination of his employment due to a hearing impairment.

For more information, please visit PEI Council of People with Disabilities.

Source:  www.CBC.ca

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Are you interested in hiring New Canadians?

In the 2001 census, 13% of Canadians identified themselves as belonging to a visible minority. According to Statistics Canada, by 2017 that number could climb to between 19% and 23%. This means that tourism employers need to develop new recruitment approaches that target and cater to the needs of immigrants in order to meet ongoing staffing needs.  It is also interesting to note that on Prince Edward Island there has been a 470% increase in the number of immigrants between 2004 and 2008 to 1,456 (more than 1% of the total population).

New Canadians bring Canada rich cultural influences and an important skill base. To capitalize on this talent pool, businesses must recognize the applicability of foreign experience and the potential for New Canadians to contribute to their organizations.

Mentoring Programs

An internal mentoring program can help new employees, especially when they are new to Canada, adjust to the workplace. External mentoring programs will bring you into contact with internationally trained workers in specific occupations. This will give you good insight into the needs of internationally trained workers and help you find potential candidates for vacant positions in your organization.

What employers say about working with Newcomers to Canada?

The employment face in PEI is changing and the benefits are cultural! I think all businesses should experience working with people from other countries whether it be in your busiest time of the day rushing to please all your customers, or simply having the chance to share a coffee-break and listen to some of the stories these newcomers have to share, it’s an amazing experience. It’s nice to see this beginning to happen here on PEI.”
~ Emily Wells, Food and Beverage Manager at the Dunes Studio Gallery and Café

Our new employees have such interest in the business as we take them through the orientation and training process. They complement our team here at Old Navy with a great work ethic and an eagerness to perform well. They bring skill, experience and creativity to the workplace and generate a synergy of making small things big. We all share a common life, so we enjoy the contrast of their culture to our daily lives.”
~ Kathy Chappell, General Manager Old Navy

Find Success in Staff Recruitment with New Canadians

As many employers know, the old adage tends to be true: good help is hard to find.  This is especially true in the tourism industry where the majority of jobs are seasonal which creates a challenge in itself.  So how do employers deal with finding and keeping workers who fit the business and work group?

The PEI Newcomers Association group works with employers to identify job candidates, arrange assistance for applicants to fill out forms and participate in interviews, as well as provide references for applicants who have limited work experience in Canada.  Many entry-level positions such as housekeeping do not necessarily require reading and writing in English and have served as positive stepping stones for non-English speakers.

For more information, please visit  PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada.