May 2011 Enews
What's New
Industry Corner
Spotlight On...
HR Facts
Safety Corner
Quote of the Month
Certified Food Handlers Training
Due to industry request, MTEC will be delivering the City of Winnipeg’s Certified Food Handlers Training Program. Who should attend? All owners, managers and supervisors of food service establishments as well as all food service personnel who are responsible for the receiving, preparing and serving of food.
Click here for more information on who is required to have the Food Handlers Certification and the course content.
The first session will be offered at the MTEC Learning Centre on Wednesday, May 25th from 9am-3pm and will include lunch. For more information or to register for this session, contact Alexa Clayton, SAFE Hospitality 204-694-7233 Fee: $120.00 plus $6.00 plus GST (includes lunch).
You Don’t Need to be an Undercover Boss
You don’t need to go incognito, like in the new reality series Undercover Boss, to review ways in which you can improve your business when it comes to your employees. After all, tourism is a people business, and how you treat your staff will be reflected in how your staff treat your customers. Are there ways in which you can be a better leader, manager, mentor and coach? Yes! By communicating well with your employees you create a positive culture at your business. Strive to become an employer of choice. Be the employer that you would like to work for.
We all know that training costs time and money. Which is why you often hear, "What if I train them and they leave?" But consider this, what if you don't train them and they stay? Treat your employees as if you expect them to stay, not as if you expect them to leave. And then even if they do leave, they are at least taking your reputation with them, as former employees. It has been proven that training your employee’s increases productivity, improves morale and reduces turnover. Check out our listing of upcoming training for your new or returning staff.
Other Duties as Assigned
According to Special Events.com, confidence in the future of special events is rebounding strongly, with both in-house and independent event pros predicting they will produce more events in 2011. The findings come from a survey conducted annually since 2002 by Penton Media, parent company of Special Events.
While these industry professionals continue to grow, there are also many more employees that find themselves in the position of planning corporate events such as a golf tournaments or conferences as part of their ‘other duties as assigned’.
MTEC is excited to offer our spring 3 day Event Coordinators and Planners Series which is perfect for anyone involved in planning and delivering events for their organization. Participants also have the option of becoming an emerit Tourism Certified Professional, Event Coordinator. Delivered over three days, the sessions are offered in May 26th, June 2nd and June 9th.
There is still time to sign up for:
Protect Your Assets!
Are you working hard only to discover that your profits are walking out the door? MTEC is offering a complimentary workshop on Retail Loss Prevention that will be delivered by Constable Jason Strick from the Winnipeg Police Crime Prevention Unit on May 17, 2011 9:00am-12:00pm. He will be covering topics such as store robbery, credit and debit card fraud and store theft due to organized crime. He will also offer tips on the prevention of these crimes and how all types of business can benefit from heightened awareness surrounding this subject.
Please contact Patricia Walker at pwalker@mtec.mb.ca for more information or register for this workshop at register@mtec.mb.ca
Information for Licensed Establishments:
Serving It Safe, Responsible Service and Safety Certification is now mandatory prior to working in a licensed establishment in Manitoba. MTEC is offering an in-house session on Monday, May 16thfrom 9am-4pm. Contact Vanessa Hernandez, Serving It Safe Program Coordinator at 204-957-7437 or email vhernandez@mtec.mb.cato register or for more information.
Workplace Violence and Harassment Prevention Workshop
May 31, 2011 8:30 am- 12:00 pm
Workplace violence is a growing and serious problem in Manitoba workplaces. This workshop will teach you how to identify and assess the risk of violence and harassment in your workplace. It will also explain the consequences of workplace violence/harassment on individual workers and their workplace.
Please contact Alexa Clayton at info@safehospitality.com or 204-957-7437 for more information or to register for this workshop.
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Keep your Business Profitable in 2011 – Invest your Time in Training
*We are offering 15 Complimentary seats for each session, sign up now!*
May Training
May 12, 2011 - Build A TEAM Culture - Teambuilding and Conflict Resolution
May 17, 2011 - Is Your Business Theft Proof?
May 19, 2011 - Professional Telephone Skills
May 20, 2011 - Time Management
May 25, 2011 - Retail Management
All courses will be held at the MTEC Learning Centre, Suite 100 - 1534 Gamble Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Contact MTEC at 204-957-7437 or email register@mtec.mb.ca
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Delta Winnipeg to host focus group on emerit , May 19th
The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC), and its partner, the Manitoba Tourism Education Council (MTEC), will hold a luncheon on May 19, 2011 at the Delta Winnipeg from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.
Delta Hotels & Resorts, a founding member of the CTHRC Board of Directors, will be hosting the meeting to seek industry views on the content, format and overall utility of the Council’s national emerit training resources and professional certification programs. This will be one of a series of meetings held across Canada over the next several months to ensure that emerit resources will serve the sector well in the coming years when skill and labour shortages are expected to become critical.
The CTHRC is a not-for-profit organization mandated to assist Canada’s tourism sector in identifying and addressing human resource challenges. In partnership with business, labour, and education stakeholders, the CTHRC has, over the last 15 years, developed occupation-based training and professional certification resources for the tourism labour force. Branded “emerit”, these training and professional certification products are developed specifically for the Canadian tourism industry.
For more information on this meeting, please contact Lori Slobodian at lslobodian@mtec.mb.ca or (204) 957-7437.
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PROVINCE RECOGNIZES TOP APPRENTICES
AND THEIR EMPLOYERS
Manitoba's 2010 top apprenticeship graduates and their employers will be
honoured at a special awards ceremony and reception tomorrow at 1 p.m. at
the Winnipeg Convention Centre, Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade
Minister Peter Bjornson announced today.
"The apprentices we're honouring this year have achieved the best marks in
the on-the-job skills needed to complete their apprenticeship training,"
said Bjornson. "Apprenticeship has given these young people an opportunity
to reach personal career goals and has allowed their employers to build
highly skilled workforces that meet their business needs.
MTEC would like to congratulate all the apprentices, and in particular for the occupation of Cook: Candice Parussini – The Marlborough Hotel, Winnipeg
Read More
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Manitoba Hotel Association Members and Allied Members are invited for a great day of golf at the Oak Island Golf Course on June 6th.
The first 160 golfers entered get in, so please enter as soon as possible. Click here to view the Registration Form.
The Oak Island Golf Course is situated one hour west of Brandon on the Trans-Canada Hwy. Buses will be provided at the host hotel to take you to and from the golf course (if required). Oak Island Golf Resort exemplifies all the best Manitoba has to offer. The A-4 bentgrass greens provide one of the best putting surfaces available in the world today. Combine this with a course that is completely surrounded by beautiful prairie wetlands and you have a perfect setting for a memorable round of golf.
The Victoria Inn & Convention Centre in Brandon will be the host hotel of this year's Manitoba Hotel Association Golf Tournament.
The tournament will start with a barbeque at the Keystone Motor Inn in Brandon on Sunday, June 5th. On Monday, enjoy golf at the Oak Island Golf Course, then a dinner at the Victoria Inn Hotel & Convention Centre. The entry fee is $175 +GST (or save $100 by booking a Foursome for $600 +GST) and includes: Green fee at Oak Island Golf Course, cart, entry to the Sunday Night at Georgie’s Lounge in the Keystone Motor Inn, dinner after the tournament at the Victoria Inn Brandon on Monday night, a registration gift, and a team prize.
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The following interview is from Darina Beardy, a Thompson’s BEST Ready to Work participant who took the program in October 2010.
How did you first hear about the program (Thompson’s BEST) and why did you want to participate?
I was at the mall submitting my resume to yet another employer. I was feeling pretty down because I was a Business graduate and I couldn’t find a job. So there I was looking at the mall bulletin board checking if anyone was hiring and the Thompson BEST poster advertisement caught my eye. I was really intrigued to sign up. I thought maybe if I got more training to “spice up” my resume just maybe I could finally get a job. I had already spent so much time at home I wanted to get the ball rolling and get my life started.
How did this program help you in finding employment?
I believe this program helped me find my perfect job. After completing the program and receiving the certificates. It gave me the confidence to apply for jobs that I would have never applied for. Having these new skills added to my resume was the “Best” thing I could have done. I felt more prepared than ever so I applied at the local college/university for the Administration Assistant position to work with the Dean of Business. To my disbelief I got a call back a few weeks later from HR wanting to schedule an interview with me. Out of 10 applicants I was in the top selected 3 to be interviewed and I got it!! I believe the BEST program really brought out the “Best” in me and improved my self confidence.
How do you think this program helps employers?
I believe this program is essential to the achievements of any organization or business. By having more trained employees, the more successful the business or organization will be. The employers benefit from the program by having employees:
• that are more focused.
• that have high confidence.
• that develop to be key performers.
• that contributes significantly to better customer service.
• align to business goals and objectives.
• update employer on new and enhanced skills.
• enables team development and contributes to better team/organization morale.
• gives companies with business problems a fresh or unbiased professional opinion or exploration, evaluation or critique.
• keeps companies and organizations compliant with new laws and regulations.
What were the top three things that you did in the program that benefitted you most?
The program helped me enhance my skills. There was several skills that the program offered that I really needed to make my cover letter and resume look flawless. My resume is my pretty much my profile, and it goes without saying that each and every one of these skills I now have will be the optimum all through my life. It made me realize that taking risks and chances are just opportunities in disguise. The BEST program really did enhance how I was able to find my dream job with one of the top paying employers in Northern Manitoba. The other benefit I got from the program is that it boosted my self confidence. Now that I was “armed” with training, thanks to the BEST program, I felt I was more ready and more qualified to apply for those challenging jobs that I was always afraid to apply for.
What did you find most challenging about the program?
I had to embrace change and set goals to achieve. I was pretty much a stay at home single parent before the program and attending it was a change of pace. I had to get a new schedule going and I had a new goal to reach which was to finish the program. One thing that helped me make all this newness easier to handle was to expect it and embrace it.
If there is anything else that you would like to share with our readers, please do.
I hope my success story motivates the readers to work hard at finding the things they can do rather than finding excuses not to do them. If I had not signed up for the BEST program I don’t know where I would be today. The program truly motivated me to take a chance and apply for jobs that I would have never applied for. In less than two months after the program, I had job offers from top paying organizations. Today I am proud to announce that I employed as an Administrative Assistant for the Dean of Business.
I truly believe the BEST program really helps you get your foot in the door of opportunity.
Would you recommend that others take the program?
Yes I would definitely recommend other to take the program. If you are at a time when you want to do something new but don’t know where to start, the BEST program is for you. Not only will the program help you think about yourself in a different way, but it will help you with your confidence and abilities.
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It may soon become easier for non-union hourly wage earners in Manitoba to balance work and family needs.
Legislation introduced last week by the provincial NDP government would allow employers and individual employees to enter into written flextime agreements.
The agreements could be used to allow workers to make up time when attending a school meeting or driving a parent to a medical appointment -- or allow them to work four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour shifts.
Dave Dyson, executive director of the provincial employment standards division, said he believes thousands of employees and their employers will take advantage of the law.
"We're trying to legitimize what many progressive employers are already doing, but at the same time the provisions have some protections," Dyson said.
A difficulty in providing employees with flextime is the current requirement that overtime (time-and-a-half) be paid for any shift lasting longer than eight hours. Lots of employers will allow a worker to make up for lost time on another day, but they're technically breaking the law if they don't pay overtime for the longer shift.
Under Bill 23 (The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act), introduced in the legislature last week, workers will be able to make deals with their bosses to work up to 10 hours on any given day (without overtime). However, a regulation requiring employers to pay overtime for work weeks exceeding 40 hours will remain in effect.
"They can never work more than 40 hours a week without being paid overtime. It has to average back within that week," Dyson said.
At least one local employer is counting down the days until the new law takes effect.
"This sort of individual flextime arrangement allows us to adapt to those client needs and be flexible -- and employees are going to love it," said Pat Gifford, human resources director at Credit Union Central of Manitoba.
She said she knows of one employee with young children who would like to work a four-day week so he can have an extra day at home.
That would also work well for CUC Manitoba, which provides services to the province's credit unions, said Gifford, as it would allow the employee to attend credit union board meetings, which typically occur late in the day.
Several unions have flextime provisions negotiated in their contracts. Employers can now apply to government for permits to vary work hours, but these are not generally granted for individual employees.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 26, 2011 B2
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May 10, 2011 - Building Your Safety & Health Program
May 11, 2011 - Emergency First Aid with CPR Level 1 and AED Level 1
May 16, 2011 - Serving It Safe, Responsible Service and Safety Program
May 24, 2011 - WHMIS
May 24, 2011 - Machinery & Equipment Safety
May 25, 2011 - Certified Food Handlers Training
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“When leading, be generous with the community, honorable in action, sincere in your words.”
– Jack Kornfield