April 2010
What's New
Industry Corner
Spotlight On
Training
HR Facts
Safety Corner
Quote of the Month
IGB New On-line Testing Goes Live
It's Good Business, Responsible Service and Safety Program (IGB) new online testing went live on April 1st. Employees and managers that work in licensed establishments in Manitoba can now go on-line and register; complete the test and acquire immediate results. Upon completing and passing the test, they can print out a temporary certificate and have a permanent, wallet-sized certificate mailed to them within 10 business days. Check out the new IGB Web site at www.ItsGoodBusiness.ca
For those who prefer not to use the on-line option, we are still offering paper-based exams, as well as classroom training.
For more information on the It's Good Business, Responsible Safety and Service Program, contact Joseline Romero, the It's Good Business Coordinator at 204-694-7233 or email: jromero@mtec.mb.ca
Message from the CEO
As a result of growth and expanded training offerings, MTEC has undergone a re-organization. We are very pleased that over the past year we've added three new coordinators to our existing staff: Chris Randall, Business Training Coordinator; Susan Jurkowski, Employment Services Coordinator and Patricia Walker, Tourism Retail Training Coordinator.
We are also pleased to welcome back Alexa Clayton as Communications & Support for SAFE Hospitality. Alexa gained her Occupational Safety and Health workplace experience at MTEC in October 2009, after acquiring her Occupational Health and Safety Certificate at Red River College.
Two of our long-term staff have changed and expanded their positions. Luanne Christensen is now the Training Services Coordinator and Lori Slobodian is the Sustainable Tourism Training Coordinator.
"This past year has been one of change for MTEC. We have expanded our training to include more courses for the business owners and managers in the tourism industry. We have also re-vamped our original curriculum, including MANITOBA BEST Service Excellence. The good news is, with the re-organization, I am pleased to announce that all of the original MTEC staff are still here! This is a great team and we look forward to being of assistance to the tourism industry in Manitoba over the coming years."
Shannon Fontaine, CEO Manitoba Tourism Education Council (MTEC)
The mission of the Manitoba Tourism Education Council (MTEC) is to enhance the performance and ensure the sustainability of Manitoba's tourism and hospitality industry by delivering relevant training and human resource development.
Manitoba Tourism Awards
The Manitoba Tourism Awards recognizes excellence in the promotion and delivery of tourism experiences in Manitoba. The 2009 Manitoba Tourism Awards Gala will take place Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at the Fairmont Winnipeg. For a complete list of finalists, event details and ticket information click here www.manitobatourismawards.com. Join industry colleagues in honoring award winners in ten categories and celebrate the success of tourism in Manitoba.
The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) is proud to announce a growing partnership with Parks Canada. This new agreement will see Heritage Interpreters throughout Parks Canada undertake the CTHRC's nationally recognized emerit certification. Parks Canada employees will pursue Professional Certification as Heritage Interpreters, gaining the highest industry recognized credential for tourism workers in Canada.
A Wine Server’s Experience by Tiffany Gustafson- Wine Steward
I was asked by the Canadian Tourism Human Resources Council to participate on a committee that is updating National Occupational Standards and course content to become certified as a Wine Server! The CTHRC has tourism education councils in each province and territory of Canada, MTEC is responsible for our province. One can study online and become certified in any tourism-industry related occupation, such as a housekeeping attendant, casino dealer, tour operator or wine server, to name a few. Our work began in January of this year, the start of many firsts for me! I participated in several conference calls and read and re-read the standards workbook to be completely familiar with the material being presented to students. There were 8 of us in total on the committee, from all areas of Canada and representing different areas of the wine industry. Members of the committee worked in wineries, restaurants, culinary schools, private wine stores, and I was the sole representative from the hotel industry. From March 2nd-5th we all met in Ottawa to go over every question in the bank of possible questions that may appear on the final exam. Questions were examined for validity and accuracy, as well as confirmation/creation of the correct answer and 3 'distractors' - possible answers that were not too easy or difficult. It was my first business trip and my first time to Ottawa!
Ottawa is a beautiful city! The people are very friendly, and the city itself was so clean! I stayed in a Best Western that was across the canal from the Parliament Buildings! We only had free time in the evenings so I did not get to see much of the city or do any touristy things, but after our first day of meetings I met with some friends for dinner at Chateau Laurier!
All in all it was a fantastic experience! Meeting peers in other areas of the wine industry and contributing to a course that Canadians country-wide will look to as their first steps into this exciting field, was truly the experience of a lifetime!
I have been working in the hospitality industry for fourteen years and have been a Front Office Manager for the past five. I decided to take the MTEC Supervisory Certification Course to help round my knowledge.
As part of the opening management team for the Sandman Hotel and Suites, I was responsible for the front office department, which had to be started from scratch. Everything from: hiring, training, scheduling to setting up how the front office would run.
The emerit course that I completed in 2009 was very diverse with the skills it taught. With this knowledge and my experience I am hoping to further my career and eventually take on a roll as a General Manager.
I would recommend this course to anyone considering a career in the hospitality industry especially if considering management positions as it enables you to gain a little knowledge into each area of the operations and understand the synergy it take to run a hotel.
Kyne Hunt
Front Office Manager
Sandman Hotel and Suites
Take advantage of the following offer from MTEC to get your supervisors started with Canada’s most sought after credential for tourism professionals.
Canadian HR Reporter
4/5/2010
‘New workplace order’ looms as boomers head to retirement (Guest commentary)
Changes to education, work environment, government plans will help immigrants, Aboriginals, women and older workers
By Don Drummond
The Canadian workforce is the most culturally diverse and dynamic in the world. There is much to be gained by using everyone to their full potential, but the blinding speed with which the workplace is changing requires flexibility on the part of employers.
The looming retirement of the baby boomer generation is a key development. With more than one-third of the entire labour force preparing to retire over the next two decades or so, this represents one of the most significant shifts in the workplace seen in the last half-century. Employers will be faced with labour force growth that will slow to a crawl and need to find new and innovative ways to use Canada’s labour pool.
To that end, immigrants, Aboriginals, women and older workers must be used more efficiently as these groups form an extremely large yet under-represented portion of the workforce.
Unfortunately, each group faces its own hurdles. Immigrants, for example, face significant difficulties with respect to language and credential recognition, while Aboriginals must achieve higher levels of education in the face of crippling social and cultural stereotypes. The earnings gap between men and women remains wide and few women have reached the top corporate ranks, while older workers are finding it difficult to secure work arrangements that will help them transition into retirement.
In addition, higher education is an absolute necessity to fill the skill needs of future jobs, but access barriers to post-secondary institutions continue to prevent young Canadians in the lower-income brackets from entry. Education has already come to define the great dividing line between those with wealth and affluence in society and those without. Programs designed to alleviate these access barriers are mostly used by wealthier families. Many schools are unable to distinguish between those who face legitimate financial difficulties and those who do not.
This speaks to inefficiencies in the system. For instance, the amount of government transfers per student going toward those in the lowest income quartile is only $925 more than that going to students in the highest income quartile.
Most alarming is the fact that, on average, students in the highest income quartile are receiving more universal subsidies, which include tax credits and other transfers that do not distinguish between economic status. And they also receive almost one-half of the funding given out based on financial need — including grants, bursaries and student loans — of those in the lowest income quartile receive.
Over the past quarter-century, the gap between the rich and poor has been growing steadily. Real, before-tax earnings have only been growing for the wealthiest Canadians, while those of the middle- and lower-income brackets have either stayed stagnant or outright declined.
This has resulted in working-age adults being at greatest risk of falling into poverty. Transfer programs such as Old Age Security and the Canada Child Tax Benefit have been fairly effective at combatting poverty among seniors and children but the two programs designed to help working-age adults through transitions in employment — employment insurance (EI) and provincial welfare programs — are fraught with problems.
The EI program has very high eligibility requirements and, as a result, a low coverage rate relative to those who are unemployed, while the welfare programs create significant disincentives to pursuing paid employment. The disincentives can be so great that the gain in employment income may be outweighed by the loss of benefits, such as subsidized housing and medical care.
In addition, the strict asset limits imposed on those receiving benefits prevent people from building any kind of buffer against fluctuations in employment and earned income, which mounts additional difficulty on those who wish to exit welfare. Singles no longer qualify for welfare in Ontario if they have more than $580 in liquid assets. Thus, welfare programs are an airtight box: It’s extremely difficult to get in and, for those already in, even harder to get out.
Lastly, the nature of employment in Canada today is significantly different from that of the past. Traditional industries such as manufacturing are giving way to services-based sectors, and full-time, well-paid jobs with benefits and a pension are being replaced by temporary and contract jobs with no benefits. Employer pension plan coverage is declining rapidly so the burden of saving for retirement has fallen increasingly on the individual.
Simultaneously, many Canadians are not saving for themselves and this is threatening the income security of future generations of retirees.
Employers must come to terms with this “new workplace order.” Ignoring the trends now could lead to significant consequences in the near future.
Consider the changes in labour supply and the need for Canadian firms to do a better job at using the skills of Canada’s under-represented workers.
This will require a more inclusive work environment that addresses the unique issues faced by these groups. Language training for immigrants and extensive on-the-job training for people drawn from non-traditional labour pools will be crucial. Stereotypes regarding the career paths for women need to be broken down and the educational gap between the genders closed. More flexibility in terms of work arrangements, such as increased part-time or contract employment, will provide the proper incentives for older workers to remain in the labour force.
The challenges, however, should not obscure the opportunities at hand. Our nation has much to gain if we recognize and adapt to the trends that shape the new workplace order. Moving forward, this must be a business imperative.
Don Drummond is chief economist at TD Bank Financial Group in Toronto.
As part of the ongoing work done by the CTHRC, we would like to share some information that was recently shared through a meeting of Ready to Work Coordinators in Saskatoon.
Did you know that over 3% of the tourism labour force identified themselves as an Aboriginal person in 2006? Of the five sectors in the industry, accommodations employed the largest proportion, at 4.7%. The recreation & entertainment industry sector had the most Aboriginal workers, with 14% of people employed as recreational or outdoor sport guides identifying themselves as Aboriginal. Manitoba and Saskatchewan had the highest levels of participation from Aboriginal people in the tourism industry and again, they were employed in the accommodation and recreation and entertainment sectors. The food and beverage sector leads the way in employing young (15-24 years of age) Aboriginal workers.
As one of the fastest growing populations in Canada, tourism employers need to recognize this young, strong and accessible option for dealing with their staffing shortages.
More information on the report “Demographic Profile of the Tourism Sector Employees” is available from the CTHRC website: www.cthrc.ca
Got Safety Training?
The government is acting on a recommendation from the Minister’s Advisory Council on Workplace Safety and Health to increase the maximum fines from $150,000 for the first offence and $300,000 for a second or subsequent offence, to $250,000 for the first offence and $500,000 for a second or subsequent offence.
SAFE Hospitality is an injury prevention program administered by the Manitoba Tourism Education Council (MTEC). The program is financed through a surcharged paid by restaurants and food service establishments who are registered with the WCB in subgroup 70106.
We are currently offering free safety training for owners, operators, managers, and employees who fall under this subgroup. This group (70106) includes most restaurants and food service establishments in Manitoba.
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
(WHMIS Basic Awareness)
Course Dates: April 20, May 4, May 18, June 1, June 15
Time: 8:30-12:00pm
Location: MTEC & SAFE Hospitality Offices: Suite 100-1534 Gamble Place, Winnipeg Manitoba
Supervisor and Manager Safety Roles and Responsibilities
(Basic Skills)
Course Dates: April 20, May 4, May 18, June 1, June 15
Time: 1:00-5:00pm
Location: MTEC & SAFE Hospitality Offices: Suite 100-1534 Gamble Place, Winnipeg Manitoba
For question regarding these workshops or if you would like to register, please contact Alexa Clayton at info@safehospitality.com or 204-694-SAFE (7233) or toll free 1-800-820-6832.
"In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later."
Harold S. Geneen