Tourism human resources think tank in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, MB—People from a variety of organizations and companies involved with the tourism business in Canada will gather here Nov. 17–19 to deal with the subject of finding, inspiring, training and keeping good staff.

The annual Tourism HR Forum run by the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council will feature speakers and seminars at the Fairmont Winnipeg hotel.

Something new this year is that attendees will have a chance to take part in more of the concurrent workshops, with each of the six morning sessions being repeated in the afternoon.

One session will deal with attracting and keeping cooks, in the face of a shortage projected to grow to 13,600 by 2015. The seminar will present the Draft Cooks Qualifications Framework developed by the CTHRC working with some of Canada’s top chefs, employers and educators. The framework supports learner and worker mobility, promoting the recognition of qualifications earned outside Canada.

Another will focus on finding and keeping great people. Employers of choice know that reduced turnover, greater productivity, higher quality of service, and increased guest satisfaction and loyalty directly impact the bottom line.  This session will identify how you can gain better results from your HR efforts by identifying HR as a company and business priority.

Resort owners and tourist destination operators will be interested in “CSI: HR - Capturing Seasonal Interest.”  This session will explore the potential “whos” as well as “hows” to hire, orient, and provide results-based training amidst time constraints. Panelists will draw from their experiences and best practices in engaging seasonal employees and volunteers who return each year.

The opening keynote speaker is management guru Nick Bontis, an associate professor of strategic management at McMaster University in Hamilton. He will talk about transforming the “great” people of today into the “fantastic” people of tomorrow.

Other speakers will talk about corporate strategies being in line with corporate cultures, making staff more engaged and productive, and managing a mix of generations.
Attendees will be able to enjoy a reception and dinner at the Fairmont Winnipeg created by seasoned chefs and culinary students.

The CTHRC works on behalf of the 164,000 businesses that make up Canada’s vibrant tourism sector. Collectively, Council members and the CTHRC bring together Canadian tourism businesses, labour unions, associations, educators and governments to co-ordinate human resource development activities and contribute to a sustainable, globally competitive tourism sector.

The CTHRC provides resources that include more than 50 national occupational standards as well as on-line and paper-based training tools. CTHRC is working with the sector to build a Canadian tourism work force that is truly world class.
For more information on the conference go to www.cthrc.ca.