When you’re introducing DEI strategies into your workplace, there are a lot of new concepts, terms, and ideas to disseminate. Diversity, equity, and inclusion or DEI in the workplace is a conceptual framework that aims to promote the fair treatment and participation of all people, including those from groups that have been historically underrepresented. Continue reading this blog to learn about the concept of microaggressions, why they’re harmful, and how you can avoid them at work to ensure everyone feels safe.
When we talk about DEI - or diversity, equity, and inclusion - policies in the workplace, diversity and inclusion are straightforward topics. However, equity as a workplace concept may require more explanation. Like, what is the difference between equity and equality? And how do we implement equity at work? Read on to discover the answers to these questions.
DEI or diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just buzzwords. They’re sound business practices, the right thing to do. By prioritizing DEI in the workplace, you’re not “on trend”, you’re creating a safe environment for all of your employees.
The Government of Canada uses the Express Entry program to manage immigration applications from skilled workers. The online system allows the Canadian government to manage permanent resident applications for filling labour gaps while also giving newcomers to Canada a straightforward way to enter and stay in the country.
Moving to a new country or region can be overwhelming. It requires a lot of time, energy, and money to prepare, move, and settle in. If you’re a newcomer to Canada, moving to eastern Ontario you will receive access to training, resources, assistance organizations, and a community that welcomes them with open arms. Read on to learn about how Ontario East and the employers of the region are ready to help you settle into your new home.
Ontario East has been a region of choice for employers who want to succeed in all employment sectors, including food and beverage processing, advanced manufacturing, logistics and transportation, and supply chains. Eastern Ontario employers must always be ready to pivot and grow in order to keep up with the changing landscape of workforce trends. Employers, read on to learn about the trends affecting the workforce and the region, tools employers need, and who and how to recruit better.
The process of finding a job is tough. Job searching is time consuming, stressful, and often demoralizing. Ontario East created and collected this list of resources to help make your job search experience easier. Read on to find more information on upskilling and training programs to help you keep up with your field or enter a new one; get job seeker support; and find out why living and working in eastern Ontario continues to be one of the best decisions job seekers can make.
Recruitment and retention in eastern Ontario is changing, just as the workforce changes. As factors such as, labour shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic, or inflation continue to affect the labour market, employers need tools to help keep up with this ever changing landscape.
We all know the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had, on individuals, healthcare, the workforce, education, and society at large. The most diverse neighbourhoods in Ontario experienced higher rates of COVID-19 related hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths compared to neighbourhoods that are less diverse, according to Ontario Public Health. Businesses closed, people lost their jobs, and everyone needed help. According to StatsCan, a vast majority of EI applications received from March 15 to October 3, 2020 were established as CERB claims, representing a total of $74.08 billion. The Canadian Career Academy wanted to tell the story of the early pandemic days and its effects on small to medium sized enterprises in rural and small urban centres in Ontario. The result is the short film, The Road to Recovery.
The year 2022 began with an increase of 72% vacancies or 874,700 unfilled positions, according StatsCan. Employers are struggling to find and retain the labour they need. One of the ways to remedy this? Employers can assess their DEI policies and ensure they are taking an inclusive approach to recruiting. Simply by auditing DEI policies, employers can identify ways that they can open up more opportunities to more members of the labour force.
By now, you’ve heard us beating the drum about the quality of life in eastern Ontario. Ontario East has many jobs, opportunities for education and upskilling, and beautiful places to live. There are community events and resources for job seekers, students, and new Canadians. The quality of life in the region is an excellent enticement not only for newcomers to the region, but to businesses new to the region as well.
You’re always looking for new ways to innovate and grow your business. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a part of that growth. Workplace inclusion has made leaps and bounds in the past sixty years but there’s always room for more growth; according to a McKinsey study in 2019, ethnic minorities made up 13% of executive teams in the US and UK. In Canada, only 1% of corporate leaders in Canada’s largest companies are Black. DEI is necessary, right, and there’s a business case for it as well. Read on to learn more about the benefits of DEI in the workplace.
Canadian and Ontario-based organizations and agencies are working hard to help newcomers to Canada find their forever homes and contribute to the workforce. If you are a newcomer to Canada you may already know that many of these organizations exist but don’t know where or how to access them. That’s where this list comes in! We’ve compiled this working list of organizations helping newcomers to Canada - that means we’ll update this list as we get word of new organizations and agencies.
It’s easy to throw around the buzzwords associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) but it’s more difficult to do the actual work of diversity, equity, and inclusion. If you’re an employer looking to learn more about DEI and do that hard but important work to make all of our workplaces more diverse, inclusive, and equitable places, read on to learn about diversity audit tools.
One of the most important things you look for when you’re hiring a new employee is if the candidate will be a good fit for your organization. Alignment with company culture is just as important as qualifications and skills for potential candidates. But are you articulating your company culture to your candidates and what a “best fit” candidate looks like in your job postings? Read on, to get hiring help to smooth your hiring process so that potential candidates are always aware of what your company’s needs are.
So you’re thinking about relocating to Canada, more specifically eastern Ontario. Now what? Eastern Ontario is a region filled with opportunity. Many cities and towns within the region have been voted as some of the best places to live, the quality of life is high and cost of living is low. There are multiple post-secondary institutions with many opportunities for upskilling, training, and education, and many jobs. But the task of relocation can be overwhelming so we’ve collected relocation advice here to help you make the move to eastern Ontario.
Chances are, if you’re an Ontario job seeker, you’ve already heard of Magnet (but if not, here’s a quick recap: Magnet is an online platform, connecting job seekers with opportunities in the province). But did you know that Magnet is now powering a new tool to connect employers to people with disabilities. Job seekers with disabilities, meet Discover Ability Ontario.
It’s no surprise that you want to include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the workplace. DEI is the right thing to do and these initiatives are beneficial to the productivity and success of the business. But even while welcoming DEI in the workplace, you may have left out one step that makes that DEI difficult to implement — and you probably don’t even know that you’ve left it out. Are you adequately conveying your workplace culture in your hiring practices?
Co-op students are an easily accessible talent resource for eastern Ontario employers. While COVID concerns have slowed the active recruiting of co-op students to fill job gaps, there are still active co-op programs offered through post-secondary schools in eastern Ontario. Read on to get help on how to find co-op students to get your business back on track with the workers you need.
There is a Hidden Workforce in eastern Ontario with a wealth of skilled people who have been sitting on the periphery of a recruiter’s sights. One faction of the hidden workforce is military veterans. This talent pool is full of proven successful employees with long work histories, yet they're not prioritized in current workforce talent pools. Now, as employers look at how to hire military veterans, this untapped workforce is moving to the forefront.
Improving your workplace is an ongoing process. Whether it’s improvement to recruitment and retention, processes, or culture, there are always ways to optimize your workplace. There is one way to improve workplace culture that will give you and your employees far reaching benefits that can spark success in and outside of your business. It starts with your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Using guidelines to help you attract and hire a diverse staff and provide an inclusive and equitable workplace reduces turnover, improves job performance and strengthens team dynamics. So, if you want to know how to improve workplace culture, look at your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
By now you’ve probably heard not only about the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in your workplace but the business case for DEI efforts. DEI is not just a morally right thing to do. DEI work has been proven to optimize productivity and reduce turnover. But what can diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace look like? Read on to learn more about DEI efforts and how to implement them in your workplace.
There’s a Great Resignation happening in the United States: it’s a term being used to describe how millions of people have quit their jobs because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. From frontline workers to CEOs, the US is seeing a huge labour shortage while people look for new jobs. It’s predicted that this Great Resignation will be felt in places all over the world. But what about in Canada?
Times are changing and with that so have recruitment priorities for businesses in eastern Ontario. You might feel that you are well versed in how to attract employees, but consider how technology, automation and the COVID-19 pandemic has changed things.
COVID-19 has changed the way workplaces function. Physical distancing has prompted more opportunities for remote work. Essential service providers have been prioritized as health care, grocery, pharmacy and delivery workers continued working on the front lines. This reliance on these workplaces has shed some light on how these - and all - workers are compensated, recruited and retained. As an employer, you need to know what employees are looking for in a job and show how you can provide it. Here’s some help to rethink what you’re offering new staff when hiring during a pandemic.
The bank for Canadian entrepreneurs has made it official: there is a labour shortage in Canada. According to a study released in September 2021 by the BDC, 55% of Canadian entrepreneurs are struggling to hire the workers they need to sustain growth.
Recruitment and retention in a post-COVID era means relearning how to recruit on some level. It also means learning how to retain employees you’ve attracted. Worker shortages mean you might not get new hires who can just walk in and know all about your business. They’ll need some guidance and consistent training to get on board faster. That’s where your legacy employees come in, and employers must work hard to retain them, their skill set and their knowledge.
A short talent supply means you have to exert more effort to recruit good, qualified staff. Here are some recruiting tips: a good hire should not be based on luck. Know what you want and what you have to offer (this is huge because workers expect quality from the employers so they can give quality in return).
There are so many employers looking to recruit new staff that you need to stand out in the crowd, especially because the process for finding new staff has changed drastically over the last few years and over the course of the pandemic. Much like with sales, by putting your business in front of the right people, you’ll get your vacancies filled, your business will be more productive, and your new employees will thrive. Here are some recruitment tips to help you compete.
In April 2021, Ontario employers were actively recruiting for an estimated 250,000 jobs, but by June 2021, Ontario’s unemployment rate was 8.4%. With job seekers in such high demand but the unemployment rate so high, there was clearly a disconnect between employers and job seekers in 2021. One explanation for this disconnect could be that the skills employers needed were not the skills reflected in the applicants. The good news? Up to 100,000 Ontario workers and job seekers could receive free online training to gain the skills and knowledge needed to restart their careers.
The pandemic made us realize that the real-world space we occupy can affect our mental and physical health. If you’re thinking about rejoining the workforce and relocating for work to improve your all-around health options, think about moving to eastern Ontario.
Hey there. Yes, you. Hey! Welcome to eastern Ontario where the work is plentiful, the homes are affordable, and there’s lots of lifestyle options so you can choose your own life adventure/life path.
The Fleming Employment Hub, created by Muskoka-Kawarthas Employment Services, provides access to FREE training courses to support leadership and enhance the workplace. The Muskokas-Kawarthas Employment Service is a one-stop service for employers and job seekers to find opportunities for sustainable employment, build prosperity, and strengthen the regional economy.
This feature originally appeared in Eastern Workforce Innovation Board’s October 2021 Newsletter, with thanks to the author Diane Soucie.
There are many business resources available to employers who are hiring, looking for grants and funding, training opportunities, and more. But the seemingly simple job of finding all these resources is quite a long research process. To continue to facilitate recruitment and retention in eastern Ontario for all employers, we’ve compiled a list of 7 business resources to help you grow your business.
First Nations, Metis, and Inuit youth are the fastest-growing age group in Canada, but they are a demographic that is commonly excluded from the workforce. Indigenous people make up 4.9% of the population, and while 1.6% of this group who are aged 25-54 have a college diploma, most have 5-10 years of work experience. This gap in perceived expertise or training, along with bias and discrimination in hiring practices, might be some of the factors keeping Indigenous people from the workforce.
When you’ve moved to a new country (or if you’ve lived here for a while) one of the most pressing and stressful tasks ahead is finding a well-paying job. Combine your job search with finding a place to live with a high quality of life, perhaps learning a new language or culture, and navigating immigration bureaucracy, becoming a new Canadian is stressful.
The peaks and valleys of business make entrepreneurship an exhilarating and anxious experience. It means long hours and the constant need for skills development and training. For many women who are entrepreneurs, it also means juggling work life with family responsibilities, whether that be caring for children or a loved one. Or being left out of business communities that have often been male-dominated spaces.
Rate the work-life balance of your employees, and their access to skills development and career planning, on a scale from 1 to 10. Chances are your rating is already pretty high. But if you knew that these factors are some of the most important for job seekers when they’re looking for a new job, would you say your rating is high enough?
Labour market information (LMI) is data gold for the eastern Ontario workforce. Besides providing timely and accurate information about the labour market in our region, the data is used to respond to community needs to optimize the workforce landscape for employers and job seekers in the future.
It’s no secret that there is a workforce shortage in the eastern Ontario region. Through the hard work of employers, job seekers, workforce development professionals, and EDOs, that gap in recruitment and retention in eastern Ontario is beginning to be filled. One of the ways is by attracting more international talent to the region as well as making it easier for employers to hire that talent.
Right now in eastern Ontario, there are approximately 31,250 residents who are available for work and able to work but are not working. Workforce development professionals call these residents the Hidden Workforce.
Right now, there are about 31,250 people locally who could work but are excluded from processes for recruitment and retention in eastern Ontario. This group of people might feel discouraged by the job seeking process, they may be living in poverty, or be affected by other factors like age. Regardless, this hidden workforce is a group of residents who can start working for eastern Ontario employers like you. If you didn’t know about this hidden workforce and are wondering how to hire employees like these right now, read on.
As an employer you may find yourself in a near constant cycle of hiring. It’s a carousel that’s difficult to get off of because high employee turnover seems to necessitate it. Workforce development professionals have been studying the labour force participation rate in eastern Ontario to try to solve this exact problem. If you want to learn more about how to reduce high employee turnover and improve recruitment and retention in eastern Ontario, read on.
There might be a gap in your employee retention strategies if you employ youth or want to employ youth. Youth in eastern Ontario are members of a hidden workforce that are available for employment but are often, unintentionally, overlooked by employers due to gaps in communication because of factors like age and poverty. If you’re employing members of this hidden workforce or you plan to, read on to learn retention strategies to close the gap in communication and keep this powerful workforce in the eastern Ontario community and part of the economy.
There’s a hidden workforce in eastern Ontario. It’s a workforce you likely see every day on your way to work, you’ve met this workforce through friends, family, or in your day to day life. Any guesses?
If you’ve been out of work for any length of time it can be a challenge to know how to re-enter the workforce. Your previous jobs might not be available or in-demand anymore because of changes in the economy, automation and new technology.
Newcomers to Canada bring diversity to the country. They also provide professional services and skilled labour, which helps to fill gaps in the economy. In Canada, the population is aging and birth rates are down, this means Canada needs new people to continue to grow and flourish. The following immigration resources will provide new Canadians the support you’ll need to settle in Canada.
Employee commute problems affect all businesses whether you’re located within a transit-served area or off the beaten path. Problems like commuter congestion, lack of service and now COVID-19 safety concerns can wreak havoc on your production and your employees’ ability to make it to work on time or at all.
Students in eastern Ontario can find exactly what they want from their post-secondary education in the region. Many schools have full- and part-time courses plus continuing education and online learning options. These schools provide the education you’ll need to find good jobs, in sectors like manufacturing, in eastern Ontario and beyond.
There are many post-secondary programs in eastern Ontario to help you train for the job you want. Many of the programs support apprenticeship training. Apprenticeships in Canada provide employers with an opportunity to mentor and support a potential long-term employee who’s shown ability and interest in a trade.
Helping partners find stable work is the foundation of spousal employment support programs. Sometimes the job demands of one half of a couple can complicate the job search and options for the other person.
As newcomers to Canada, there are lots of choices you need to make to get the most out of the community you choose. Your must-have list might include things like getting a great job, finding a nice home, experiencing Canadian arts and culture and securing a good education. In some of the best places to live in eastern Ontario, you can find many communities that provide these and many more benefits to people relocating here.
COVID-19 has disrupted workplaces and business operations globally. Creating a thriving business has been a challenge because of safety concerns, lockdown orders and stresses on labour pools.
High school and post-secondary students are a plentiful source of talent for eastern Ontario employers. While younger workers might lack on-the-job experience, they have learned skills and employable qualities that are worth the time and training investment.
In the COVID-19 era, job availability is a vital component to decide your future. Start your search for job opportunities by understanding some of the differences between rural vs city living.
I’m sure your business is all set up on social channels. You’re connecting with your customers on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. But have you thought about how you could use social media to attract talent, in addition to using it simply to engage with customers?
Employers who provide their staff with career advancement opportunities can greatly improve the loyalty and productivity of incumbent workers, plus attract new talent. However, it is difficult for employers to know what their employees need in terms of training and career motivation. That's why communication between supervisors and workers is so important to a happy workplace.
The world and how we work within it has changed - most recently because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also gradually as technology has given us more access to information we can use for different and more fulfilling careers. Keeping your skills relevant is especially important so you can adapt to shifts in the job market.
Sure there’s no guarantees in life. But what if you could put yourself in the best position to get what you want from your job? Pathways to Production trains workers for manufacturing jobs available in the communities they live in.
You’re an employer who’s hiring. In the midst of a pandemic your business is thriving, and you need skilled help. A big hurdle to a full workforce? People are worried about coming to work. It’s not that they don't want to work, they're scared of getting sick.
If you’ve lost your job because of COVID-19, you’re not alone. There’s many displaced workers looking for how to switch careers right now. Good news is, you can get trained and working again with the help that’s out there. You can find a new career in sectors that are thriving so you have job security and the resources to manage your life.
The Eastern Ontario Training Board (EOTB) is leading opportunities for newcomers to Canada to get fast-tracked permanent residency in the eastern Ontario region.
Manufacturing is booming across eastern Ontario, and if you’re an employer you can participate in one of 21 training programs that benefit eastern Ontario employers. For example, if you are a Bay of Quinte manufacturing or food processing employer who struggles to find qualified workforce candidates, consider joining the Elevate Plus program.
People looking to relocate to Canada - specifically to eastern Ontario - but aren't here yet have programs they can turn to for pre-arrival assistance. If you're already approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the YMCA is here to help you get settled in Canada.
Relocating to a new country can be overwhelming and maybe downright terrifying for newcomers to Canada. That’s why the Newcomer Employment Welcome Services centre (NEWS) is being established in Cornwall.
Newcomers to the eastern Ontario region can look toward Local Immigration Partnerships (LIP) to get settled, get connected and get a job.
If you want to know how manufacturing is doing in the eastern Ontario region, read STUFF. STUFF Made and Built in Eastern Ontario boasts a website and online magazine dedicated to the manufacturing sector in eastern Ontario.
There’s thousands of jobs to be had in eastern Ontario. If you’re looking for a job here, whether it’s in manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, aviation or food processing, training is available.
So, you’ve arrived in Canada. Welcome. Let’s get you started in your life here whether you’ve already got some plans in place or you need help getting settled in your new community.
Anyone looking to live well and work where a good life is affordable need look no further than eastern Ontario. The appeal of the many towns in the region to job seekers means employers in the eastern Ontario region benefit from an influx of labour to fill job gaps. Even better, there’s a whole network boosting local workforces with new talent attraction and existing worker upskilling.
If you are looking for a new career with a steady paycheque that allows you to live a comfortable lifestyle, the Elevate Plus program in the Bay of Quinte can help. Just one of 21 training programs offered in eastern Ontario, Elevate Plus provides free training and on-the-job experience to Bay of Quinte job seekers who want to upskill or reskill for a career in the local manufacturing or food processing industries.
Newcomers to Canada are a significant addition to labour pools across the country. That’s why recognizing workforce development best practices in Ontario is essential to help make it easy for people new to the country to find work and settle into communities.
Employers are hiring for good jobs in Kingston Ontario so make sure you’re getting all the notifications first. Use livework.kingstoncanada.com to quickly access five job-seeking resources on one website. This job-seeker service is part of a website dedicated to getting you the quality of life you’re looking for by living and working in Kingston.
If you’re looking for one of the best places to live in Canada, look no further than the eastern Ontario region. An example of one of the many towns and cities that offer a high quality of life in the region is Kingston. In this blog post, we’ll highlight the city of Kingston. There are over 200 communities within the eastern Ontario region that offer similar opportunities.
It’s been a daunting time to be an employer and an employee. COVID-19 has created workforce challenges above and beyond previous barriers to business operations and labour.
Over the next 10 years, the growth of Canada’s labour force is expected to slow significantly, due to high retirement and low fertility rates. The Labour Market Information Council (LMiC) published a report in 2019, which examined labour market trends both in general and with special focus on labour market information for recent immigrants.
Across eastern Ontario there are programs to help job seekers develop new skills. Giving job seekers access to quality training means they can better prepare for stable, full-time work. It also connects them to jobs waiting on the other side of the training. A good example is the upskilling program Elevate Plus which helps job seekers upskill and start working upon graduation with the program’s employers.
If you are an employer who struggles to find qualified candidates to work when you need them, sometimes at the last minute, Ontario East wants to help you optimize your recruitment.
Eastern Ontario employers, get ready to hire new international talent without doing any paperwork.
If you don’t have the time or staff to read through hundreds of resumes during the hiring process, LinkedIn’s Talent Insights, Jobs and Recruitment tools can help.
Beginning in 2012, the Employer One survey has been conducted in various locations in Ontario.
Things have shifted a lot in the world recently, from jobs to housing, creating the need for many people to consider relocating.
October is Manufacturing Month and many businesses and communities will hold Manufacturing Day/Week/Month celebrations during this time.
Do you know eastern Ontario employers finding it hard to recruit talent right now? The Eastern Ontario Workforce Development Project (EOWD) has re-launched, and as a result of their strategic plan, have purchased a 1 year subscription to LinkedIn Recruiter.
The story of manufacturing is more than a story about factory lines.
As our lives become more tied to our online experiences and transactions, so grows the need for our businesses to be secured against cyber attacks.
Manufacturing sectors in eastern Ontario are varied and vibrant.
When people think of robotics, they tend to think of pop culture (think C-3PO or the Terminator), probably because many people have never encountered a robot in real life.
Additive manufacturing is a huge current manufacturing trend.
Manufacturing in eastern Ontario is rich with many successful and vibrant sectors, including food processing, signage, plastics, personal care products, acrylics, chemicals and electronics.
Regions outside the GTA are struggling to find skilled labour to fill their workforce needs.
The Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Project (EOMWDP) strives to inform and encourage upcoming generations to consider manufacturing as a career choice.
As technology continues to support the manufacturing sector, and advances in AI and automation are integrated into the workplace, the need for highly skilled workers is on the rise.
You can no longer post job openings online and expect applicants to be knocking down your door in droves.
News cycles every month highlight the rising cost of housing in major cities and lament the loss of the middle class.
Manufacturing employs 65,000 people in the eastern Ontario region alone, helping to make it a prosperous sector for Ontario.
The balance between work and life has often caused conflicts in our personal and professional lives. As younger generations enter the workforce, the shift toward work-life balance continues to create some conflict but also to create harmony for the next generation of the workforce.
A lot has gone on in the manufacturing world this year.
There are so many amazing manufacturing companies in Ontario.
At the end of the year, we highlight up-and-coming trends in manufacturing.
The eastern Ontario region is home to an established manufacturing cluster and the industry continues to grow.
Ontario’s food and beverage processing sector is the largest in Canada, making up 37% of the industry’s revenue in the country.
Manufacturing is an excellent place to start a future career, but if you’re looking to join the manufacturing industry, you may be wondering how to get in.
When you begin to plan the type of work you want to do for the rest of your life, it’s important to make sure you find work in growing industries, where you have job security and great pay.
The end of the year is a time for countdowns and best-of lists, and we’re happy to jump on the trend and remind you of the year’s best tools to upskill in manufacturing training.
In manufacturing, technology is constantly improving processes and moving your business forward.
Searching for a great job is a time-consuming task, so you want to make sure you are limiting your search criteria to job sectors that have secure, great paying positions.
This is a guest blog post by Lisa Steudle of EMC (Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium).
Even if you don’t have a lot of time to invest in recruiting and retaining workers, these 5 techniques will pay off by generating excitement about the future of manufacturing for your upcoming workforce.
The growing influence of artificial intelligence in our lives will become more commonplace as time goes on.
Small cities are quickly becoming the place to be. With real estate prices rising to exorbitant rates in large cities and prohibiting a reasonable cost of living for many people, residents are being driven out of big cities and moving to smaller ones.
Dvine Laboratories is a developer of e-juice (the liquid used in e-cigarettes) based in Lindsay, Ontario. Dvine Laboratories’ headquarters takes up 30,000 square feet of office space and the company employs 34 people. Business is booming, but this successful, relatively new company says it will stay in Lindsay forever.
We've profiled STEM books for kids before because they’re important for introducing your kids (and you) to the world of STEM and manufacturing trends.
Ron Haslam has been making signs for pretty much all his working life. After leaving school at 15 and starting to work in the sign industry at 16, he found he had a natural talent for it.
You may think of manufacturing as a not-very-environmentally friendly industry, but there are many ways manufacturing is going green.
We've written about 5 reasons why you'll want to work in eastern Ontario, and we've thought of 3 more you’ll want to know about. Above and beyond the 5 great reasons, eastern Ontario offers you a great quality of life, access to amazing education and many diverse opportunities to grow your career.
The owners of DVS Manufacturing Inc. and Louet North America are a husband and wife team that sell their products all over the world. Dave and Pam Van Stralen’s business is located in the Leeds Grenville area of eastern Ontario. DVS is perhaps best-known for its SquareTM ergonomic knitting needles and crochet hooks.
Jarvis Design and Display Ltd. has been going strong for 46 years. The company is known for creating signage and in-store wall graphics that appear all across Canada. From store signs outside local grocery stores to washroom graphics or direction signs inside an office building, Jarvis Design and Display has done it all.
Evonik Canada Inc. is a global leader in producing specialty chemicals. The Maitland Ontario site of Evonik, which makes hydrogen peroxide, continues to expand. The company currently employs 26 highly skilled local workers in a massive 60,000 square metre facility.
Husband and wife duo, Karen Clark and Alain Ménard, started their company to provide their families and all Canadians with healthier personal care products.
Here’s an industry that may not come to mind when you think of the manufacturing sector: technical textile manufacturers. Technical textiles are used in all sorts of places beyond where you would normally think of textiles being used. Industries like construction, transportation, sports, and agriculture all use technical textiles.
The term “advanced manufacturing” gets thrown around a lot, but it isn’t an easily defined term. Manufacturing, for instance, is the production of products in large quantities. Raw materials are converted into finished products that can then be sold. Manufactured products could be anything from canned soda and frozen pizza to car parts and electronics.
You’re probably feeling excited. It’s Manufacturing Month and that means that there’s a lot of activity around our industry. Interest in the manufacturing sector is concentrated in this one month, and for thirty-one days you can feel like the star of the show. But we all know this month has to come to an end, and when it does things will go back to normal. Getting new potential investors interested in the industry is harder without all the initiatives that are reserved for Manufacturing Month.
There are many ways to increase the profile of eastern Ontario manufacturing. But when it comes to keeping the interest of young people, some employers feel at a loss for how to communicate their passion to the next generation of would-be makers and tinkerers. That’s why it’s useful to look for different methods to express the passion, creativity, and, yes, fun that’s part of the manufacturing world. Let’s explore a cultural phenomenon you might not associate with manufacturing trends: gaming!
Throughout the month of October our blog is devoted to promoting Manufacturing Month. We’re highlighting job possibilities in the manufacturing sector you may not have thought of before. For example, food processing is a big part of eastern Ontario’s manufacturing industry.
October is Manufacturing Month so we’re promoting the manufacturing industry in eastern Ontario all month long. We don’t want you to miss any opportunities for finding manufacturing job training and a great job, so we’re profiling Elevate Plus, a manufacturing training program.
October is Manufacturing Month and we're promoting everything about manufacturing in eastern Ontario all month long. One of the best ways we can do that is by helping you find your dream job in the manufacturing sector right here in eastern Ontario.
October is Manufacturing Month so we’re profiling some of the great manufacturing job opportunities available in eastern Ontario. We’ve summarized 7 jobs that range from skilled trades to engineering to managerial positions, offering you lots of options depending on what you’re interested in and where you see yourself in your career future.
The manufacturing sector is an incredibly diverse world. So many industries are a part of it. For example, have you ever heard of petrochemical manufacturing? We have petrochemical manufacturers here in eastern Ontario, in our own backyard, yet not many people are aware of what they do. But, probably everyone has come into contact with a product derived from petrochemicals.
Telecommunications is the process of sending data, images, sounds or messages through wire, radio waves, optical systems or electromagnetic radiation. Examples include the telephone, radio broadcasting, the Internet, television and wireless communications (e.g. WiFi, LTE).
FOR RELEASE: October 1, 2019 Alysha Dominico Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Project (EOMWDP) (416) 779-7407 ad@tangiblewords.com
In the not-so-distant past, many people believed that in order to make a decent living they had to get a university degree. While a degree remains a requirement for certain professions, there are a growing number of high-paying occupations that instead require an apprenticeship. The demand for skilled tradespeople is high in eastern Ontario, where a booming manufacturing sector continues to grow.
Manufacturing Month is a showcase of the innovative, high-tech businesses in Ontario that manufacture a variety of products. Not only are manufacturers fascinating hubs of production, but they are also the backbone of the Ontario economy. The manufacturing industry in eastern Ontario alone employs 65,000 people.
The Tri-Association Manufacturing Conference is taking place on October 24, 2019 at the Cobourg Community Centre. The Northumberland Manufacturers’ Association have put together a day packed with information, demos and strategies to help local manufacturers prepare for the future.
We've talked before about Manufacturing Day before, but Manufacturing Month is coming in October. Here are some great ways you can embrace the spirit of the month and promote manufacturing trends and the jobs they create in eastern Ontario.
If you haven’t grown up in it, the manufacturing industry can seem like a different world. Every industry has its own jargon, its own language and short-forms, and manufacturing is no exception.
Fleming College has four campuses throughout Ontario, including Peterborough, Lindsay, Haliburton and Cobourg.
With the fall of cannabis prohibition in Canada in October 2018, recreational weed has hit the market in a huge way, and it’s become a way for Canadian manufacturing companies to get a big leg up on international competition.
On October 9th, 2019, Peterborough and the Kawarthas are hosting an open door tour of manufacturing companies. Over 40 participants are already expected, including guidance counsellors, pathways consultants and teachers from the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board (PVNCCDSB) and the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB).
You may not have realized this but, if you’ve been living anywhere in eastern Ontario, you’ve been living in a manufacturing hub. And this isn’t just the way it is now; eastern Ontario has been a manufacturing centre for quite some time. It’s amazing what can go on right under your nose if you’re not looking for it!
Queen’s University in Kingston (which is in eastern Ontario) is 175 years old with a tradition of academic excellence and a beautiful waterfront campus. Queen’s is a full-spectrum, research-intensive university.
In meetings with your manufacturing managers, you’ve likely discussed the training that apprentices in your workforce have received. When your team has identified gaps in apprenticeship training, you then have to correct the issues in-house.
Loyalist College is an English-language college located on more than 200 beautiful acres in Belleville, which is located in eastern Ontario. More learners are choosing Loyalist College because of its supportive and engaging culture. Students feel empowered by their post-secondary journey, which takes them to careers where they will succeed and excel.
If you haven’t worked in the manufacturing industry before, some terms may be confusing. Every industry uses its own jargon and unique way of communicating, and manufacturing does as well.
In eastern Ontario, there are many organizations and associations that provide support services and hand out annual manufacturing industry awards. Putting your company into a position to win one of these awards is not just good for morale and publicity–it can help generate more sales.
It’s a fine day to get to know a local eastern Ontario manufacturer. Longevity Acrylics Inc. is a bathware manufacturing company, based in Summerstown Ontario, that manufactures 100% cast acrylic bathware designs.
Lanthier Bakery, located in Alexandria Ontario, was founded by Georges and Adrienne Lanthier in 1932. Back then, Lanthier was one of four bakeries in Alexandria that sold fresh bread and pastries door to door.
Canada’s economy is doing very well. There has been plenty of job creation in past years and the GTA is in particularly fine form. Ontario’s unemployment rate has been hovering just below 6%, and skilled immigrants are coming from all parts of the globe to take part in Ontario’s workforce.
When most people think about workplace training, they think about onboarding training for new employees, or the sort of annual “check the box” training that most people (including even sometimes the people who give the training) don’t take very seriously.
Laminacorr has operated in manufacturing in eastern Ontario since 2013 in the Cornwall Business Park. The 21-year-old company owned by Guy Robichaud and family employs 60 workers and has grown to be the largest independent corrugated plastics product manufacturer in North America.
SigmaPoint Technologies is located in Cornwall in eastern Ontario, and was founded in 1999 by Dan Bergeron, who still runs the company today. The company culture respects every person and has successfully grown from 5 to over 300 committed employees in 20 years.
As the Baby Boomer generation leaves the workforce, many new jobs are becoming available across the country, especially in manufacturing. There are many opportunities in Canada, including in the eastern Ontario region, for new Canadians.
SkillsAdvance Ontario (SAO) can help you find available jobs in manufacturing and will set you up with the skills development you need. The SAO program exists to give you the best shot possible at landing a secure, well-paying, exciting job in eastern Ontario’s manufacturing sector.
Rather than trying to do everything within your manufacturing company, there are many resources available to you right in eastern Ontario. In addition to your local workforce development offices and economic development officers, you have the Eastern Ontario Training Board to help you with hiring and employee retention.
Dear reader, I have a question for you. What is life?
As house prices and the general cost of living continue to climb in major cities, you might be considering alternatives. You need to first find a location that has a perfect job for you. Then you can start to look into what life is like in other cities in Ontario. The province’s best kept secret for work-life balance is living in eastern Ontario.
The manufacturing industry is entrenched in eastern Ontario, but is rapidly changing and improving in response to many external factors. To continue to thrive, manufacturing needs to stay on top of key trends.
You're busy running a business: hiring, training, and keeping up with technology, manufacturing trends, and sector changes. You likely don't have much time to go out and find manufacturing resources, so we've compiled the top 3 magazines for you.
New Canadians are an important talent source for manufacturers, but they're dealing with a lot: moving to a new place, acclimatizing to a new culture and its customs, unfamiliar weather, and maybe learning a second or third language as well. Here are 3 ways your manufacturing company can welcome new Canadians.
As a new Canadian, you may be excited about the opportunities in Canada’s eastern Ontario region, like the many manufacturing jobs opening up over the next few years as Baby Boomers leave the workforce.
Baby Boomers are retiring and manufacturing jobs are becoming available. The Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Plan (EOMWDP) data indicates that in the last quarter of 2017, there were 320 jobs available in manufacturing in Cornwall and surrounding areas. That’s 2 times more than 2016’s last quarter, a sign that Baby Boomers are increasingly leaving the eastern Ontario workforce. Some of those jobs are found in the Ottawa area.
What if you could simulate what your future career would look like before you made plans for education and training? You might find that the career you are planning for isn’t what you thought it was. Or you might find that it’s even more interesting and exciting than you anticipated.
After graduating from college or university, your first thought is likely to move back home while you figure out where you’re going to work. It’s cheaper to live at home with your family in the short term, and you’re familiar with your hometown, the jobs that are possible there, and the network you can tap into. But it’s worth considering staying in your post secondary community for a few key reasons.
Knowing where to post your job opportunities online can be a daunting task, with many options available, all requiring different formats. To simplify the hiring process and optimize your chances of finding the best candidates, there is a new online platform–Magnet–where you can post once, and it will distribute your opportunity to major online job boards.
If you’ve been online searching for jobs, you’ve likely come across the usual suspects: Indeed, Monster, or even jobs posted on specific company websites. The job board that you might not have heard of yet, but that is worth signing up for, is Magnet.
As Baby Boomers increasingly leave the workforce over the next decade for retirement, the next generation of workers will need to take their place. In past blog posts, we’ve discussed many methods of attracting Millennial workers to manufacturing. But that’s only half the puzzle.
You are aware that most often an employee onboarding process can be overwhelming both to the organization and the new employee. Onboarding is often filled with bureaucracy and tedium at best and, at worst, is an experience so unpleasant that it contributes to high employee turnover.
You know your students and children best. Maybe you have one who you believe could flourish in STEM. You’ve watched their skills development journey, and found them to be a curious person (always taking things apart and putting those things back together again) or technologically adept. Perhaps they work well in teams or are always looking for a more efficient way of getting jobs done.
Promoting the history of manufacturing is a great way to help people see where manufacturing comes from and help them imagine themselves as a member of the workforce. As one way to reach people with this information, consider sharing blog posts, e-books, or social media posts about some of the great people in manufacturing history.
Women account for 48% of the Canadian workforce, but only 28% of the manufacturing workforce. This job rate share hasn't changed for 30 years, according to Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME).
One of the Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Plan (EOMWDP) mandates is to educate the eastern Ontario community about the vast opportunities in manufacturing. When we make manufacturing accessible to youth, we help them see themselves in this exciting world of technology and innovation.
Upskilling your manufacturing employees is essential in an increasingly technological world. Manufacturers in the Quinte region have communicated their need for talent that can work with and repair computers.
Many job seekers worry about the future of technology, and how the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) will affect the number of available jobs. While pictures like this robot can make it seem that we are creating machines to replace humans, the majority of real-world applications are more similar to the picture below of a person assisted by software on a laptop.
Process control engineering is the 8th most popular manufacturing job in eastern Ontario, according to data collected by the Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Project (or EOMWDP for short).
One of our goals with this blog is to help manufacturing employers in eastern Ontario connect with the next generation of workers, a generation that some employers may feel completely out of touch with. That’s why we’re always on the lookout for big cultural hits that can be used to help young people see that manufacturing is an exciting industry full of opportunity. This time we’ve come across a particular item you might be interested in: a graphic novel all about manufacturing.
Manufacturing is a dynamic and cutting-edge industry, so you’re going to want to update your resumé to match. No matter what your current skill set is, these are easy ways to spruce up your resumé so it gets to the top of the pile.
To truly maximize the return on your investment, and ensure you’re attracting the best and brightest, here’s what you should consider and prepare for as a participant of job fairs.
The region of Kingston-Pembroke is located in eastern Ontario, and includes the towns of Belleville, Kingston, Petawawa, and Pembroke. These cities all have access to beautiful waterfront, whether on Lake Ontario or along the Ottawa River. In addition, the region has a strong manufacturing sector that continues to employ many local residents.
The second episode of the Netflix docuseries Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is all about salt. The show’s host, Samin Nosrat, visits Japan to document the uses of salt and salty tastes in Japanese cooking to make exceptional food. She explores the process of making traditional soy sauce, gathering sea salt from strands of seaweed, (moshio) and making miso soup from scratch.
Eastern Ontario is an amazing place to live and raise a family. The region is full of culture, vibrance, and economic prosperity. To help you decide if the eastern Ontario region is a place you’d like to relocate to, we’ve compiled a list of the benefits of the towns in the Kawartha area and what they have to offer job seekers.
In 2018, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat aired on Netflix. If you haven’t seen the show yet, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is a four-episode documentary miniseries hosted by Samin Nosrat, a chef and writer of a regular food column for The New York Times. The show takes a loving view of the process of making food, broken down into its simplest tenets: salt, fat, acid, and heat.
You know that your business is interesting. You love how your product is made, the care and craftsmanship throughout the entire manufacturing process. You have employees who love knowing they’ve made great food that feeds the whole province. But you don’t just like making food that feeds people: you demand quality. There’s a long tradition of passionate food makers from eastern Ontario; passion for your product is a subject you could talk about for hours to whoever will listen.
If you're close to finishing your education, you're likely wondering what career you'd like to have once you're done. In the next 5 years, Baby Boomers will be leaving the workforce and the manufacturing sector is looking for skilled workers to take their place.
Inbound marketing is a technique for drawing people to products and services through easily searchable and enticingly relevant online content. Inbound marketing aims to create valuable experiences for your target audience, that have a positive impact on people and your business.
According to data collected by the EOMWDP, a machinist and tooling inspector is the 9th most popular job in eastern Ontario. These jobs are ideal for people who have strong attention to detail, can read and interpret engineering drawings, and can explain complicated ideas in a simple, clear way.
The Ottawa region of eastern Ontario includes Brockville, Cornwall, and Ottawa-Gatineau, and boasts more than 25,000 employers and 500,000 jobs.
In Ontario, the automotive manufacturing sector was hit particularly hard in the last recession. Although automation of the industry was blamed for many of the job losses, that very same technology is now changing the landscape of Ontario manufacturing. Automation and innovation are the keys to preparing your business for the next recession.
According to the data compiled by Ontario East's project Eastern Ontario Manufacturing Workforce Development Plan (EOMWDP) project, welders are the 7th most popular job in eastern Ontario’s manufacturing sector. In an industry that employs 65,000 people, welders are in high demand.
The Ontario manufacturing industry is what drives the province’s economy, but as Baby Boomers retire, the sector is struggling to fill new positions. Years of misinformation and outdated views about the manufacturing industry have driven away the next generation of the labour force. Seeking out and identifying workforce trends has therefore become an important skill for manufacturing companies, EDOs, and workforce development professionals who are trying to boost employment. Statistics Canada is a tried and true source of labour market information, offering accurate data to help workforce professionals identify trends. But StatsCan results take time to collect and analyze, and data is not always relevant to smaller communities and regions.
Much of traditional corporate learning is costly, because it takes employees away from their jobs, and it has to be repeated endlessly. On top of that, a lot of information learned during training doesn’t stick with employees and that’s because our brains lose most of the information we learn within 48 hours of learning it. In a sense, this is a helpful function of the brain: it helps sort out information. We learn a lot of new information in a day, but we don’t need all of it.
A job search can be exhausting, doubly so if you’re looking to switch industries. It’s so demoralizing: sending out resumes to an online void and somehow getting zero responses, not even a “thanks for your interest.” It’s something no one enjoys.
In a report by the UN, researchers placed the number of worldwide unemployed youths (15-24) at around 75 million. In Canada, workers in this age range are more likely than older workers to be unemployed, and even though youth workers are generally faster at gaining new jobs than other age groups, they are also more likely to be employed for shorter periods.
You’ve probably heard students complain that they’ll never use advanced mathematics in the real world. It probably happens every year. You’d probably like to prove to them all the time that the theoretical concepts in the classroom have a definite link to a later career. Experiential learning is the way to do that.
If you’re looking for a new career, you can get manufacturing training and find a job in eastern Ontario. Manufacturing careers are high-tech, clean, and stable, so don’t discount the manufacturing industry as a potential career path. Manufacturing continues to grow across eastern Ontario, employing some 65,000 people. But about 86 percent of manufacturers across Canada are reporting having difficulties hiring, and in eastern Ontario that difficulty could be linked to a skills shortage.
Manufacturing is unfortunately (and falsely) believed to be an unglamorous occupation, when in actuality there are clean and lean productions going on in eastern Ontario on the cutting edge of technological advancement. People with digital skills will be highly sought after in the coming years. As a member of the first truly digital generation, you are perfectly poised to be an innovator in Ontario manufacturing.
When you're getting ready for a career, you often think in terms of training for the specific job you'll be doing. This is called hard skills development or training; an example of manufacturing skills training could be learning how to weld or computer coding. Job training focuses on the hard skills you need to do the job successfully. And you need to learn those skills in any job you do. But skills training encompasses a broader way of approaching a job. Skills training includes the soft skills.
Nationally, about 86 percent of manufacturers are reporting having difficulties hiring despite the manufacturing industry’s growing strength. Eastern Ontario employs some 65,000 people, and in this region, hiring difficulties appear linked to a skills shortage in the workforce. This skills shortage is not the fault of job seekers but a result of the changing nature of jobs.
The manufacturing industry in eastern Ontario alone employs 65,000 people, and it is growing and improving every year with the help of the latest technology. To secure a place in one of these cutting-edge, large corporations, consider investing in yourself through manufacturing training.
Manufacturing in Ontario is currently strong, with companies embracing technological change and harnessing efficiencies. But there were economic challenges in the past.
