Human Resources, Labour and Employment
Education
February 11, 2010
Employers to Benefit from New
HR Toolkit
Employers throughout the province now have easy access
to human resource management support in the form of a
free, comprehensive toolkit. The Honourable Susan
Sullivan, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and
Employment, officially launched
www.nlhrmanager.ca
today at the Canadian Home Builders Association –
Eastern Newfoundland’s Home Forum.
Minister Sullivan stated that in recent years,
recruitment and retention challenges have been a top
concern for employers throughout the province and the
rest of Canada. This is especially true for small to
medium-sized businesses, which make up 90 per cent of
industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“This new management resource was developed in close
partnership with members of the business community to
assist their efforts in achieving best practices in
employee recruitment and management,” said Minister
Sullivan. “It will help operators of small and
medium-size enterprises meet the challenges of accessing
and sustaining a work force to support the growth and
expansion of their businesses. In addition, having the
toolkit available online makes it easily accessible to
smaller businesses operating in rural areas of the
province.”
In partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador
Business Coalition and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)
Memorial, the Department of Human Resources, Labour and
Employment engaged 150 employers to determine the
challenges faced by organizations and the most effective
ways to address them. Employers identified an
easy-to-use online HR toolkit as their greatest need.
The department used the information gathered to develop
a resource that will satisfy the diverse needs of
provincial employers – especially small to medium firms
that may not have HR professionals on staff.
"I am very pleased that Memorial University's award
winning SIFE team took advantage of this opportunity to
play an active role in enhancing the supports available
to the provincial business community," said the
Honourable Darin King, Minister of Education. “By
assisting with the creation of this valuable toolkit,
these young people gained insights and experience that
will serve them well for the rest of their working
careers.”
“The members of SIFE Memorial were proud to play a key
role in the development of this new and valuable
resource for provincial employers,” said Liam Kelly,
President of SIFE Memorial. “The project fits well with
our mission statement, which is to create local
solutions to global economic challenges. Managing human
resources will be a key challenge for local businesses
as we begin a period that is expected to be marked by
skill shortages. This initiative will help businesses
employ best practices to overcome this challenge.”
“As chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Business
Coalition, I am very pleased to see such a powerful and
accessible management resource developed in partnership
with the Provincial Government and the business leaders
of tomorrow,” said Denis Mahoney. “This toolkit is so
comprehensive and easy to use that all employers should
take the time to become familiar with it and discover
how it can enhance their operations. This initiative
demonstrates the high level of collaboration that
employers currently enjoy with the Provincial
Government, and I look forward to maintaining that
collaboration into the future.”
The new resource is available to employers through many
channels. It can be viewed online at
www.nlhrmanager.ca,
used with the assistance of trained staff at any Career
Work Centre throughout the province, or requested in
printed format by calling the Labour Market and Career
Information Hotline at 1-800-563-6600.
To find out more about this and other labour market
initiatives of the Provincial Government, visit
www.lmiworks.nl.ca
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Media contacts:
Jennifer Collingwood
Director of Communications
Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment
709-729-0753, 690-2498
jennifercollingwood@gov.nl.ca
Denis Mahoney
Chair
Newfoundland and Labrador Business Coalition
709-722 8735
denis.mahoney@mcinnescooper.com
Liam Kelly
President
SIFE Memorial
737-4780
liam@sifememorial.ca
BACKGROUNDER
New HR Toolkit Launched
Current Labour Market Challenges
In recent years, recruitment and retention challenges
have been a top concern for employers throughout
Newfoundland and Labrador and across the country. This
is largely due to lower birth rates, an aging population
and continued economic growth.
The labour market in Newfoundland and Labrador continues
to reflect these challenges. To illustrate, the province
launched the
www.jobsinnl.ca website in November 2009. To date,
over 2800 employers have already registered on the site
and on a monthly basis, those registered employers post
an average of 1100 job opportunities.
The HR Toolkit:
www.nlhrmanager.ca
www.nlhrmanager.ca,
a complementary tool to
www.jobsinnl.ca, is an online recruitment and
retention toolkit for small and medium-sized employers.
It is organized into eight subject areas: Finding
Workers, Finding the Right Workers, Keeping Workers,
Engaging Young Workers, Managing a Diverse Workplace,
The Basics of HR, Compensation and Benefits, and
Employer Support. There are numerous downloadable
resources, including job ad templates, sample letters of
offer, interview guides, and employee survey templates.
Other Provincial Government Initiatives to
Build the Provincial Labour Force
The HR Toolkit is the latest in a suite of recently
launched initiatives that build on the Williams
Government’s commitment to provide the supports industry
and business need to fortify the labour market, thereby
growing the provincial economy. Other such initiatives
include:
2010 02 11
9:05 a.m.
