Human Resources, Labour and Employment
January 20, 2011
Employers and Service Providers Continue to Benefit
from Newfoundland and
Labrador HR Toolkit
The Honourable Darin King, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, recognized today that February will mark the one year anniversary of the launch of the Provincial Government’s Human Resource (HR) Toolkit which has seen extraordinary uptake by small and medium-sized employers throughout the province.
“The HR Toolkit and the online orientation guide are valuable tools that continue to significantly benefit small and medium-sized businesses throughout Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Minister King. “The toolkit was the result of a Budget 2008 commitment to support small and medium-sized employers in response to the growing challenges they face in finding and keeping skilled workers. It is extremely encouraging to see this resource being used so frequently.”
To date, over 10,000 small and medium-sized businesses and community-based organizations have utilized the HR Toolkit in one form or another. The toolkit contains free, easy to use practical guides, downloadable templates, fill-in forms, and sample documents that employers can adapt for use in their everyday human resource activities.
Since its launch, 190 staff have been trained to support employers to use the toolkit. Nearly 800 businesses and community-based organizations have received direct presentations through an ongoing direct-to-business awareness campaign. Another 1,800 employers have received information on the HR Toolkit through conference tradeshows and there have been 8,580 visitors to www.nlhrmanager.ca. Representatives from the Provincial Government will further promote the toolkit at the St. John’s Board of Trade 2011 Business Development Summit today, taking place at the Delta St. John’s Hotel and Conference Centre.
“This initiative allows my department to continue to help operators of small and medium-size businesses meet the challenges of accessing and sustaining a work force to support the growth and expansion of their businesses,” said Minister King. “The toolkit and orientation guide are comprehensive and easy to use, and both employers and service providers will quickly discover how it will help them navigate through today’s ever-changing labour market.”
In 2009, the Newfoundland and Labrador Business Coalition and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Memorial, in partnership with 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. The Provincial Government used the information gathered to develop the HR Toolkit which satisfies the diverse needs of provincial employers, especially small to medium-sized businesses that may not have human resource professionals on staff.
The toolkit and new orientation guide are available to employers online at www.nlhrmanager.ca and can be used with the assistance of trained staff at any Career Work Centre throughout the province.
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 contact:
Bradley Power
Director of Communications
Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment
709-729-0753, 699-5707
bradleypower@gov.nl.ca
2011 01 20 1:20 p.m.