And then there were three.
The Surrey Board of Trade, Regina Chamber of Commerce and Mississauga Board of Trade have been shortlisted as the top three chambers in Canada.
The have been selected because they're leading the way on projects that address the skills gap, a leading barrier to competitiveness for Canadian businesses.
Their project was HR Solutions for Immigrant Talent Initiative.
The Surrey Board of Trade is delivering the HR Solutions for Immigrant Talent Initiative in partnership with Douglas College-The Training Group and PEER’s Employment & Education Resources, specialists in developing welcoming and inclusive communities and workplaces.
The Surrey Board of Trade is offering an employer-focused program to assist small and medium-sized businesses in the Surrey region to integrate immigrants into their labour pool. Funded by the BC Government and Immigrant Employment Council of BC Employer Innovation Fund for projects that will design, implement and manage a program to assist BC employers, business associations and industry and sectoral organizations to attract, hire and retain skilled new immigrants.
Through the activities of industry consultants, the Surrey Board of Trade has supported small and medium sized businesses in Surrey for the labour-market integration of new immigrants through 4 elements of this initiative:
1.Resources and training are provided at no cost for employers or employees that participate in the program
2.Training Plans will be developed based on a Business Needs Analysis from the HR Specialist and the business Owner/Manager
3.Business Needs Analysis, job matching and training are arranged to accommodate business work schedules
4.Training can be provided onsite or off-site and outside of regular work hours if required
The Surrey Board of Trade will present their project in front of 1,000 national Chamber and Board of Trade delegates in Kelowna, BC at the annual Canadian Chamber of Commerce Conference on September 28-30, 2013. The delegates include leading businesses all over the nation and Board of Trade/Chamber of Commerce senior staff. The final winner will be determined at the conference.