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Feb 21
Love2

HRPA Edge celebrates its first birthday!

By Events & Holidays

Today we are proud to celebrate the first birthday of HRPA Edge, a paid internship program that connects Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) candidates with participating host employers who need additional resources to address their pressing HR needs on a short-term basis.

It was one year ago today that we – in partnership with the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) – launched this innovative program that has already benefited a number of employers and interns. As an employer, Career Edge Organization has also benefited from the program, hiring an HRPA Edge intern for the role of Recruitment Coordinator.

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Oct 15
Love4

Looking for leaders: Nominations open for TRIEC’s 7th Annual Immigrant Success Awards

By Events & Holidays

The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) is pleased to announce the call for entries for the 7th Annual Immigrant Success (IS) Awards, sponsored by RBC. Each year, TRIEC presents the IS Awards to recognize innovation and leadership in integrating skilled immigrants into the Greater Toronto Region labour market.

If you or your organization deserve to be recognized, don’t miss your chance this year. Employers and individuals are invited to apply or submit a nomination by Thursday, November 15, 2012 at www.isawards.ca.

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Apr 26
Love3

Career Bridge honoured at the 6th Annual TRIEC Immigrant Success Awards

By Events & Holidays

Since the launch of the Career Bridge paid internship program in 2003, over 1,700 skilled immigrants have gained valuable Canadian work experience consistent with their professional experience and education, with over 80% of interns landing full-time employment in their field post-internship.

At this evening’s Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)’s 6th Annual Immigrant Success (IS) Awards, we are absolutely delighted to have the Career Bridge program recognized as the winner of the CBC Toronto Vision Award for Immigrant Inclusion. This award recognizes a unique initiative that breaks down employment barriers for skilled immigrants and has the potential to affect change beyond one organization, while also having a wider impact because of partnerships.

While we are very proud to be the recipient of this award, we certainly recognize that this could only have been achieved with the support of our many partners – host employers, community agencies and educational institutions – and senior business leader champions.  We have also attributed the success of Career Bridge to the quality of talent and the supportive onboarding that is an integral element of our successful internship model.

One employer highlighted in the TRIEC IS Award video, the City of Toronto, has hired over 80 interns since 2003 as part of its HR strategy to reflect the diversity of Toronto’s communities. Through Career Bridge and related strategies, the City of Toronto is actively embedding best practices on the hiring and integration of skilled immigrants. Career Bridge is now active in 14 divisions at the City, all of whom keep returning to the program because of the quality of the talent it brings them.

Furthermore, Career Bridge has recently partnered with the Canadian Immigrant Integration Program (CIIP), a project that facilitates skilled immigrants’ transition to Canada by starting the process before they arrive. Career Bridge supports and accelerates CIIP’s efforts by virtually pre-screening their clients who are job-ready and Career Bridge-eligible. Through this relationship Career Bridge is able to tap into the CIIP client base to identify talent consistent with our host employers’ needs. Career Bridge has the capacity for national reach as a result of the partnership with CIIP and its community focal point partners. A number of CIIP clients have registered with Career Bridge and have found internships shortly after arriving in Canada.

Looking forward, we hope that more employers recognize and use the Career Bridge paid internship program as an effective hiring and retention strategy for qualified, global talent. With the continued and growing support of employers, Career Bridge will remain a sustainable and optimum path to permanent employment for internationally qualified newcomers.

Apr 04
Love3

CEO to present at Workforce One-Stop 2012

By Events & Holidays

At the end of this month, Donna Smith, Vice President of Career Edge Organization, will be leading a workshop at The Conference Board of Canada’s Workforce One-Stop 2012 conference, a rebranding of previous conferences focusing on workforce training and career development (most notably, the National Consultation on Career Development and Workforce Learning, aka NATCON).

At last year’s NATCON conference, we presented our second instalment of employer-targeted Gen Y research. Our myth-busting presentation identified what workplace culture actually means to Gen Y, the impact it has on grads’ career planning, and the kinds of research they do to seek and select their employers of choice.

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Mar 01
Love3

Mentoring & Managing Multi-Generations: 5 tips for employers

By Events & Holidays

Last month, our own VP, Donna Smith, was joined by Lauren Friese, Founder of TalentEgg.ca, and Mandy Sutherland, Senior Consultant, Applied Research and Consulting at Steelcase to share insights and best practices around leveraging the strengths of multiple generations in the workplace.

The “Mentoring & Managing Multi-Generations” workshop took place at the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO)’s 55th Annual Conference and Showcase where members and other engaged professionals gathered to exchange information and learn from informative and forward-thinking presentations that are transferable to their respective communities and workplaces.

During her segment of the workshop, Donna offered five tips to employers looking to develop collaborative, complementary, and sustainable multi-generational workplaces:

  1. Find the “lost” generation: Gen X is often overlooked as a result of being sandwiched between the persistent presence of Baby Boomers and the impatient motivations of Gen Y. Leverage the knowledge and experience of Gen X workers by encouraging them to coach Gen Y workers. It’s a win-win situation: Gen Y get the support and guidance they need to develop professionally, while Gen X gain leadership and mentoring skills.
  2. Establish semi-formal task forces: Bridge generational gaps and impart knowledge by encouraging ongoing networking and professional development opportunities.
  3. Compensation packages based on generational priorities: Opt for flexible compensation/benefit packages that suit the needs of each generation. For example, Gen Y look for dental coverage for themselves, whereas Gen X prefer flex hours or child care for their kids, and Baby Boomers appreciate elder care for their parents.
  4. Understand what drives your employees and meet those needs both individually and as a group: Celebrate the different approaches of each generation, while staying focused on company objectives and project goals.
  5. Manage demographics – don’t just play to the biggest audience: Encourage projects that involve employees from different demographics. This goes beyond generational diversity; recognizing and celebrating differences in culture, gender, and ability all play into a healthy and productive workplace.

Addressing the needs of multiple generations

Furthermore, Donna suggests that the key to successfully implementing all of the above tips is having a clear and mutual understanding of how each generation – and their inherent diversity of culture, gender, and abilities – contribute to the overall business strategies and organizational fit.

We want to know what you’re doing to leverage the potential of each generation in the workplace! Share your tips with us by leaving a comment!

Feb 03
Love4

Career Edge Organization joins GE Canada in celebrating 500 interns

By Events & Holidays

Career Edge Organization is delighted to be celebrating the significant milestone of GE Canada’s 500th intern.

As one of the first organizations to start hiring Career Edge program interns in 1996, GE Canada has continued to leverage the potential of recent graduates, hiring their 500th intern this past December.

“This is an excellent program that brings incredible talent to GE,” notes Terry Peach, Manager of Human Resources, GE Canada.  “The caliber of graduates working in GE has been outstanding, we have offered approximately 40 percent of the intern’s full-time positions, and many of these individuals have gone on to leadership positions within the company.  Others have leveraged their work experience at GE Canada for jobs outside the company.”

GE hosted a celebratory event last Wednesday, bringing together many Career Edge alumni, including the company’s first and 500th interns: Stephanie Bangarth and Mehreen Khan.

Career Edge Organization would like to take this opportunity thank GE Canada for the continuous support of our paid internship programs, and we look forward to another 15 years of launching careers!

Click here to read the press release to learn more about GE Canada and Career Edge Organization’s successful partnership.

Dec 19
Love6

Introducing the new www.careeredge.ca!

By Events & Holidays

Today is a special day in Career Edge Organization history as we are proud to unveil our new and improved website, www.careeredge.ca.

Our new website has been a labour of love that was a collaborative effort, not only of our team but of all our stakeholders, including our host employers, alumni, interns and registrants. We took everyone’s input, needs and ideas into consideration, and the result is something we are very proud of.

Of course, no website is perfect. There may always be glitches or areas to improve, but we trust our site will meet all your needs and beyond! Some of our new features include:

  • One website for all your needs – www.careeredge.ca is now your one-stop-shop for sourcing, hiring and managing recent graduates, graduates with disabilities and/or internationally qualified professionals. One login will give you access to all three paid internship programs, internship postings, current and past interns, a wide selection of resources, and much more.
  • Simple navigation, intuitive design – We’ve combined state-of-the-art technology with user-friendly features to create a stylish and universally accessible website to meet your business needs.
  • Intern management made easy – Finding talent has never been easier! Whether you are posting an internship, completing a hire or using the new performance management tool, our website will guide you through all online processes with easy to follow instructions, “info pop-ups,” comprehensive FAQs and video demonstrations.
  • Practical tools and resources – Our employer resources have all been updated to reflect our new look and our growing knowledge in the areas of diversity, recruitment, Gen Y, and much more.
  • Personal dashboard – Your “Activity Log” will help you stay informed and organized without cluttering your email inbox! Upon logging in you will be greeted with your personal dashboard featuring Messages, Alerts and Notices.
  • Reporting 2.0 – We know how important it is to track and monitor your hiring activity. That’s why simple reporting is integrated throughout our website. Need more information? Talk to your Client Relations Manager about our custom reports.
  • Online performance management tool – To ensure both employers and interns get the most out of their internship experiences, we’ve created this proprietary tool to help guide participating Coaches, Managers and HR professionals through the process.
Please enjoy exploring our website! If you have any suggestions, feedback or  questions, feel free to leave us a comment here on the blog, or visit the Contact Us page of our new website!
Oct 28
Love6

Sound bites from the 2011 Recruitment Innovation Summit

By Events & Holidays

panel smallLast September we announced our upcoming panel session at the 2011 Recruitment Innovation Summit. The conference took place this past week and, not surprisingly, was a great success for the Human Resources Networking Group (HRNG) who hosted the event, attended by hundreds of senior level recruitment and HR professionals from organizations across Canada.

Career Edge Organization was one of a handful of exhibitors, representing the only not-for-profit, diverse talent solution there.

In addition to our booth, Career Edge Organization hosted a break-out session, Global Markets, World Class Talent, which featured a diverse panel of employers who spoke about their successes and challenges in hiring internationally qualified professionals.

Attendees were highly engaged, actively participating in the Q&A following the panel discussion. Many joined us at our booth during the networking reception that followed.

Here is what our panellists had to say during the session:

“We serve over 150 ethnicities within our hospital doors; [there is no] better way to provide culturally competent care than to have health professionals that reflect the patients that walk in the door.”

Kate Wilson
Manager, Corporate Staffing Strategies, St. Michael’s Hospital

“We have an imperative as a government to ensure we are serving [our] communities in a manner that is equitable and which takes into consideration the diversity of its people… There is a commitment to both equity and diversity by the City of Toronto both as a service provider but also as an employer.”

Uzma Shakir
Director, Equity, Diversity & Human Rights, City of Toronto

“We seek to leverage diversity as we reach out to cultural markets within cities like Toronto; leveraging the knowledge and the experience of internationally educated professionals is critical in doing so.”

Blair Crichlow
Manager, Diversity Recruitment, RBC

“[Diversity] is not something we’re striving towards, it’s the basis and foundation of our business. We simply could not exist or compete internationally without internationally educated and qualified professionals”

Peter Kelk
President, George Kelk Corporation

Sep 23
Love3

Career Edge Organization to lead panel at the 2011 Recruitment Innovation Summit, Oct 26 & 27

By Events & Holidays

Paula_CalderonRecognizing our expertise in the areas of employment and diversity, Career Edge Organization was invited by Richard Matthews and the organizers of the annual HRNG (Human Resources Networking Group) Recruitment Innovations Summit to assemble a panel of employers to talk about hiring diverse talent.

Our panel, “Global Markets, World-Class Talent: Building a Diverse Workforce,” will include representatives from RBC, St. Michale’s Hospital, the City of Toronto and George Kelk Corporation, and will be moderated by our own Paula Calderon.

This is a must-attend event for HR professionals and business decision-makers – we participated last year and were highly impressed with the level of professionalism and engagement of participants. To learn more about this event, or to register, I encourage you to visit the event website: http://www.hrng.ca/Conference2011/events.php

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