Let's do lunch, Regina

Our Ready to Work - Intro to Culinary Arts Students are hosting a VIP luncheon in Regina, and you're the VIP.

Students are learning valuable skills as kitchen staff or food and beverage servers. Now, they want show employers what they can do.

It's not every day that you can have prospective employees give you a hands-on demonstration of their skills. They've created a wonderful restaurant experience.

If you employ staff in food preparation or service, come out and join us for lunch. It's on us - no charge. We think you'll be impressed enough to want to hire these students. There's a variety of dates open, to make it convenient for you, but you do need to make a reservation.

If you're in Saskatoon, don't despair. Our Saskatoon RTW students will be opening their demonstration restaurant in a few weeks, so stay tuned for details.

Meanwhile, here's the scoop for the Regina luncheons.

Dates: October 24, 26, and 31; and November 2, 6, 7, 9, 16, and 21.

Time: 12:00 pm (by reservation only)

Place: Regina Food Bank, 445 Winnipeg Street

RSVP: by  November 16, 2012 to Lynne Kennedy, STEC Manager of Special Projects,        1-800-331-1529

OPENING DOORS TO TOURISM & HOSPITATLITY

Intro to Culinary Arts - Ready to Work is a national career awareness, skills development, and transition to employment program that assists individuals in finding long-term, rewarding careers.  Participants and staff would be honoured to serve you!

In partnership with Regina Trades and Skills Centre, Regina and District Food Bank,  Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council,  Tourism Saskatchewan and STEC

Three Ready To Work projects underway this fall

We have three Ready To Work projects starting this fall:

• Regina (started September 4)
• Lloydminster (started September 11)
• Saskatoon (starting September 24)

First of all, welcome to the 60 or so (we don't yet have a final count for Saskatoon) Ready
to Work participants! We're glad to have you in our STEC "family", and we hope that you'll keep in touch as you embark on your new careers. We always love to know how you're doing.

To the employers out there, if you're in a position to hire new workers, you'll be happy to know that this fall's Ready To Work participants will be perfect candidates that will be ready for employment in time for your busy Christmas holiday season.

Our Ready To Work participants learn the skills that employers look for in entry level recruits, making them ideal candidates for work in tourism, hospitality and remote camp occupations. The RTW program delivers practical classroom instruction; hands-on skills training; safety training, including WHMIS, first aid / CPR, SIRS and Food Safe; and on-the-job mentoring.

Our Ready To Work coordinator has a Facebook account that lets RTW participants keep in touch with one another and to connect with STEC. This is the easiest and quickest way to locate and communicate with many RTW graduates. Employers can use our Facebook profile to find candidates for entry level positions. Just "friend" Ready To Work STEC and post a status update with a link to your job posting.

Parliamentary Secretary announces youth funding in Saskatoon

This morning, Dr. Kellie Leitch, Parliamentary Secretary to Human Resources and Skills Development Minister Diane Finley, was in our Saskatoon offices to announce that the federal government was launching Calls for Proposals to deliver $50 million in funding for the Youth Employment Strategy.

STEC Manager of HR Development Darcy Acton,
Parliamentary Secretary Dr. Kellie Leitch, and
Tourism Saskatchewan Industry Development
Manager Ian McGilp pose for a photo following
Wednesday's announcement in Saskatoon.
(Photo: Service Canada)

We were happy to be part of today's announcement. STEC has been helping our province’s tourism and hospitality employers recruit, train and retain a professional, skilled workforce for more than 20 years.

For most of that time, Ready To Work – Tourism Careers has been an important component of our service delivery.

Since 1994, more than 40 communities and three thousand youth have participated in Ready to Work in Saskatchewan.

Graduates have found long-term rewarding careers, returned to school, and moved from front-line to supervisory positions.

In fact, of the 300 participants who went through the program last year, 80 per cent are still employed.

We're able to get those remarkable results because of the support we receive from federal programs such as those announced today, as well at the valuable support we receive from our provincial and community partners.

That support makes it possible for people from under-represented groups to make the transition from unemployment or under-employment to the workforce. In addition to tourism, a valuable contributor to our provincial economy, participants also find work in mining and other significant economic sectors.

We currently have four RTW projects running in Saskatchewan: Saskatoon, Lloydminster, Regina, and La Ronge.

Nominate someone you know as "Tourism Ambassador"

I bet you know someone who makes a tremendous contribution toward tourism in Saskatchewan. Maybe it's someone who makes every customer feel like a million bucks. It could be a coworker who inspires professionalism among everyone in the workplace. Perhaps you know of an instructor who has made an outstanding contribution to tourism or hospitality education. We want to hear your suggestions for this year's "Tourism Ambassador" awards at the 19th Annual Saskatchewan Tourism Professional Recognition Dinners, June 11 in Saskatoon and June 13 in Regina. Nominations are accepted until Friday, May 11. Download the nomination form (PDF).

Nominations are open in each of the five industries that make up the tourism sector:

• Accommodations,
• Food & Beverage Services,
• Recreation and Entertainment,
• Transportation, and
• Travel Services, as well as
• Educator of the Year.

Nominees for an Ambassador Award must meet the following criteria:

• be Certified in a tourism occupation,
• be active in tourism,
• embody the values of Certification, and
• exhibit an ongoing commitment to professionalism in tourism.

Download the nomination form (PDF).

If you have any questions, please contact:

Lesley Welter
Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council
Suite 102, 202 Fourth Avenue North
Saskatoon SK  S7K 0K1
Phone:  (306) 933-7188  Fax: (306) 933-6250
Toll Free:  1-800-331-1529
Email:  lesley.welter@sasktoruism.com

Awards may not be given for all industries in every year. Last year's awards were presented for Accommodations, Recreation and Entertainment, Food and Beverage, and Educator of the Year.

HR Essentials for tourism business owners and managers

HR Management - for people who aren't HR Managers

STEC is holding two workshops on human resources management for people who aren’t HR managers. HR Essentials provides a five-step process that shows you in less than six hours how to find reliable employees, create a productive workplace and reduce expensive staff turnover. With your own copy of the emerit HR Toolkit, you’ll learn how to prepare job advertisements that get results, create application forms that ask the right questions, and conduct interviews that weed out unqualified candidates. The workshop shows you how to build a winning team that keeps your business competitive and lets you plan for a secure future. The workshop also covers occupational health and safety, employee orientation, and staff training. Your HR Toolkit contains all the forms and templates you need to get started right away.

Two HR Essentials workshops are scheduled: in Saskatoon, Tuesday, February 7; and in Regina, Wednesday, February 8. Cost is $175/person, plus GST. For more information, visit www.steconlinelearning.com.

RTW Culinary Arts holds VIP luncheon in Regina

Mouth-watering duck salad starts VIP
luncheon as participants showcase their
talents at the conclusion of Ready to
Work (RTW) – Intro to Culinary Arts –
Tourism Careers.

Participants concluding their Ready to Work (RTW) – Intro to Culinary Arts – Tourism Careers program in Regina hosted a VIP luncheon at the Adult Centre for Employment Readiness and Training (ACERT), November 18. The luncheon allowed 19 adult students to showcase their skills to their families and local MLAs.

Ready to Work is a career awareness, skills development, and transition-to-employment program that assists individuals in finding long-term, rewarding careers in the tourism sector. It is coordinated nationally through the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) and delivered in Saskatchewan by the Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (STEC), a division of Tourism Saskatchewan, with support from federal, provincial and community partners. In Regina, these partners include the City of Regina, Regina Trade and Skills Centre (RTSC), Regina Food Bank, First Nations Employment Centre and Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce.

Upcoming Service Best workshops

Sign up today for STEC's award-winning, internationally recognized workshop, designed to help your frontline staff deliver superior customer service. This entertaining and interactive workshop provides useful tools to help you create memorable customer experiences, identify and respond to customer needs, and turn dissatisfied customers into loyal allies.

If your business achieves 60 per cent or greater staff or management participation in Service Best, it will receive recognition through our Business Recognition program.

If you want to give your business a competitive edge, register for this one-day workshop today!

• January 10, Regina
• January 17, Saskatoon
• January 18, Prince Albert Service Best Initiative
• January 24, Humboldt
• January 25, Prince Albert Service Best Initiative
• February 1, Prince Albert Service Best Initiative
• February 8, Prince Albert Service Best Initiative
• February 15, Prince Albert Service Best Initiative
• February 22, Prince Albert Service Best Initiative
• February 29, Prince Albert Service Best Initiative

Register online: www.steconlinelearning.com User registration and ID required. We never share your personal information. Registration is fast, easy and free. If your organization is a member of Tourism Saskatchewan, your discounts are applied automatically each time you register for a workshop.

Contact: stec.training@sasktourism.com

Toll Free: 1-800-331-1529

Open to the public. Pre-registration required.

Download the Service Best flyer.