Starting a Fruit Winery

Five-day workshop, January 23 to 27, 2012

Led by Dominic Rivard, internationally-renowned and award-winning wine master, this five-day program is an excellent source of training and information for those who wish to make fruit wine. Lectures, assignments and tests as well as the textbook will be presented by qualified instructors (Dominic and two others for the regulatory and funding programs).

Dominic has been a consulting wine maker for the last 15 years, specializing in making wine from fruit. Dominic’s training and experience have led to his involvement in successful fruit wine startups worldwide and dozens of medals for the products he produces. Visit Dominic's blog, The Daily Fruit Wine.

Date: January 23 - 27, 2012. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. daily
Location: Saskatoon, SK
Price: $995 + GST / person
Register by: January 15, 2012
Register online: www.steconlinelearning.com

Contact: Tim Ouellette, Industry Consultant, Industry Development, tim.ouellette@sasktourism.com
Phone: 306-933-5900
Toll Free: 1-800-331-1529

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.

SHSA completes STEC facilitator's workshop for staff

The Service and Hospitality Safety Association of Saskatchewan (SHSA) arranged STEC’s Facilitator Skills Development Workshop for nine staff in November.

The 3½-day “train the trainer” workshop builds a solid foundation of knowledge and skills for anyone who delivers training or presentations to adults. The workshop is required for all contract facilitators of STEC training programs, but in this instance the SHSA was looking for a program that would help its staff deliver its own training and services more effectively. The STEC program was a perfect match because it’s tailored to industries in the tourism sector, providing participants with skills and practice that make them better communicators and trainers.

Any organization can use the facilitators’ workshop to help staff create more productive working relationships, and to engage and motivate their clients. The SHSA participants said that in addition to discovering those benefits, they valued the way the workshop approaches planning and facilitating.

More Service Best workshops in Prince Albert

STEC has scheduled Service Best workshops in Prince Albert at a reduced rate to help area businesses create Canada's first Service Best City.

Prince Albert Tourism, Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce, Prince Albert Downtown Business Improvement District and North Central Enterprise Region have challenged local and area businesses to become designated as Service Best Businesses. Prince Albert becomes a Service Best City when 300 of the 500 businesses that are members of the Chamber of Commerce achieve Service Best Business designation.

For workshop dates and registration information, visit www.steconlinelearning.com.

Lake Diefenbaker area teachers ready to deliver Service Best in high schools

Mid-Sask Enterprise Region organized a Teachers’ In-Service workshop in Outlook in November. Seven teachers from schools in the Sun West School Division, and another from Prairie Spirit School Division in Blaine Lake, certified as facilitators to deliver Service Best in the destination region’s high schools to give students a competitive advantage in their summer jobs. Most people get their first job experience working in tourism, so early customer service training can really help.

Diefenbaker Destination Developments is setting the groundwork for becoming the first Service Best Area. As part of its destination strategy designed to improve tourism infrastructure, training and awareness, the non-profit organization and its partners, Whitecap Dakota First Nation, Tourism Saskatchewan, Lake Diefenbaker Tourism, and the Mid-Sask Enterprise Region are working to create a culture of service excellence.

From now until the end of March, the destination area is setting up Service Best in Outlook, Elbow, Central Butte, Lucky Lake and Davidson. STEC is making the workshop available at special group pricing that makes it easier to empower frontline staff to deliver superior customer service. For workshop dates and registration information, visit www.steconlinelearning.com.

Tourism Saskatoon looking for marketing director

Tourism Saskatoon is looking for a Director of Markets & Advertising. Application Deadline is January 20. For details, visit the Tourism Saskatoon careers page.

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.

HR Essentials workshops, Saskatoon and Regina, February 7 and 8

Human Resource management for those who don't work in human resource management

The Human Resource Essentials Workshop provides essential tools and templates to help you with:

• HR Planning
• Staffing and Orientation.
• Training
• Performance Reviews
• Retention

All participants receive an emerit HR Toolkit, designed to give business owners, managers, and supervisors a starting place for building a more effective workplace. The emerit HR Toolkit provides a wide array of tools and templates for organizations to customize. Our facilitator guides you through the topics and tools, helping you gain the confidence to apply these concepts to your own organization.

What did participants say they took away from the workshop?

"A whole new outlook on HR."
"Information shared and exchanged among facilitators and participants."
"A toolkit and action plan."

February 7, Saskatoon; February 8, Regina
Length: 6 hours
Cost: $175/person + GST
Register online: www.steconlinelearning.com
Contact: stec.training@sasktourism.com for registration information
Questions about the workshop: Jan Rodda, STEC Manager of Industry HR Development
Toll Free: 1-800-331-1529

“Bridging the Gap” Workshop

The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council, in collaboration with the Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (STEC), is offering a free, half-day workshop for employment service providers and community-based service organizations called "Bridging the Gap" – Preparing Internationally Trained Workers for Careers in the Canadian Tourism Industry.

The workshop addresses common challenges that these organizations face when assisting their clients who may be transitioning into the tourism sector:

• Identify the needs of employment service providers working with newcomers working in tourism.
• Introduce specialized tools and resources that ease newcomers’ transition into the Canadian tourism sector.

The workshop will take place in Saskatoon on Wednesday, November 30 from 8:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more information, or to register, please contact Darla Wyatt, STEC Career Coordinator at 1-800-331-1529 or darla.wyatt@sasktourism.com.

Help create a National Occupational Standard for Hotel General Manager

The Saskatchewan Tourism Education Council (STEC) is looking for hotel managers to participate in a one-day focus group to provide feedback on a proposed emerit National Occupational Standard for Hotel General Manager. The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council is developing the National Occupational Standard and Essential Skills Profile in collaboration with STEC.

We are looking for managers responsible for day-to-day management of their properties and staff, including those working in limited service or full service properties, and independent or chain hotels. Your knowledge and experience will help create an emerit standard that accurately reflects the realities of the occupation.

The focus group will be held in Saskatoon on Tuesday, November 29 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Reimbursement is available for pre-approved travel expenses, accommodations and incidentals.

For more information, please contact Darla Wyatt, STEC Career Coordinator at 1-800-331-1529 or darla.wyatt@sasktourism.com.

10th Annual Tourism & Hospitality HR Forum

The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) and the Tourism Industry Association of PEI (TIAPEI) present the 10th Annual Tourism & Hospitality HR Forum, November 14-16 in Charlottetown, PEI. The Forum is open to HR and non-HR professionals, both inside and outside of the tourism and hospitality sectors.

Hands-on sessions will focus exclusively on helping you find solutions for the toughest challenges you face today:

• Staffing seasonal operations
• Handling labour shortages
• The impact of social media on your workplace
• Integrating new Canadians and temporary foreign workers in the workforce
• Partnerships connecting education and industry
• Finding the right talent
• Compensation
• Succession planning
• Recruitment and retention strategies Register online today by visiting the CTHRC website.