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November 24, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
05-97
OTTAWA, ONTARIO - Belinda Stronach, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal, today announced that the Government of Canada will provide over $1.8 million through the Sector Council Program, to support the development of Canada's skilled work force in the contact centre, the installation, maintenance and repair sectors.
"Today's commitment to these specific sectors is an important investment to ensure we have skilled workers in two very important sectors we often take for granted until we need to them to solve problems for us," said Minister Stronach. "These projects will help ensure that we have the skilled work force to provide service for increasingly complicated consumer products."
The Contact Centre Canada Council (CCC) will receive funding for a project that will respond to skills and human resources needs within the industry. The financial services, telecommunications, utilities, transportation and service industries (such as hospitality, software and retail) all rely heavily on customer contact centres to manage their relationships with their customers-the heart of their businesses. The CCC's goal is to help create the strong work force needed to advance the local, national and international initiatives of the sector. The CCC is a not for-profit organization made up of contact centre organizations, labour representatives and provincial industry associations, along with educational institutions, vendors and consultants serving the Canadian customer contact centre industry.
"Customer contact centres are a mission-critical part of the sales and service strategies of most of Canada's industrial sectors," said Elizabeth Thorn, Executive Director and CEO of CCC. "Contact Centre Canada is the sector council for this important industry, which contributed approximately $36 billion annually to Canada's gross domestic product. We are pleased with the Government of Canada's assistance in supporting the skills development of the sector's work force. It will help us to develop programming that will help employees acquire the skills necessary to keep pace with the needs of our knowledge-based, global economy, thus ensuring the competitiveness of this important part of Canada's economy."
The Installation, Maintenance and Repair Sector Council (IMR) will receive funding for two projects that will help promote a skilled work force in that sector that will address the human resources challenges in the consumer electronics and appliance installation, maintenance and repair service industry.
Sector councils successfully meet emerging skills requirements by addressing skills and labour shortages, and building essential skills in the workplace as a foundation for continuous learning. These organizations bring together business, labour and educational stakeholders in key industries to identify and address common human resources and skills issues, and to find solutions that benefit the sector. They are instrumental in making sure that workers already employed and those seeking employment are well prepared for the challenges of the rapidly evolving labour market.
There are currently 31 sector councils representing traditional industries (such as mining and textiles) and emerging industries (such as biotechnology and the environment), covering approximately 48 percent of the labour market.
Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 2005 federal Budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.
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For details, see the attached backgrounder.
For more information (media only):
Normand Bergeron
Special Advisor, Communications
Office of Minister Belinda Stronach
(819) 994-2482
BACKGROUNDER
Sector Council
Description of Project
Funding
Contact Centre Canada (CCC)
Infrastructure Funding - This project will provide the CCC with stable operating funds, allowing it to focus on responding to skills needs and human resources needs within the industry.
$1,500,000
Installation, Maintenance and Repair Sector Council (IMR)
Scoping Exercise for the Consumer Electronics Repair Sector - This project will identify products being installed, maintained and repaired by the consumer electronics installation, maintenance and repair service sector; identify technical occupations; and make recommendations regarding national occupational analysis within this sector.
$261,396
Career Promotions Strategy for the IMR Sector - This project will enable the IMR board of directors to determine the best ways to increase awareness of career pathways and training opportunities for entry into the IMR work force, and to improve the image of the sector.
$95,133
Total Projects
$1,856,529
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