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November 25, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
05-98
OTTAWA, ONTARIO - The Honourable Joe Fontana, Minister of Labour and Housing, today announced that the Government of Canada will provide over $1.8 million through the Sector Council Program to the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC) to promote a skilled workforce in the trucking sector.
"With the growing pace of innovation and changing demographics in all sectors of our economy, we must focus more than ever on the skills of our workforce," said Minister Fontana. "One of the sectors where the demand for skilled workers is particularly acute is trucking. Today's investment will help ensure that we continue to have skilled workers in the trucking industry. And that in turn will ensure that Canadian businesses continue to thrive."
The CTHRC will use the funding for two projects to help ensure that Canada's trucking sector continues to have the skilled labour force it requires to be competitive and meet the needs of Canadian businesses.
The Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council provides cost-effective tools to help companies recruit, train and retain the human resources needed to meet the current and long-term requirements of the trucking industry. One of the Council's main goals is to raise awareness of the many long-term career opportunities in the industry. By increasing the pool of applicants and promoting better human resources management practices, the Council helps the industry to recruit and retain skilled workers.
"Raising the level of professionalism in our industry and promoting a positive image are crucial to sustaining and growing our workforce," said Linda Gauthier, Executive Director of the CTHRC. "Without them we will not be able to meet the needs of Canadian business and the public."
Today's announcement is linked to Canada's Workplace Skills Strategy, which seeks to help Canadians become the best-trained, most highly skilled workers in the world, and to ensure that employers' needs are met. The Government of Canada recognizes that Canada's future competitiveness depends on a highly skilled workforce and on high-performance workplaces that focus on skills development. It will join with business, unions, provinces and territories, sector councils, and workers to ensure that all Canadians have the opportunity to develop skills enabling them to obtain meaningful and productive jobs.
Sector councils successfully meet emerging skills requirements, 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 environment). The sector council network now covers approximately 48 percent of the labour market. The Government of Canada is committed to strengthening and expanding the network of sector councils so that more Canadian workers benefit from them.
Funding for these projects was provided for in the February 2005 federal Budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.
The projects have been reviewed to ensure compliance with the Department's administration of its grant and contribution programs, and are subject to review under the Financial Administration Act.
For details, see the attached backgrounder.
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For more information (media only):
Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
(819) 994-5559
BACKGROUNDER
Sector Council
Description of Project
Funding
Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council
Revision of Professional Driver Recognition Program - The Council will expand an existing, stand-alone provincial professional driver recognition program into a Canada-wide program that reflects national occupational standards.
$642,399
Trucking Outreach, Phase 2 - This project will implement an integrated corporate marketing and communications program to increase awareness within the trucking industry of the Council and its human resources products and services.
$1,182,075
Total Projects
$1,824,474
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