Montreal, Quebec, May 4, 2007- The Honourable Michael Fortier, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, on behalf of the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, today announced $978,966 in funding for the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD). The announcement was made at CSTD's annual national symposium in Montreal. The funding, to support the Investing in People project, will provide Canadian businesses with tools necessary to implement workplace based training.
"Canada's New Government is taking action to ensure that Canada has the best-educated, most-skilled and most flexible workforce in the world," said Minister Fortier. "Our investment of over $978,000 will support this project which will help small and medium-sized businesses share information on how to best manage their human resources and encourage investment in employee skills development."
"With a roster of over 2,000 workplace learning professionals in businesses across Canada, CSTD is ideally equipped to manage the Investing in People project," said Lynn Johnston, President of CSTD. "It provides an outstanding opportunity for workplace learning professionals to demonstrate that training contributes to business outcomes in Canadian companies. The return on investment case studies will not only quantify the business benefits of workforce development, but will provide the tools and resulting best practices for Canadian employers to apply in their own organizations."
CSTD will receive funding for the project through the federal government's Workplace Skills Initiative. In partnership with Human Resources and Social Development, CSTD will develop assessment strategies and evaluate skills development programs and curriculum to determine their impact on key business measures and productivity. This will enable small and medium-sized enterprises to have a better understanding of best practices in skills development and its impact on return on investment.
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This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.
For further information (media only):
Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of Minister Fortier
613-943-4593
Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
For enquiries please contact :
Lynn Johnston
Canadian Society for Training and Development
416-367-5900 Ext. 25
Dr. Lynette Gillis
Learning Designs Online
905-823-3367
