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In November 2009, the unemployment rate in the tourism sector was 8.1%. This was 1.8% higher than the rate seen in November 2008. In Canada overall, employment rose in November, bringing the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to 8.5%. Despite this gain, employment was 1.9% below the rate recorded in November 2008. After two months of decline, part-time employment in Canada rose by 40,000 jobs in November, while full-time employment recorded its third consecutive monthly increase, growing by 39,000 jobs. Within the tourism industry groups, the accommodations labour force saw the highest level of unemployment in November, at 13.0%. This was due to seasonal employment declines in RV Parks and Recreation Camps. The monthly unemployment rate within the recreation & entertainment industry group in November was 10.8%. For the same month, the unemployment rate in food and beverage services was 8.0%.
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At the request of Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Foreign Credential Referral Office (FCRO), The Alliance of Sector Councils (TASC) is organizing a series of workshops and presentations aimed at increasing awareness among Canadian employers, particularly small and medium sized businesses, of the advantages of hiring internationally-trained individuals.
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Are you a Freshwater Angling Guide or a Hunting Guide? Maybe both? We’d like to hear from you! The CTHRC is currently seeking participants to help us review the Freshwater Angling Guide and Hunting Guide emerit National Occupational Standards (NOS). The NOS documents represent the knowledge and skills required to be competent in these occupations.
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Delegates from across Canada and abroad gathered at the Delta Centre-Ville in Montreal last week for the 8th annual Tourism HR Forum. The opening reception featured very entertaining welcoming remarks from Charles Lapointe, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tourisme Montréal and Adele Girard, Directrice Générale, Le Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en tourisme (CQRHT). Delegates were entertained by a stellar jazz trio as they celebrated the beginning of this year’s forum. This year’s event saw the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) merge its annual event with the highly successful event held each year by CQRHT.
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On October 28, 2009, the CTHRC attended a funding presentation by Pro Prêt, an organization that delivers the Ready-to-Work (RTW) program to immigrant women in Montreal. In attendance were staff from CQRHT and Emploi Quebec, interested funders, and about 20 participants. The presentation addressed the need for the program and shared its successes over the past three years. Along with the presentation, they awarded four graduates their RTW certificates and emerit professional certification. The CTHRC was able to show support to these proud graduates and continue to connect with the organizations that deliver the program.
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On September 29, 2009, the CTHRC met with Visit Denmark and the Conference Board of Canada at the CTHRC office, as part of Visit Denmark’s study trip visit to Ottawa. Participants shared information on tourism performance indicators developments, developing sustainability indicators for tourism, measuring tourism employment, CTHRC-CBOC labour supply-demand models, and the Canadian studies of the economic significance of the meetings industries. The meeting exchange provided valuable insights on research and development initiatives of the respective organizations.
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In October 2009, the unemployment rate in the tourism sector was 6.5%. This was less than the proportion reported for the economy overall (8.6%), but was 0.8% higher than the rate seen in October 2008. Due primarily to a decline in part-time jobs, overall employment in Canada decreased by 43,000 jobs in October. Since October 2008, Canadian employment has declined by 400,000 jobs; however, the bulk of this loss occurred between October 2008 and March 2009. Within the tourism industry groups, the accommodations labour force saw the highest level of unemployment in October (11.1%). This was mainly due to job losses in the seasonal RV Parks and Recreation Camps industry. The monthly unemployment rate within the food and beverage industry group was 7.1%, while the recreation & entertainment industry group had a 6.9% unemployment rate. No significant level of unemployment was reported for travel services in Canada, and the unemployment rate in the transportation industry group was just 2.1%. On a regional basis, seven out of ten provinces had a tourism unemployment rate lower than the total tourism sector. The higher rates in Nova Scotia (10.6%), Newfoundland (13.5%), and Prince Edward Island (13.8%) were primarily due to seasonal job losses in accommodations.
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On October 22, 2009, CTHRC attended a meeting of tourism industry human resource information users and tourism statistics and research specialists. The event was hosted by the Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en tourisme (CQRHT) at its office in Longueuil (Montreal). CTHRC was able to provide expert advice on national sources of statistical information relating to tourism and human resource aspects of tourism. In the process, the CTHRC obtained intelligence and insight on the CQRHT's project to develop and apply industry information as a tool for tourism human resource management and decision making within the province of Quebec.
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On October 15 and 16, 2009, CTHRC attended The Canadian Centre for Language Benchmarks/Centre des niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (CCLB/CNCLC) National Forum on the Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000 (CLB) and the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens 2006 (NCLC) in Ottawa. CTHRC is one of the sector councils that has a current working relationship with the CCLB/CNCLC and was one of two sector councils represented at the Forum. CTHRC’s attendance allowed it to offer insight and make recommendations regarding the CLB’s use and the value it has in the employment sector, which presents opportunities to expand beyond the CLB’s current primary focus in the educational environment. The Forum was also attended by the CCLB/CNCLC board of directors and key stakeholders and was the final part of an eight-month consultation process to validate recommendations that had come out of previous sessions. Key stakeholders were invited to provide feedback on the CLB/NCLC to help the board of directors develop the strategic directions that will support the successful evolution of the CLB/NCLC.
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Niagara Falls’ Great Wolf Lodge took home the top prize for Human Resource Development at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s Tourism Leadership Summit. The award, presented by Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) Vice President, Products and Partnerships Vince Accardi, recognizes a business that has demonstrated a commitment to professionalism in the Canadian tourism workforce through professional recognition, training, and excellence in human resource management. An award-winning property known for fun family experiences, Great Wolf Lodge is passionate about creating a great place to work. Its team focuses not only on recruitment and retention, but also encouraging staff – called pack members – to grow and advance.
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