11/01/2006

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters to Launch Skills Pilot

(January 11, 2006, Toronto, ON) Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), in partnership with Vitesse Re-Skilling™ Canada Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of an innovative initiative in direct response to the skill challenges action plan identified in its 20/20 Vision for the Future.

Canada’s manufacturing employment reached an all-time high in 2002 and industries have experienced a rapid growth in many areas. As manufacturers expand, the supply of quality labour has become increasingly important, since a prosperous manufacturing sector is tied to the ability to innovate, and continuously improve productivity. In addition, Canadian manufacturers need to keep up with the technological advances facing the industry and promote the development and implementation of advanced technology.

The overall objective of the pilot is to assist Canadian businesses in developing more effective and efficient means of coping with skill gaps and skill shortages, finding innovative solutions for addressing their skill needs, and developing appropriate training delivery mechanisms.

This initiative will offer an innovative mechanism that would allow a pilot group of companies to be evaluated on the basis of skill demands and current skill supply to determine potential needs for upgrading of their employees or bringing of new hires.

"The pilot will address skill needs expressed by manufacturing companies," said Dr. Anton Minkov, Director of Programs at Vitesse. "We are able to provide CME members with innovative tools to address technical skill shortages, in particular, the need for highly skilled personnel as well as a way to enhance the collaboration of Canadian manufacturers with academic institutions."

“CME’s 2006 Management Issues Survey indicates that businesses are looking for customized, in-house training to achieve their skills development objectives”, said Ian Howcroft, Vice President of the Ontario Division for CME. “The partnership with Vitesse will allow our members to access this type of service from a dynamic training organization”. 

To obtain more information, CME would like to invite interested companies at the launch of the initiative and join us for a reception on January 25th, 1:00 pm-4:00 pm at the CME Mississauga office, 6725 Airport Rd., Suite 200. Please RSVP by January 22nd to the coordinates below.

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) is Canada's leading business network. Member companies are responsible for 75 percent of total production in Canada and 90 percent of exports. CME provides education and advocacy services for members in priority areas.

Vitesse Re-Skilling™ Canada Inc. (Vitesse) is an independent, not-for-profit organization, created in 1996 to address skills needs of highly qualified professionals. Since 1996, Vitesse has re-skilledTM over 1,000 scientists and engineers. The success of the Vitesse model lies in its ability to bring career-oriented professionals, educators and industry partners together and collaboratively shape cost-effective and customized training solutions.

Paul Clipsham

Policy Director, Ontario Division

paul.clipsham@cme-mec.ca

905-672-3466, ext. 236

or

Dr. Olga Arnaudova

Program Coordinator

olga@vitesse.ca