What Countries And Global Corporations Are Doing To Attract & Retain Talent

This opening presentation will set the tone for the entire conference, putting into perspective the current workforce market conditions in Canada and around the world, and how the projected shortfall in skilled workers will affect Alberta, Canada and the world.

How Singapore Became An Economic Powerhouse With No Natural Resouces, - Only Human Resources

Singapore is a tiny island of about 4 million people off the coast of the Malay Peninsula in South East Asia. In 1965, Singapore was a third world nation. Today it has one of the highest standards of living in the world. Singapore is the world’s busiest container port and a global leader in logistics. It is the world’s fourth largest financial market behind London, New York and Tokyo. Like Calgary, Singapore has a young and highly educated population and is home to one of the most advanced petro-chemical operations in the world – Jurong Island -- yet they do not produce one drop of oil. Hear how Singapore has accomplished this with only human resources.

Creating A Winning Team
There is little need for elaboration when it comes to the achievements of the Calgary Flames this year. This “rookie” team surprised the hockey world when they embraced a common, resilient spirit and became the first NHL team in history to oust three division winners in the same conference all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

This session will appropriately highlight how these hockey talents are kept motivated towards achieving the seemingly impossible – money aside.

Trends In Employee Attitudes In Alberta

An annual Alberta Employee Survey was conducted in 2003 on 10,000 working Albertans by the International Results Group. The results of this survey will be presented during this session to equip business, government and educational institutions and other relevant bodies with knowledge on the needs and expectations of employees today. All conference registrants will receive a copy of the Executive Summary of this study.

A Consolidated Solution – Public/Private Partnerships

In economies that work the best, you often find business and government “working from the same page”. Addressing labour market shortage issues requires the cooperation and coordination of key influencers including the government, business, as well as school boards and educational institutions. This panel session challenges key decision-makers of the government, companies, school boards and other influencers to come up with creative and effective strategies to attract and retain talents for the future of Canada’s workforce.

Second Wind: Capitalizing On Your Existing Wokforce

An increasingly popular strategy employed by the corporate world is phased-in retirement, where employers are encouraged to phase valuable employees into retirement gradually through flexible work schedules, paid time-off and other perks so that employees can be encouraged to extend their work life.

Hear about how delaying the retirement of your most valuable employees can contribute positively to your bottom line.

How The British Construction Industry Is Changing Attitudes Of Children And Parents Towards A Career In The Trades

This entertaining session reflects on the success of UK-based HIT Entertainment’s Bob the Builder in positively impacting the attitudes of parents and children towards the construction trades. Bob the Builder first premiered on Britain’s BBC channel in April 1999. Since then, Bob the Builder has been broadcast in more than 100 countries worldwide and has become the number one preschool program in Germany, Australia and Japan. Bob the Builder has moved more than a million videos and a range of innovative products. Its theme song, “Can We Fix It?” toppled Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind” from the top of the UK charts and has attracted blue chip licensees including Hasbro Toys and Lego.

The Logistics Of Attracting Talent

One of the fastest growing industries in Calgary is logistics. In 1992 there were 21,500 people working in the industry and by 2002 this number had increased to 47,300 (an increase of 120%).

The logistics industry keeps the world fed, supplied and running on time. Without the logistics industry, there would not be an economy. However, like most industries, the logistics industry encounters challenges in attracting and retaining skilled workers. Exel Logistics, a global leader in supply chain management, will share the strategies they use attract and retain a qualified workforce. Exel, a UK listed, FTSE 100 company, does $11.8 billion a year in sales, employs over 74,000 people in 1,600 locations in more than 120 countries worldwide.

Challenges In Talent Attraction & Retention In The Oil & Gas Industry

The typical characteristics of the working conditions within oil & gas include: long hours, hard labour, long distances from home and dirty hands. Now the threat of global terrorism is making the job even more dangerous. It is no wonder that this industry is facing the challenges of attracting and retaining qualified and interested employees. The speaker for this session will share key strategies in attracting and retaining staff in the oil and gas arena.