Web site to link employers to candidates

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Companies looking for qualified Aboriginal employees will have a new tool to help in their search this fall, when the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Council of Canada (AHRDCC) launches a Web site for its members.

The site, set for launch Sept. 1, will provide member companies with access to information about all aspects of Aboriginal human resources, as well as providing a communications link for sharing information about successful employment diversity initiatives.

Crystal Kosa is manager of human resources strategies with the AHRDCC. She expects most of the companies joining the council will be those falling under the employment equity legislation.

"Which means they have to recruit Aboriginal people, among others. And that's probably one of the areas in the employment equity area that most companies are having problems with, is finding talented Aboriginal people to work, to retain them, to train them."

The AHRDCC was established in 1999 as part of the federal government's response to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People. The council is a non-profit organization funded by HRDC.

"So our mandate is to create employment and career opportunities for Aboriginal people, and we feel the best way to do that is through gaining the support of corporate Canada to see the need, and to see the benefits of Aboriginal inclusion," Kosa said.

"Some of the things that the council worked on in the past, in 1999 and 2000, were industry projects . . . and they were like the forestry project in Saskatchewan, the apprenticeship program in Alberta, and while those are great projects and we still support them, and still are looking to develop other industry projects like that, like one in information technology we're working on right now, it's very focused to one industry. So we wanted to expand and hit the masses, which we feel is corporate Canada, where we feel we can make some inroads in getting Aboriginal people to work," she explained.

"We want to be known as the premier source of Aboriginal information, as it relates to human resources, employment, training and retention."

Before starting to design its new member Web site, the council conducted focus groups with human resource representatives from eight major companies from across Canada. The companies taking part in the focus groups identified three main areas where they need assistance to increase hiring of Aboriginal employees. The number one need identified was access to Aboriginal candidates.

"They are Aboriginal people, working in organizations, trying to find Aboriginal people to work for them, and they're having difficulty. So they need to know where they can go to find Aboriginal people to work."

Another need identified, Kosa explained, was access to information. "There are too many Web sites and too many sources that they have to go to find that information. So they wanted one place where they could get information on Aboriginal anything."

The third area identified was communication.

"They had to communicate to so many different levels within their own organization, up, across and down. They had to communicate with the bands and contractors, so they wanted an easy way in which to do that."

Based on the information gathered from the focus groups, the council has begun designing the new site to meet the specific needs identified. To improve access to Aboriginal candidates, a talent registry is being incorporated into the site.

"We've got an electronic map of Canada, where we've got all of the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreement (AHRDA) holders. They're the First Nations, Metis and Inuit bodies who receive money from the Aboriginal Relations office to develop and implement employment and training programs. So that's that $13 million that you hear about that is available to First Nations for employment and training. So under our talent registry, we're going to list all these AHRDA holders, because they're the Aboriginal employment agenciesthat are across the country, and there's lots of them.

"One of the things that we found out through talking to organizations is that they don't feel that they can access Aboriginal employees because there's none out there that are qualified. And we're saying, 'well, yes they are,' and we're going to find all of the Aboriginal candidates that are either registered through an AHRDA holder or through an employment agency that has a component in their business that deals with Aboriginal people. So we're going to list all of those," Kosa said.

"So let's say the Royal Bank is looking for a commerce grad for Halifax, Winnipeg and Calgary. Through this communications tool that we're developing . . . they will be able to pull up a form from our members site - and it'll be a job placement form or a job request form - and they will say we have a position in Halifax, Winnipeg, and Calgary for a commerce grad, no experience required. This is the job, this is the pay, these are the three locations. And through this communications network, they'll be able to choose the people that they want to send this job request to. So as part of the development of this communications system, we're loading this, it's a massive data bank. And it's going to have all of the Aboriginal employment centres, all of the AHRDA holders, all of the sub-agreement holders, any employment agency that we feel is dedicated to finding jobs for Aboriginal people . . . So he sends it out, and then they have the ability to respond back to him and say, we have one candidate, we have two candidates, and then they get together and do the interview process, etc. So that's kind of it in a nutshell."

A network for members to exchange information will also be part of the Web package.

"We want our members to be able to communicate with each other on projects and initiatives that have worked," Kosa said. Successful programs will be posted as best case practices on the Web, with information on who to contact for more iformation. "We're building a means for them to communicate beyond the e-mail and telephone calls," Kosa said.

Through the exchange network, members will be able to post specific questions about human resource initiatives, and get responses from other members about their experiences.

Information about industry projects happening across the country will also be posted on the Web site.

"We want to list all the different kinds of industry projects as they relate to Aboriginal people across Canada," Kosa said. "We've got all these great projects across the country, but they're kind of happening in silos and not everybody knows about them. So we want to harness all of them, and provide that information to our members so that they can see what's out there, what's working, and if it generates an idea for them and helps them implement something, then that's what we're trying to do with that, to list all the industry projects. Because nobody's done it," she said.

"And the other thing that we're doing is our best case sourcing. We've got best case practices of different industry projects across the country, and we'll take those industry projects and develop humongous case studies on them-what worked, what didn't work, how did they implement it, etc."

Information about educational organizations will also be on-line.

"This will be a coast to coast, thorough inventory of all the educational institutes with an Aboriginal program. So if there's a company that has an opening for an engineer, they want to fill that with an Aboriginal person, they need to know where they can find an engineer grad across the country," Kosa said. "It'll have qualitative information about the program, the outcomes and requirements. And it'll have all the Web site addresses, etc.

"The other thing that we're going to be researching and putting on our Web site are scholarship programs. What some companies are doing now is they're taking kids right out of high school . . . and they'll say, we'll hlp pay for your education, or we'll give you a job during the summer while you go and get your education, things like that. So there's different people that want and need access to the different kinds and types of scholarship programs that are out there. Some of them are attached to organizations, industries, schools, government, etc. So we'll have a comprehensive list of those."

Starting next year, Kosa said, the council also plans to begin holding an annual meeting for its members.

"It'll be like a human resource conference that we'll be putting on once a year, so that our members can come and network and learn what's happening in Aboriginal HR.

For more information about the AHRDCC or the new members' Web site, visit the council's public Web site at http://www.ahrdcc.com.

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Bank of Montreal recognized for equity efforts

Cheryl Petten, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Toronto

The efforts of the Bank of Montreal Group of Companies to promote equity and fairness in its hiring practices were recognized during the annual Employment Equity Merit Awards ceremony May 23, with the financial institution receiving the Vision Award.

This is the second time the Bank of Montreal has been recognized with a Vision Award; the first time an organization has been a repeat winner in the 11-year history of the ceremonies.

The awards are hosted by the Conference Board of Canada, and sponsored by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC).

Michael Paliga is manager of workplace equity programs, labor standards and workplace equity with HRDC.

The Vision Award is handed out in recognition of employment equity initiatives that "go beyond the call of duty," he said.

"Here's an organization that has established a diversity management training course, which applies to all levels of management. All managers of people at the Bank of Montreal must attend a five-day residential training initiative, which is management leadership week. So they're all exposed to this," he said.

"A whol