|
|
|
In this issue - June 25, 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
MBOT Hosts Roundtable with Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) President & CEO Perrin Beatty
 (From L-R: Grant Clark, Perrin Beatty, Sheldon Leiba)
Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) was pleased to welcome the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC) President and CEO, the Honourable Perrin Beatty, on June 5, 2012.
The roundtable was made of MBOT executives, committee members and local business community stakeholders.
The focus of discussion was on skills challenge in Canada. The country is currently experiencing a critical shortage in skilled labour and reports indicate that the problem is only expected to get worse if strategic plans of action are not developed and implemented. The CCC has determined that competiveness in a global economy is its top priority and that the success of Canadian businesses will depend on increased access to skilled labour, said Perrin Beatty.
Recent reports by the government of Canada and Deloitte echo Perrin Beatty's message, stating that Canada's average business sector productivity is less than 80 percent of comparable U.S. levels. An aging population is one of the main contributing factors requiring Canada to address its productivity; anecdotally, the Canadian Chamber has heard businesses say that one-third of the workforce will be eligible for retirement in five years.
Perrin pointed out the severity of the situation by noting that, even if under-utilized talent pools such as Aboriginals, women, persons with disabilities, seniors looking to work longer and new Canadians are tapped, Canada will still face a skills shortage.
Areas of strategic importance that need to be addressed may include:
- Setting new aggressive immigration targets.
- Communicating how immigrant talent is an asset to boost economic prosperity and forge strong global business relationships.
- Having businesses make themselves more attractive as employers.
- Strategic planning for staffing.
After all "we're all part of the equation" and it will take a network of partnerships to solve the issues, said Perrin. He ended the roundtable asking what we can do in the local community, so we'll leave you with this question, what is your business doing to increase productivity and competitiveness?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
MBOT in Motion with "The Big Move"
Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) President and CEO, Sheldon Leiba recently participated in the Ontario Chamber of Commerce's (OCC) Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) Caucus, which met with Metrolinx Vice President, John Howe to discuss revenue tools for funding the Big Move plan.
As a result of road congestion and a fragile financial landscape in every level of government, Metrolinx will be exploring a variety of potential revenue tools to fund their implementation of the regional multi-modal integrated transportation plan.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce will convene a task force under the OCC Sustainability Committee and invite members of the GTHA Caucus to explore the various revenue tools and develop strategy and positioning for the network.
The GTHA Chambers agree that a strong, efficient and integrated transportation system is vital for the economic competitiveness of the region.
In December 2011, the GTHA Chambers submitted a letter of support for the Metrolinx Big Move transportation plan. To maximize the potential of the plan, the GTHA chambers have also outlined a number of features, which from a business perspective will be a key part of any future investment strategy.
Mississauga Transportation Forum:
Aware that transportation will play a significant role in the future of Mississauga's growth; Sheldon Leiba also participated in Mississauga's Transportation Forum. Much like the OCC's Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) Caucus the forum's purpose is to begin a discussion around funding and delivering transportation improvements to ensure that City of Mississauga continues to be one of Canada's best places to do business.
For more information on Mississauga's Transportation Forum, please click here.
Quick Transportation Facts:
- Average commute in GTHA is 82 minutes.
- Costs the Ontario economy approx. $3.3 billion each year in lost productivity.
- Growth in the GTHA is occurring twice as fast as the supply of roads and 2.5 times faster than transit capacity. The Ontario Ministry of Finance expects the GTHA to grow by an additional 2.5 million people by 2031, bringing an additional 1.4 million vehicles with them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
MBOT members involved in global business
meet to network, share and exchange
MBOT hosted a meeting with a number of members involved in global business on June 5, 2012, to network and discuss opportunities and challenges to business doing business internationally.
MBOT is fortunate to have many members involved directly in international business or as a related service provider. As part of MBOT's strategic plan, we will be developing programming and initiatives to raise the awareness of business of international business opportunities, provide valuable information and access to resources to help members grow globally, and to create opportunities for networking, sharing and exchange amongst MBOT members involved in global business.
MBOT has upcoming seminars on Doing Business with India and China, launched international familiarization trips, and will continue to provide networking forums for members with a shared interest in global business to meet.
To be circulated on information for future meetings, please contact Sheldon Leiba, President at [email protected] and join the MBOT Linkedin Global Trade Forum subgroup.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
ITS in Mississauga Online Employer Resource
Featured Video(s): Part 4
ITS (Internationally Trained & Skilled) in Mississauga is a program funded by the Ontario Government, an initiative of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, and is part of the Global Experience at Work Program.
The objective of ITS in Mississauga is to create and increase awareness amongst employers on the benefits of hiring Internationally Trained Professionals.
Through the program Mississauga Board of Trade has identified barriers & challenges businesses face when hiring foreign trade professionals. We then explored and identified key service support agencies that are able to help navigate employers through the process of hiring Internationally Trained Professionals.
For the ease and convenience of employers, each agency was individually profiled at www.itsinmississauga.ca under "Employer Resource," but we didn't stop there.
We also travelled to their offices and filmed them to discuss the services they provide and how they have helped local businesses (employers who have used their services were also interviewed).
This installment's featured video is with Centre for Education & Training.
Some services provided Centre for Education & Training are:
- Language Services
- Recruitment & Retention
- Educational Resources
 | |
MBOT- Centre for Education & Training
(An Employer Resource) |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
MBOT EVENTS
For more details on these events, and to view other events, click here
Trip to China Information Session
June 27, 2012
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Mississauga Board of Trade
Doing Business With India
June 28, 2012
8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
The Glenerin Inn
Good Morning Mississauga
July 11, 2012
7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Hilton Garden Inn Mississauga/Toronto Airport
New Member Orientation
July 12, 2012
7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Mississauga Board of Trade
Trip to China Information Session
July 16, 2012
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Mississauga Board of Trade
Doing Business With China
July 18, 2012
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Homewood Suites by Hilton Toronto-Mississauga
Mississauga Business Exchange
July 30, 2012
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Art Gallery of Mississauga
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
FREE Diversity @ Work Seminars
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Mississauga Grand Banquet and Convention Centre
35 Brunel Road, Unit 7, Mississauga ON
Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) in partnership with Skills for Change will be hosting Cultural Diversity Awareness Seminars. The seminars are part of MBOT's ITS (Internationally Trained & Skilled) in Mississauga program and will discuss diversity at the workplace, as well as provide business cases on effective cross-cultural communication and team building in the workplace.
What is ITS in Mississauga?
ITS in Mississauga (International Trained & Skilled in Mississauga) is an employer focused program delivered by the Mississauga Board of Trade, geared at assisting Mississauga businesses with the employment integration of foreign trained professionals.
Through an employer awareness campaign, the program will increase awareness amongst employers on the benefits of hiring foreign trade professionals and the resources, tools and services available to support the hiring, integration, training and retention of skilled immigrants.
For more information and to register please click here.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
BUSINESS MARKETPLACE
-YOUR AD HERE-
|
|
|
