October 27, 2010 Industry, labour and government gather to chart 's future workforce Minister's forum supports Alberta's Competitiveness Strategy

Edmonton... With Alberta’s competitiveness as a focus, more than 130 officials representing employers, industry associations, labour and professional organizations, educators and government are gathering October 27 in Edmonton to plan Alberta’s future workforce.

“Alberta needs to be ready for the next stage of growth. Our province has an amazing future and we need to ensure we have a skilled, productive, innovative and creative workforce to compete globally,” said Employment and Immigration Minister . “With the global financial crisis and recession essentially behind us, it’s now time to develop policies that will meet the needs of the next generation economy of Canada and Alberta,” said keynote speaker Glen Hodgson, senior vice-president and chief economist of the Conference Board of Canada. “Many of these policy issues are connected to the labour force such as the aging workforce, immigration and productivity.” Participants will review recent progress made in strengthening the workforce through various specific strategies, including review of two newly released reports: Alberta Industry Workforce Strategies Progress Update 2006-2010, an industry document highlighting some of the actions of eight different industry workforce strategies Building and Educating Tomorrow’s Workforce Performance Update 2009, an Alberta government report detailing progress on the implementation of 17 cross-government actions. The full reports are available at www.employment.alberta.ca/betw. During the forum, participants will take part in panel and group discussions which will identify ways to meet future workforce needs, taking other government initiatives into account such as the Alberta Competitiveness Council. -30- Backgrounder: Agenda for Minister’s Workforce Forum Media inquiries may be directed to: Terry Jorden, Communications Alberta Employment and Immigration 780-427-0703 (tel) 780-868-0762 (cell) [email protected] To call toll free within Alberta dial 310-0000. October 27, 2010

Agenda for Minister’s Workforce Forum 8 a.m. Opening remarks Teresa Woo-Paw, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Alberta Employment and Immigration, (moderator)

8:05 a.m. Opening greetings Thomas Lukaszuk, Minister of Alberta Employment and Immigration

8:15 a.m. From Global Crisis to the Next Generation Economy for Canada and Alberta Glen Hodgson, Sr. VP and Chief Economist, Conference Board of Canada (keynote)

9 a.m. Building and Educating Tomorrow’s Workforce update Shirley Howe, Deputy Minister, Alberta Employment and Immigration Annette Trimbee, Deputy Minister, Alberta Advanced Education and Technology

9:20 a.m. Coffee and networking

9:45 a.m. Attracting and Retaining the Workforce Cheryl Knight, Petroleum HR Sector Council Terry Burton, ACTIMS Project Frank Zee, Christian Labour Association of Canada

10:45 a.m. Discussion session noon Lunch

1 p.m. Developing a High Performance Workforce and Workplace , Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology (moderator) Lean Consortiums: Brian McCready, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Edmonton HR Cluster Project: Bev Parks, Norwood Family Centre Building A Diverse and Involved Team: Jason Fleming, All Weather Windows

2 p.m. Discussion session

3:15 p.m. Dialogue on Competitiveness: Overall Factors of Competitiveness , Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance and Enterprise, Government Co-Chair, Alberta Competitiveness Council

4 p.m. Closing remarks 4 p.m. Closing remarks Thomas Lukaszuk, Minister of Alberta Employment and Immigration -30- Media inquiries may be directed to: Terry Jorden, Communications Alberta Employment and Immigration 780-427-0703 (tel) 780-868-0762 (cell) [email protected] To call toll free within Alberta dial 310-0000. Alberta Government | Newsroom | Ministries Listing | Employment and Immigration Home Page | News Releases | Top of Page |

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