Heidy Kux-Kardos, with husband Charles, owns the Alaska Hotel, the longest continuously operating business in Dawson Creek, BC. She says that many of her employees come with “a very limited educational background,” so she has always been a strong believer in “continuous professional development” for her staff.
“Traditionally, the hospitality industry employed entry-level people. Someone would be hired, pointed to a coffee pot and told to go for it,” she says. “I changed that by writing an operations manual and keeping an eye open for government funding to train staff.” She has since seen numerous employees become certified in FOODSAFE, SuperHost (now WorldHost), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and first aid.
Kux-Kardos became aware of the WTI program through an email campaign. Applications and instructions were provided immediately and she says she received a cheque within two weeks of approval. She is using some of the money for four employees to become certified bartenders and two to take supervisory skills certification. The training is done online through the emerit Professional Certification program. She used half the funding to implement a workshop for the entire staff on leadership, team building and conflict resolution in the workplace.
“In these hard economic times, we wouldn’t be able to pay for our employees to take more training if it weren’t for this program,” she says. “I don’t think of the training as to how it will benefit our company as much as how it will benefit the employee. It’s the perfect opportunity for our staff to get credentials to set them on their way if and when we decide to sell our business.”
Andrew Dergousoff |
International Conference Services Ltd., based in Vancouver, facilitates conferences. Some of its projects have attracted as many as 6,000 attendees, so event details, sponsors, hotel rooms and data must be efficiently coordinated. This is no job for a pencil and ledger. Andrew Dergousoff, ICS's executive assistant, says the company relies on commercial software that is constantly expanding with new modules to handle more aspects of the conference business.
Previously, ICS tried to update staff over the Internet but found that process frustrating. When Dergousoff became aware of the WTI program through go2’s e-newsletter, he realized that the company could have an instructor from the software vendor come in for hands-on training.
“The process of getting the funding was incredibly quick,” says Dergousoff. “I received the first email at the end of December telling me about the program. We got the application documents right away. And then the package with the cheque and the intake forms came in the mail in about a month.”
The money will cover the cost for the vendor’s expert to visit ICS’s Vancouver office and train five people for two days. “It’s money you wouldn’t normally have to spend on yourself,” says Dergousoff. “And it goes to making our company more competitive internationally.”
Does this opportunity for hands-on training help keep the staff engaged with their careers? “One hundred per cent,” say Dergousoff. Does the WTI program give ICS a competitive edge in a faltering economy? “Big time,” he says.
If you employ fewer than 50 people, are in good standing with the provincial Corporate Registry and have existed as a company for one year or more, find out more about the WTI program here.
