In 2023, TIAO is encouraging FORWARD MOTION to ensure we are providing our members and stakeholders with the most current and relevant resources to allow them to be successful at the pace at which they are ready.

FORWARD MOTION is the title of our stakeholder call series. These will be scheduled on an as-needed basis, featuring presentations from industry experts on a specific topic, event, opportunity, or service, ranging from cyber security to opportunities that you may want to be involved in to make your business succeed.

As essential, FORWARD MOTION will also feature industry updates, presented by the TIAO team, when applicable, that allow you to have the current information required to operate your business.

Check this page often for the events that are being scheduled....or tell us what you would like to see.

Upcoming Sessions

A Blended Workforce: June 13

With the tourism sector facing a serious staffing shortfall, employers need to get creative – and smarter – in how we build and sustain our workforce. Learning to get by with a smaller and more nimble staff is not just necessary, but it’s potentially transformative: we have the opportunity to rethink our recruitment strategies, restructure how our teams work together, and re-imagine the products that we offer. As we move towards a new normal of a fluid and dynamic labour force, fostering a focus on skills and competencies rather than jobs will allow us to reach the untapped potential of everyone we work with.

Evan Hazenberg
Director,Labour Market Intelligence
Tourism HR Canada

Evan Hazenberg is currently the Director of Labour Market Intelligence at Tourism HR Canada. He has lived and worked in Canada, in Japan, in New Zealand, and in the UK. Before joining THRC, he was a lecturer for five years in the School of Media, Arts and Humanities at the University of Sussex, in England.

Quick Access: Webinar Registration Links

June 13, 2023: A Blended Workforce

Past Sessions

Attracting, Building and Retaining an Indigenous Workforce

Unlock the full potential of Indigenous talent in your workplace through collaboration. Explore the keys to success in Ontario's Indigenous tourism landscape, focusing on holistic approaches, authenticity, reconciliation, and mentorship.

Speakers:

Kevin Eshkawkogan, CEO, Indigenous Tourism Ontario (ITO)
Adam Morrison, CEO, Ontario Tourism Education Corporation (OTEC)
Carol Greenwood, Vice-President, Operations and Partnerships, TIAO

How to Grow Your Business With Great Employees: Costing It Out in Your Company

It’s hard not to worry about the future of work in the tourism industry. But under the right conditions, tourism can be a primary choice for talented people who want a career in the industry.

Speakers:

Meghan James, General Manager, Somewhere Inn (Calabogie)
Aaron Binder, CEO Go Tours Canada (Toronto) & Segway of Ontario

Session Recording

How Much Should I Pay?

Figuring out compensation is a balancing act. The question of what to pay always weighs heavily on tourism operators, particularly in today's tight labour market. Is it all about dollars and cents? Or are there ways that you can re-imagine your total compensation package that will keep you competitive without breaking the bank?

Speakers:

Evan Hazenberg, Director, Labour Market Intelligence, Tourism HR Canada

Session Recording Slide Deck

Building A Team That Stays

Learn the top three HR problems facing our industry, seven practical steps you can take today to create a workplace that attracts and retains talent—and why investing in people is good for business.

Speakers:

Philip Mondor, President & CEO, Tourism HR Canada

Session Recording Slide Deck

Building A Seasonal Workforce

Join Tourism HR Canada to kick off the Building A Resilient & Vibrant Workforce series. Learn why—and how—to hire international talent. This webinar includes practical tips, useful resources, clear benefits, and success stories from businesses just like yours that hired internationally trained workers.

Speakers:

Jasmine Qi, Senior Manager, Program Development and Innovation, Tourism HR Canada

Session Recording Hiring International Talent A Guide to Help Employers Labour Market Information

Regenerative Approach to Tourism in Canada

Learn more about the future of tourism, wealth and well-being for Canada, and regenerative approaches that can offer a new lens on the role of the tourism sector with Destination Canada.

Speakers:

Erica D'souza, Senior Program Manager, Destination Development, Destination Canada
James Anderson, Market Intelligence Analyst, Destination Development, Destination Canada

Session Recording

Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge - Understand how you can improve your sustainability performance between now and 2030

Angela Nagy from GreenStep Solutions showed us how the Sustainable Tourism Pledge can be cascaded down to your members - for the collective good in ensuring that Ontario has the biggest commitment towards sustainable tourism in Canada. The Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge is a commitment to improving the sustainability of your tourism business or destination between now and 2030.

This is more than a pledge. The purpose of the Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge is to help tourism businesses and destinations measure and improve their sustainability performance. By simplifying the steps and removing the cost barrier through our free measurement tool, we can create a common framework and benchmark for the global tourism industry.

Over time, by offering best practices, free resources, tools, and templates, we will break down the steps for tourism destinations and businesses to incorporate sustainability into their operations in a simple, yet meaningful way. By signing on the Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge, your organization will receive access to these tools, templates, and resources as they come available.

International Living Wage Week

A living wage is an hourly wage a worker needs to earn to cover their basic expenses and participate in their community.

A living wage is not the same as the minimum wage, which is the legislated minimum all employers must pay and is set by the provincial government. The living wage reflects what people need to earn to cover the actual costs of living in their community. The living wage draws on community-specific data to determine the expenses of a family with two working adults and two children. Living wage employers voluntarily decide to pay a living wage and maintain their certification as new rates are calculated for their area.

Session Recording Employer Guide

Tourism Relief Fund Info Session + Micro credentials for Building Talent

Did you know that 44.5% of Canadian businesses are experiencing difficulties finding candidates who possessed the skills needed to do the job at the required level?

- Explore what micro-credentials are and how it they can help job seekers improve their employability

- Understand how a single micro-credential, or a ‘stack’ of micro-credentials, can show how a worker is mastering the skills needed to be successful

- Learn how recruiters and employers can use micro-credentials to support upskilling and reskilling of job seekers and current staff

- See how micro-credentials are validated and tracked with online badges that can be added to resumes

Speakers:

Christos Bakalakis, Director, Community Recovery Initiatives, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev ON)
Mandie Abrams, Executive Director, Hospitality Workers Training Centre (HWTC)

TRF Info Session Recording HWTC Presentation

Recruiting and Retaining

Is your sourcing/recruiting and talent management process truly inclusive? Identify the challenges and opportunities related to sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding people with a disability. Identify potential barriers for people with disabilities in the talent pipeline. Review best practices to develop the talents and skills of employees with disabilities and create opportunities for them to prosper within your organization.

Speakers:

Lisa Kelly, BA, CWC Dip, RVP, RRP, Program Manager on the Discover Ability Network, Ontario Chamber of Commerce

Session Recording

10 Things You Can Do to Make Your Business Accessible

What does it mean to make a business accessible? How do you do it? Are the considerations for staff and patrons different or do they overlap? This workshop addressed all of these questions and more.

Speakers:

Donald Guse Salah, Program Manager for the Discover Ability Network, Ontario Chamber of Commerce

Session Recording

Smart Serve Recertification: What You Need to Know

Due to the recent changes to the liquor framework in Ontario, all existing Smart Serve certificate holders are impacted as of July 1, 2022. As such, TIAO hosted a webinar to outline some of the new regulations, highlight the new Liquor License and Control Act (LLCA), and how you will be impacted by these changes.

Speakers:

Richard Anderson, Executive Director, Smart Serve
Caitlyn Drexler, Policy and Research Officer, TIAO

Session Recording

WSIB - Health & Safety Excellence Program

We learned more about Workplace Safety and Insurance Board's Health and Safety Excellence program as well as eligible rates for small businesses (up to 99 employees).

Speaker:

Helen Grasso, Program Management Consultant, WSIB

Presentation

KIND Summer Fair

The Kind Summer Fair is coming to Toronto in 2022! Join the Cannabis Tourism Zone with your tourism experience. Access 10,000 consumers and engage with them directly to showcase your tourism experience!

Speakers:

Jennifer Mason, Founder, New Heights Cannabis
Nicole Wolff, Chief Experience Officer, KIND Media & Events

Attention DMOs! Destinations International is Coming to Toronto in July

The first session took place on Tuesday, May 24 at 2 pm ET and we were be joined by Julie Holmen and Minto Schneider who shared information on the opportunity happening in July - when for the first time ever, Toronto, was selected as the host city for Destinations International's convention.

Speakers:

Julie Holman, Membership Engagement Consultant, Destinations International
Minto Schneider, President & CEO, Inter Ocean Inc.