Canada Employment Center

(15 October 2010 Vaughan, Ontario) Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced the launch of a new business innovation program that will help start-up businesses in southern Ontario create new jobs and gain a competitive edge in today’s modern economy.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science & Technology and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario), and Peter Kent, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs – Americas).

“Our Government is committed to creating jobs and making Canada’s economy more robust, diversified and competitive,” said Prime Minister Harper.  “This program will provide start-up businesses in Ontario with the tools they need to attract investment capital, get new products to market and generate wealth and jobs.”

The Investing in Business Innovation program is based on direct feedback from business leaders, academics and community leaders from across Southern Ontario who suggested the Government take action to address funding challenges for emerging businesses.  It is supported through FedDev Ontario’s Southern Ontario Development Program.

The program will encourage greater collaboration between entrepreneurs and investors, provide improved access to financing for start-up businesses, boost private sector investment in start-up businesses, and help accelerate the research and development of new products and ideas and bring them to the marketplace.

The Harper Government created FedDev Ontario in 2009 as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan.  FedDev Ontario invests in innovation, research and development, skills and training and supports initiatives which increase economic productivity in southern Ontario.

Since July 2009, Canada’s Economic Action Plan has contributed to the creation of more than 420,000 net new jobs in the Canadian economy.  Since last May, more than 211,000 new jobs have been created in Ontario.

Simply Hired®, the leading search engine for jobs and recruitment advertising network, today released its Today’s Job Seeker Report summarizing the results of more than 75 user polls conducted on www.simplyhired.com. The report provides the industry’s most comprehensive picture of both job seekers and the job search process—including job seeker interests, behaviors and motivations.

“The current recession has created a new group of candidates, distinctive in their job search methods and what they want from their career,” said Gautam Godhwani, co-founder and chief executive officer, Simply Hired. “Today’s job seeker is part of a selective, independent and passionate group actively searching for work through social networking and personalized online job sites. We are pleased to share this data through our first-ever Today’s Job Seeker Report.”

Report highlights include:

• Today’s job seekers are looking for a job that they love (83 percent) versus a job that pays well.
• 52 percent of job seekers would prefer to work for green-certified companies.
• Job seekers are looking online (86 percent) to personalized job sites and social networks to discover jobs, including social sites such as LinkedIn (45 percent) and Facebook (24 percent).

To hear more from Gautam Godhwani about the Today’s Job Seeker Report, please watch a short video at http://www.youtube.com/simplyhired.

For more information about Simply Hired’s Today’s Job Seeker Report, please contact SimplyHired@schwartzcomm.com or view and download the complete report at http://scr.bi/bdIKur.

About Simply Hired
With more than seven million job listings worldwide, Simply Hired (www.SimplyHired.com) is the world’s largest job search engine and recruitment advertising network. The company powers jobs on over 10,000 network partner sites, and operates global sites in 21 countries and ten languages on six continents. Simply Hired has raised $22.3 million in funding from venture and individual investors including Foundation Capital, IDG Ventures and News Corporation. The company is privately held and is based in Mountain View, California.

The Government of Canada  will provide more than $757,000 over two years to the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre for a program that addresses the challenges and opportunities of a diverse workplace, Pierre Poilievre, Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton, announced today on behalf of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

“Employers and new Canadians in Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver will benefit greatly from the Multiculturalism Achievement Program for Learning Employers,” said MP Poilievre. “By supporting initiatives such as this, the Government of Canada is investing in the future-a future that depends on all of us growing together through our shared values, history and institutions.”

The Multiculturalism Achievement Program for Learning Employers (MAPLE) will consist of three activities, including:

–  Workshops for employers on improving cross-cultural communication in
the workplace.

–  Unpaid internships for new Canadians with participating employers.

–  ‘Mentor-to-Mentor’ exchanges, with representatives of participating
employers and new Canadians mentoring each other on issues of
intercultural understanding.

“MAPLE is about opportunity – the opportunity for employers to learn how to create conditions to make a diverse workplace thrive, as well as the opportunity for newcomers to develop networks of contacts and colleagues and establish themselves in their chosen fields in Canada,” said Sharon Kan, Executive Director of the OCCSC. “We are pleased that the Government of Canada has chosen to support this endeavour.”

Other partners in the project include Immigrant Services Calgary and the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia.

Inter-Action, Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Multiculturalism Grants and Contributions Program, supports projects that promote intercultural understanding and equal opportunity for people of all cultures and faiths. For more information, please visit CIC’s website.

uTest, the world’s largest software testing marketplace, today announced the results of its Career Sites Bug Battle competition. More than 500 uTesters, from 22 countries around the world, reported a total of 668 technical, functional and GUI bugs in the web and mobile apps of Monster, CareerBuilder, SimplyHired and Indeed.

uTest’s community of software professionals ranked the career sites based on job search accuracy, ease-of-use, profile management, career resources, fraud protection and more. Monster was the undisputed champion of this quarter’s competition – placing first in every survey category, recording the fewest number of bugs per tester and the second fewest number of bugs overall .

TOP-LINE FINDINGS:
In terms of overall bug count, Indeed had the least reported bugs (139), followed by Monster (169), CareerBuilder (171), and then SimplyHired (189). While Monster placed first and Indeed placed last in every survey category, CareerBuilder and SimplyHired were deadlocked in the survey portion of the contest, each receiving favorable rankings in three out of six categories.

Job Search Accuracy Is Most Important
More than half of the testers (55%) chose ‘job search accuracy’ (ability to browse relevant jobs by job title, keyword, location, category, etc.) as the most important criteria when evaluating career applications. Topping this category was Monster, which received a top-two box score (those rating it ‘good’ or ‘excellent’) of 65 percent, followed by SimplyHired (62%), CareerBuilder (59%) and Indeed (54%).

Ease of Use, Career Resources & Security
Ease of Use was the second most important selection criteria, with 23 percent of respondents choosing it. Career resources (7%), fraud protection (7%), resume/profile management (5%), and aggregation capabilities (3%) received the remaining votes. In addition, when asked if concerned about the privacy and safety of personal information stored on job websites, an overwhelming 82 percent of respondents answered “yes.”

“As of August 2010, there were more than 31 million people unemployed, with the jobless rate holding steady at 9.6 percent,” said uTest VP of Marketing & Community, Matt Johnston. “In the face of the worst job market since the Great Depression, more people are turning to the web to find jobs and job-hunting tips. So uTest put the four leading career sites side-by-side and our testing community again proved its ability to quickly mobilize to provide professional testing coverage and usability feedback from around the world.”

(Source: uTest)

The Government of Canada is funding a project that will make it easier for internationally trained information and communications technology (ICT) professionals to find work in their field. The Honourable John Baird, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) will receive over $2.4 million in Foreign Credential Recognition Program funding for its IMPACTS Initiative.

“Attracting and retaining the best international talent to address existing and future labour market challenges is critical to Canada’s long-term economic success,” said Minister Baird. “Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, our government invested $50 million to improve foreign credential recognition so that newcomers can put their knowledge and skills to work sooner. When newcomers succeed, we strengthen the economy and improve the standard of living for all Canadians.”

The IMPACTS Initiative will provide employers in the ICT sector with the tools and information needed to assess the credentials, skills and work experience of foreign-trained ICT professionals, in order to better integrate these individuals into the workforce and retain them.

The project will also develop a model for a bridge-to-work program for ICT managers trained outside Canada.

“ICTC is pleased to receive this funding through the Foreign Credential Recognition Program,” said Mr. Paul D. Swinwood, President of ICTC. “We believe that improved diversity and inclusion of underrepresented groups in the ICT industry will provide critical productivity gains and competitive advantages for Canadian business in a global market.”

Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada is working with the provinces and territories and other partners, such as employers, to address barriers to foreign credential recognition in Canada. This partnership directly contributed to the development of the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, which was announced in November 2009.

To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

(Source: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada)

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Sep 24, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — The Government of Canada today launched a program to help kickstart Canadian businesses by testing their innovative products and services within the Government of Canada before taking them to the marketplace. To make the announcement, the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, is joined by Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible for the Greater Toronto Area, and the Honourable Rob Moore, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism.

“There is no question that in Canada we have enormous talent and potential when it comes to innovation,” said Minister Ambrose. “With this new program, our Government will be giving our talent a kickstart in getting their innovative products and services off the ground.”

This program is a new $40 million program announced under Budget 2010 to encourage federal departments and agencies to test innovative products and services in four areas: environment, health, safety and security, and enabling technologies.

“We listened to businesses across the country in developing Canada’s Economic Action Plan, and an important concern was how they could get their product to market in today’s economy,” said Minister Flaherty. “By testing their products and services within government, we are investing in job creation and in the future of Canadian companies that have innovative ideas.”

“Today’s new initiatives are among the important measures introduced by our Government to ensure Canadian small and medium-sized businesses can grow and prosper,” said Minister Moore. “We are proud to encourage Canada’s tremendous entrepreneurial spirit through this new program.”

“The government is recognizing that the gap between innovators’ ideas and the marketplace is simply someone willing to bet on them, willing to take a chance on their product and then willing to give them feedback so that they can grow their business,” said W. Brett Wilson of the Dragon’s Den. “This program is about giving entrepreneurs a chance, and I’m looking forward to watching as it performs over time.”

For more details about the new program to help kickstart Canadian businesses, see the backgrounders on the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) and on the new www.buyandsell.gc.ca website.

PWGSC news releases are also available on our website at: http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/medias-media/index-eng.html.

Backgrounder:

Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP)

The Government of Canada’s new Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) is a $40 million initiative to help kickstart Canadian businesses by testing their innovative products and services within the Government of Canada before taking them to the marketplace. This is one of the programs in the Government’s Budget 2010 to promote Canada’s economic growth.

This initiative will focus on four key areas that are important to Canadians – environment, health, safety and security, and enabling technologies. There will be four separate Calls for Proposals under the program, the first of which will be released shortly. The selection of proposals will follow an open, fair and transparent procurement process.

To participate in this program, the pre-commercial innovations must meet certain criteria including:

--  They must be products and services that are in the final stages of
    development;
--  They must not have been produced in great quantity;
--  They should only ever have been sold for testing and demonstration; and
--  They should not already be readily available in the marketplace.

Supporting Canada’s entrepreneurial spirit will allow businesses to grow and contribute to the creation of new, high-value jobs.

The program is managed by Public Works and Government Services Canada and implemented through its Office of Small and Medium Enterprises. Canadian entrepreneurs will find out more about the program through different outreach activities, and can participate through the open, fair and transparent competitive procurement processes.

For more information, please visit buyandsell.gc.ca/innovation or www.merx.ca.

You can also contact the CICP team by email at innovation@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca. or through one of the Offices of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) listed at www.buyandsell.gc.ca. You can also call the toll-free line at 1-800-811-1148.

Launch of new, one-stop reference website buyandsell.gc.ca

The Government of Canada has heard from businesses across Canada who are asking for a simpler, user-friendly way to buy or sell products and services for the largest purchaser of goods and services in the country, the Government of Canada.

As a result, the buyandsell.gc.ca website was created by consolidating a number of Government of Canada websites into one, to help businesses who want to sell their goods and services to the Government of Canada, and for the government departments who buy them.

The website will provide improved one-stop access to procurement information and opportunities. The website will also provide Canadian businesses with information on the new Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP), a $40 million initiative to help kickstart Canadian businesses by testing their innovative products and services with the Government of Canada before taking them to the marketplace.

Buyandsell.gc.ca provides information that is reliable, timely and accurate to help Canadian businesses and government buyers by:

--  Making it simpler to find information and help users complete the tasks
    associated with procurement processes;
--  Meeting the information needs of businesses to find opportunities to
    sell their products or services; and
--  Meeting the needs of departments who need such goods and services, by
    providing them with easily accessible information on how best to procure
    goods and services, and providing them with the latest policy updates on
    procurement. 

Developed by Public Works and Government Services Canada's Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME), the new website helps fulfill the Government of Canada's commitment to provide access to fair, open and transparent contracting opportunities for small and medium enterprises across the country.

SAINT-JÉRÔME, Qc, Sept. 21 /CNW Telbec/ – Local youth who face barriers to employment will get job preparation training and work experience through the Government of Canada’s support for an employment project. The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Mégantic-L’Érable, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

“In today’s environment, it is more important than ever that youth develop the skills they need to participate and succeed in the job market,” said Minister Paradis. “By supporting this project, we are helping Saint-Jérôme youth develop the skills, knowledge and work experience they need to reach their full potential.”

Grands Frères et Grandes Sœurs de la Porte du Nord will receive $235,526 in federal Skills Link funding to support its Imagine-Action project, which will help 12 youth facing employment barriers develop life and job skills to ease their transition to work or return to school.

Skills Link focuses on helping youth facing barriers to employment, such as single parents, Aboriginal youth, young persons with disabilities, recent immigrants, youth living in rural and remote areas, and youth who have dropped out of high school.

“Helping youth reach their full potential through learning experiences is one of the key concepts behind Imagine-Action,” said Ms. Carole Dionne, Director General of Grands Frères et Grandes Sœurs de la Porte du Nord. “In addition to building on their strengths and abilities, participants will develop new professional and social skills by directing their own videos depicting the various professions and training opportunities available in the region.”

The federal government is working with the provinces and territories, community organizations and other stakeholders to provide Canadians with the training, skills and opportunities they need to get jobs and contribute to their communities.

Through the 2010 “Jobs and Growth Budget,” the Government of Canada committed an additional $60 million to the Skills Link and Career Focus programs. This additional one-time investment will enable more young Canadians to gain the experience and skills they need to successfully participate in the labour market while the economy recovers.

Skills Link is part of the Government of Canada’s strategy to create the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world. The Government underscored its commitment to this strategy in Canada’s Economic Action Plan. A key component of the Plan is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development. To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

The Skills Link program is delivered by Service Canada, which provides one-stop personalized services for Government of Canada programs, services and benefits. For more information about this program, visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca, call 1 800 O-Canada or drop by your local Service Canada Centre.

This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.

Backgrounder

The mission of Grands Frères et Grandes Sœurs de la Porte du Nord is to provide youth with volunteer mentoring programs based on a human, privileged and meaningful relationship with an adult role model. From August 23, 2010, to May 20, 2011, participants in the Imagine-Action project will be provided with occupational guidance services to help them enter the job market. They will also attend workshops on communications, personal budget management, as well as health and food, and will participate in a community initiative through which they will learn about the basics of directing and producing a video.

As part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy, the Skills Link program is one of three programs that help young Canadians, particularly those facing barriers to employment, obtain career information, develop skills, gain work experience, find good jobs and stay employed. The other two programs are Summer Work Experience and Career Focus.

Skills Link focuses on helping youth facing barriers to employment, such as single parents, Aboriginal youth, young persons with disabilities, recent immigrants, youth living in rural and remote areas, and youth who have dropped out of high school. It offers a client-centred approach based on assessing an individual’s specific needs. The program supports youth in developing basic and advanced employment skills. Eligible participants between 15 and 30 years of age—who are not receiving Employment Insurance benefits—are assisted through a coordinated approach, offering longer-term supports and services that can help them find and keep a job.

If you are a doctor and looking for job in Canada, it’s time to look at Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan government is broadening its search for physicians by allowing doctors from more countries to come to Canada.

Up until now, the province recruited from a list of just seven countries, mostly South Africa.

That will change in the new year when the Saskatchewan government puts out the welcome mat for all nations.

Health Minister Don McMorris says the current assessment, which is administered through the University of Manitoba, doesn’t always fit the needs in this province.

The province hopes the new process will fill the gap in rural communities, where doctor shortages have forced patients to travel elsewhere to get the care they need.

But McMorris says that doesn’t mean all doctors who apply will get in.

“The new assessment will ensure physicians are assessed with sufficient rigor to ensure patients receive high quality care. That’s priority No. 1,” said McMorris. (Source: The Canadian Press)

LONDON, ONTARIO – (Marketwire – Sept. 14, 2010) – Businesses, post-secondary institutions and industry in southern Ontario will benefit from a new program to accelerate the development of large-scale, advanced technology projects with commercial potential. The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), joined by Ed Holder, Member of Parliament for London West, launched the new Technology Development Program today at an event at the Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario.

“Our government’s new Technology Development Program will create jobs and promote economic growth in southern Ontario,” said Minister Goodyear. “This program will create partnerships between businesses, colleges, universities and community organizations to bring promising new technologies to market more quickly.”

The Technology Development Program will provide up to $75 million over four years to encourage research and private sector organizations, post-secondary institutions and not-for-profit organizations to work together to advance new and emerging technologies that have the potential to significantly expand the economy of southern Ontario.

“Canadian universities are doing research that is changing our world,” said Ted Hewitt, Vice-President, Research & International Relations at Western. “By working in partnership with industry and other organizations, we can sharpen competitiveness and develop solutions more effectively and faster.”

The program is a direct result of feedback from business leaders, academics and community leaders from across southern Ontario, who suggested FedDev Ontario take a leadership role in helping to bridge the gap between research and development and commercialization.

“This new program will offer great opportunities for businesses here in London and across southern Ontario,” said MP Holder. “It builds on investments our government has made through the Economic Action Plan, such as the new cargo terminal at the London Airport. Our government again is investing in jobs and growth for families and businesses in London and throughout the region.”

FedDev Ontario was created as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan to support businesses and communities in southern Ontario. Now in its second year of operation, the Agency is launching a number of initiatives to create a Southern Ontario Advantage and place the region in a strong position to compete in the global economy. These initiatives are designed to support businesses and other organizations through partnerships and investments in skills and training; innovation; research and development; and increased productivity. To learn more, please visit www.feddevontario.gc.ca or call 1-866-593-5505.

Backgrounder

Technology Development Program

The Technology Development Program will strengthen and diversify southern Ontario’s economy by providing financial support to bring game-changing technology to market faster.

FedDev Ontario is seeking projects that will significantly contribute to the development of globally-competitive, market-ready technologies with the potential to develop new business opportunities or benefits for an industry, sector or region.

The program addresses the gap between business-driven research and development and commercialization by encouraging the private and public sectors to collaborate on innovative, breakthrough technologies that are one to seven years from market.

Not-for-profit organizations (such as innovation and commercialization organizations) and post-secondary institutions will be eligible to receive funding. Eligible applicants must have matching private sector or other non-government financial support and may apply for contributions of up to $20 million over a four- year period.

Eligible project activities include:

--  Product and process applied research;
--  Engineering design;
--  Technology acceleration;
--  Product testing;
--  Certification;
--  Marketing studies;
--  Proof of concept;
--  Piloting and demonstration;
--  Problem solving;
--  Clinical trials;
--  Pre-commercialization activities; and
--  Commercialization of intellectual property.

Applications will be accepted and assessed on an ongoing basis and applicants will be notified as their projects are approved. All project activities must be completed prior to March 31, 2014.

For more information, please refer to the Program Guidelines available on the web site at www.feddevontario.gc.ca. 519-571-6879