The Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce announced a province-wide business training partnership with Southeast College on Monday morning. The joint effort will be aimed at providing essential management skills training to chamber members across Saskatchewan.
“This is the Southeast College initiative,” said College vice president Jeff Richards. “Very much what we want to do… is give service to the people that we are accountable to. And that’s the people of Saskatchewan. We are funded by the province of Saskatchewan largely, so we want to be accountable. We understand that our business community says, ‘We need people. We need good people and we need them to stay.’ So we said, ‘Here is how we can help. We can train your people, so you can attract the best people. We can train your people so you can keep the best people and make them even better.’”
The program will be delivered across the province in a number of locations largely partnering with the local chambers.
The decision on which courses to run in each particular location will depend on the demand and needs of chambers members.
“One of the clearest messages from our membership has been the need to upskill their people,” noted Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve McLellan. “Growth is key to business success, and a big part of that is developing and retaining the best people.”
The discussion with the Estevan Chamber of Commerce membership about programming and how it can be rolled out in the Energy City will take place sometime this fall.
“What we’ll do is reach out to the chamber and talk to their membership and say, ‘Here are the modules to choose from. What do you think are the most applicable to your business?’ And that’s how we choose which ones we do,” said Richards.
Modules are one-day workshop-style classes that focus on skills such as supervisory, workplace bullying/harassment, time management, leadership skills and other. The certification will be in two levels and will be endorsed by the Saskatchewan Chamber and certified by Southeast College.
“We’ve built this programming with businesses in mind,” said Richards. “These programs provide folks with real-world skills and tools to not only enhance their management skills but to build better businesses.”
The program is set to launch in the fall of 2019 with classes beginning in Regina with the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. Registration begins on September 1, 2019 on www.southeastcollege.org.
“The opportunity to build a stronger and more adaptable Saskatchewan is something both the chamber and the college are always seeking, and this is another step in that direction,” concluded McLellan.
Richards also said that they hope to start to roll this program in other strategic locations across the province at the beginning of 2020. The Estevan campus is supposed to offer the first modules about that time as well.
There is a pricing structure for the courses, and there is also a chamber member price, which is different from what the general public
“If your employer is a member of the chamber, you will get a reduced rate,” explained Richards.
The details can be found on the Southeast College website, www.southeastcollege.org.
