MTEC is Pleased to Announce a New Workshop!

March 6, 2014 - In This Issue:

NEW MTEC Workshop

Serving the Diverse Guest: LGBTTQ Awareness

Manitoba BEST Service Excellence now available in French!

Spring Job Fair Date Set!

March & April Training

Safety Corner

Upcoming Safety Training

MTEC is pleased to announce a new workshop on April 16!

First Impression of Your Business

Having a professional, well decorated space would be what you think would create a customer's first impression of your business. In most cases your employees are the first thing that a customer sees as they enter your premises. If not first thing, then certainly second thing.

What image of your business are your employees creating? Do they look professional? Are they well groomed and neat in appearance? Does your business have a dress code?

Uniforms are a good start, but realistically not all businesses are willing or wanting to invest in uniforms. Uniforms also only go so far in creating a professional look. We live in a world of tattoos, body piercings and "extreme hair colours." What are the employer's rights? What can they expect or enforce when it comes to their employees appearance?

How can personal appearance affect a person's ability to gain employment or if employed; get promoted? An employee may not realize that their "look" is limiting career options in their place of employment.

To register for this workshop please contact us at 204-957-7437 or email register@mtec.mb.ca. For more information on this workshop please contact Luanne Christensen at lchristensen@mtec.mb.ca.

Congratulations!

MTEC would like to congratulate Jacques Arnal on becoming the first certified General Manager in Manitoba! Jacques has successfully completed emerit certification, which is based on national occupational standards. Certified professionals have demonstrated that they have met those standards, gaining recognition as a top performer in their field.

Certification from emerit identifies and recognizes candidates who meet the National Occupational Standards for their occupation. National Occupational Standards are documents that catalogue the skills and knowledge required to be competent in an occupation. Certified professionals have demonstrated that they have met the Standards, gaining recognition as a top performer in their field and the increased job mobility and opportunities that industry credentials provide.

Serving the Diverse Guest: LGBTTQ Awareness

As Manitoba's tourism industry increases, so will the diversity of our guests. The purpose of this session is to help bring a foundational level of awareness of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. You will take away best practices to be LGBT-welcoming and ensure all guests have an enjoyable stay at your destination. Hoteliers seeking accreditation to be LGBT-welcoming through the "TAG Approved Accommodations" Program may use this as part of their training requirement.

At the end of the session, participants will:
* Be more familiar with terms and definitions
* Evaluate myths, stereotypes, and assumptions about people who identify as LGBT and how it may impact service excellence
* Identify the foundations of a respectful tourism workplace which values diversity and inclusion
* Learn best practices when serving LGBT guests and colleagues.

Date: March 11, 2014, 9:00am-12:00pm

Cost: $49.00+GST

For more information or to register please contact register@mtec.mb.ca or call (204) 957-7437.

Manitoba BEST Service Excellence now available in French!

MTEC has partnered with the Université de Saint-Boniface to translate this successful training program into French. The first session will be held on Friday March 21, 2014 at the Université de Saint-Boniface. This workshop provides the basics of excellent and consistent customer service, and focuses on the important role of the individual in building client loyalty and creating a positive impression of the business.

It contains 6 modules: 1) Be Professional 2) Manitoba BEST Attitude 3) Doing Your BEST 4) Managing Risk 5) Service Recovery 6) Be a Manitoba BEST Ambassador. Registration to this session is $145.00 plus gst.

To register contact Renée-Lynn Gendron by email at rgendron@ustboniface.ca or by telephone at 204-237-1818, ext 315 or Rachid El Aaji either by email at relaaji@ustboniface.ca or by telephone at 204-237-1818, ext 446.

Spring Job Fair Date Set! April 23, 2014 at the RBC Convention Centre

MTEC strives to enhance the performance and ensure the sustainability of Manitoba's tourism, hospitality and retail industries. One of the areas in which we work towards being your go-to source is in helping with talent attraction. Two of the easy to access tools that MTEC offers are the Semi-Annual Job Fair and the MTEC Job Board. Employers can participate in this spring's recruitment event, on Wednesday April 23, 2014, at the RBC Convention Centre.

Spring MTEC Job Fair: On April 23, 2014, the RBC Convention Centre will host industry businesses for the Spring MTEC Hospitality, Tourism and Retail Job Fair. Past years have seen an average job-seeker attendance of close to 350, with the past two job fairs attracting over 500 job-seekers. The average applications received by employers is 90, and the average interviews arranged are 19. All this for a $175 registration fee! If your business is interested in participating at this event, please click here for the registration form. For more details about the job fair, please contact Patricia Walker (pwalker@mtec.mb.ca) or Luanne Christensen (lchristensen@mtec.mb.ca).

MTEC Job Board: How has the MTEC Job Board helped the hospitality, tourism and retail businesses attract new talent? During 2013, the Job Board was visited an average of 12,000 times per month. 409 jobs were posted for positions in 39 communities during 2013.

How do we promote the Job Board? Every second week, we email employment counsellors, Employment Manitoba and other similar organizations, reminding them to encourage their clients to review the open positions in their communities across the province. We also have bus-bench advertising in Winnipeg that mentions the MTEC Job Board. If you have any questions about the MTEC Job Board, please contact Luanne Christensen at lchristensen@mtec.mb.ca.

March & April Training

Keep Your Business Profitable - Invest Your Time In Training!

*We are offering 15 complimentary seats for many of the following sessions. Sign up now!

*Reading & Understanding Financial Statements & Using Them as a Management Tool

March 11 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

Serving the Diverse Guest: LGBTTQ Awareness

March 11 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

COST: $49.00+GST

*Marketing Your Business in a Digitally Savvy World

March 13 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Handling Difficult Situations

March 18 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Networking - The Power of Connected People

March 20 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

Manitoba BEST Service Excellence - Le Manitoba à son MEILLEUR!

March 21 | 9:00am-4:00pm | More Info

COST: $145.00+GST

*Manitoba BEST Managing Service Excellence

March 25 | 9:00am-4:00pm | More Info

*Assertiveness For Professionals

March 27 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Winnipeg BEST Ambassador

April 1 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Who Will Run Your Organization When You Can't - Creating A Back Up Plan

April 9 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Communication Skills For Business: Training for the Success of Your Business

April 10 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Self Confidence In A Snap

April 11 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Blogging For Business

April 15 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*First Impression of Your Business

April 16 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Retail Merchandising

April 22 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Professional Telephone Skills

April 24 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Basic Business Math: The Numbers That Will Help Your Business Succeed

April 28 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

*Developing Coaching Skills

April 29 | 9:00am-12:00pm | More Info

Contact MTEC at 204-957-7437 or email register@mtec.mb.ca.

All courses will be held at our new MTEC Learning Centre, 75 Scurfield Boulevard, Unit 3, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3Y 1P6.

Safety Corner

Steps for Life - Walking for Families of Workplace Tragedy is a 5 km fundraising walk to help support families who have suffered from a workplace fatality, life-altering injury or occupational disease. It's the primary fundraising event for Threads of Life, a national registered charity dedicated to supporting families of workplace tragedy. It provides Canadian families with a community of support and healing.

The walk raises awareness about the importance of workplace health and safety to all Canadians. Let's work together to prevent other Canadians from being injured or killed on the job.

Steps for Life is traditionally held the first Sunday in May as part of the North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week. The Winnipeg Steps for Life Walk will take place on Sunday, May 4, 2014 at Kildonan Park (North Shelter) - 1015 Main Street Winnipeg, MB. Registration starts at 10:00 am, walk starts at 11:00 am.

Early Bird Registration (By April 15)

Individual: $10/person

Children under 14: FREE

(Children and youth must be accompanied by a parent or guardian).

Team (Team of up to 10 participants): $100

For more information about the walk or for more details on how to get involved, please click here.