TIMMINS, ON – A new bilingual cultural competence training program will help employers, service providers, and employees in Northeast Ontario welcome people from diverse backgrounds.

Cultural Competence in the Workplace was developed by l’Université de Hearst in collaboration with the Regional Research and Intervention Centre for Economic and Community Development (CRRIDEC). The main objective of the training is to help integrate people from diverse cultural backgrounds into the workforce. Training is free and interactive and incorporates videos, quizzes, concrete examples and testimonials.

“Cultural competence is vital to the development of diverse and productive workplaces,” said Mike Scott, Local Immigration Partnership Coordinator at the Timmins & District Multicultural Centre. “Employers who invest time and resources to improve their cultural competence and that of their workers are much more likely to attract and retain top talent,” Scott added.

“Employers in Northern Ontario have long experienced challenges with recruiting and retaining workers,” said Christy Marinig, Chief Executive Officer at the TEDC. “As a community business partner, we’re thrilled that a tool exists to help employers foster diversity and inclusion and mitigate workforce challenges,” added Marinig.

 Anthony Miron, Research Coordinator at CRRIDEC and co-head of the development team, is pleased to see the interest in the online training program. “Many employers in our region voiced the need for such training, indicating that it can also help retain newcomers and their families,” said Miron. “We designed the course to meet the needs of the northeast and to help businesses and organizations welcome people from diverse cultures.”

Access the training in English here and in French here.

 For more information, contact Kelsey Luxton at kelsey.luxton@timmins.ca or 705-360-2600 x 7083.