Learn @ Work Week being celebrated across Canada

September 17 to 21 is Learn @ Work Week, an annual celebration sponsored by the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD) to recognize the value of workplace learning and development. The week also honours the time and energy invested by employees to enhance their skills.

“Training is seen as a door to advancement,” says Associate Professor of Education Saul Carliner. “It invites sharing, networking and provides a rare opportunity for people to escape outside their silos and see the bigger picture.”

This year, Concordia’s Department of Education is an official learning supporter and sponsor of the Learn @ Work Week. They will present, as part of the national series of events, a report of a CSTD study of the job of the learning consultant.

“A workforce study conducted in the ‘80s indicated that most employees obtained less than half of the training they required to remain current and effective, and the gap just keeps getting bigger."

Employers have since discovered that workforce training is critical to the success of their employees and contributes directly to their employees’ engagement levels. Many employers now incorporate workforce learning and development curriculums into their programs of advantages and benefits, making the trained employee an engaged employee.”

Concordia recognizes the importance of providing professional development opportunities. In 2011 Concordia’s Department of Human Resources launched the Learning and Development Calendar for managers and staff to enhance their skills.

Based on feedback received, the department introduced a new Leadership Portfolio, which comprises a set of courses geared to administrative managers, in addition to the courses and workshops offered to all staff of the university. 

“While the Leadership Portfolio courses focus on skills to enhance the manager’s ability to lead, mentor, develop and mobilize its employees, the additional courses and workshops help staff to develop skills in areas such as customer service, communication, as well as time and priority management,” says Anna Michetti, executive director of Employment and Organizational Effectiveness with the Department of Human Resources.

In 2011, a new centre was established to provide faculty members with professional development to better prepare and support them in assuming leadership roles at the university. The Centre for Academic Leadership’s mission is to promote ethical academic leadership through support, training and applied research knowledge in areas such as responsible management, fiscal responsibility and faculty career development.

“Geared to current and potential university leaders, such as program directors, department chairs, associate deans, associate university librarians and supervisory librarians, one of the centre's main objectives is to encourage successful academic careers through personal leadership training, which includes a peer-based mentoring program for new department chairs and college principals,” explains Executive Director Dominic Peltier-Rivest.

Related links:
•    Learn @ Work event at Concordia 
•    Learn @ Work Week 
•    Informal Learning Basics by Saul Carliner 
•    "Learning at the water cooler"  - NOW, September 18, 2012 
•    Concordia's Learning and Development Calendar 
•    "Launch of the 2012 Learning and Development Portfolio" — NOW, April 11, 2012  
•    Concordia's Centre for Academic Leadership