For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 - Port Hope, ON
Through a collaborative partnership, the Municipality of Port Hope, the Chamber of Commerce, and Contact North—a bilingual community-based distance education and training network—have unveiled an innovative online training platform called the Balanced Employment Initiative. This project, which has received partial funding from the Province of Ontario's Rural Economic Development (RED) Program, represents the result of a year-long effort to address the needs identified through thorough economic development research.
The Balanced Employment Initiative (BEI) was designed as a comprehensive resource. The platform caters to employees, job seekers, and employers, offering tailored solutions to meet personal, professional, and organizational goals in diverse areas. It serves as a bridge for skill development and career progression, marking a significant step forward in educational and professional development.
BEI provides a wide variety of training in topics such as:
- customer service skills for frontline service workers
- accounting
- building business relationships
- developing conflict management skills
- mental wellness
- key technologies and emerging alternatives, and many more.
The training program is structured around three main pathways, each designed to cater to distinct groups: the Frontline Workers Pathway, the Manufacturing Pathway, and the Employer Pathway. These pathways and their respective training offerings are tailored based on the needs and requirements identified by these groups, ensuring that each segment receives targeted support to meet their specific training objectives.
The BEI announcement was part of the inaugural Business Forum, an event that took place in February 2024, and was developed and delivered by the Municipality’s Economic Development staff. It is the first in a planned series of forums targeted to specific key business and employment sectors across the community.
To access the Balanced Employment Initiative portal, visit www.studyonline.ca/balanced-employment.
“We are thrilled to introduce this training opportunity to our community in collaboration with two key partners who share our vision for enhancing skills accessibility. The financial support from the Province through the RED Program is instrumental in enabling us to deliver this training with maximum efficiency and effectiveness. We are deeply grateful for their backing.”
Olena Hankivsky, Mayor, Municipality of Port Hope“The Balanced Employment Initiative is a great example of a project to address labour force challenges, precisely the kind of project that RED is designed to support. I congratulate the Municipality of Port Hope, the Port Hope Chamber of Commerce and Contact North on this initiative and hope this training program will pay dividends for years to come.”
Hon. Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs“I am proud that our government through the RED program is supporting new training programs in rural areas that are connecting employees with employers. This collaboration between local organizations to provide key resources for the workforce is crucial to building economic growth and sustainability in rural Ontario, and I am glad that our government is a part of it.”
Hon. David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, and MPP for Northumberland – Peterborough South
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