Concordia University College of Alberta
Concordia participates in CACEE Conference
July 12, 2006
The annual national conference of the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers was held in Calgary on June 18-21st. CACEE is a "national non-profit partnership of employer recruiters and career services professionals" (www.cacee.com 
).
Attendees included: Representatives from University and College Career and Placement Services across Canada and Human Resources or Recruiting departments from a wide variety of companies.
Several informative workshops and seminars were presented. One over-riding theme focused on what happens in a workplace when there is a mix of cross-generational workers. For example, even though our own children may have grown up in our home, they have been impacted by changes in technology and culture that we, as parents, may not relate to. Employers are discovering that different generations such as the Baby Boomers, the "Gen X ers" and today, Gen Y or the Millennials; may not understand each other and may not necessarily work together effectively. There was extensive discussion on this issue as it leads to another immense challenge for employers, which is recruitment and retention of employees.
At the end of the conference, a panel discussion focused on "The Battle for the Right Talent". The event was taped for the Workopolis television show which is on ROB TV. Panelists included:
- John Aldred, Executive Chairman, ENERFLEX
- Dr. Michael Bloom, Executive Director, Education and Learning, Conference Board of Canada
- Amanda Jackson, Recent Graduate, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary
- Irene Lewis, President & CEO; SAIT
They discussed the challenges of recruiting and retaining employees, types of education and training needed, political changes hoped for and the values of the new, younger worker. The student on the panel explained how she developed a list of what was important for her in employment before she applied for jobs after graduation. She mentioned that what was most crucial was that employers actually lived out mission statements listed on company websites and brochures. She would either not apply, or not stay long with an employer whose actions and approach to employees did not match the value statements they publicized.