Calgary, Alberta, February 15, 2011 -
Environmental Careers Organization of Canada (ECO Canada), has
announced an agreement with Harvard Business Publishing to deliver
its renowned Stepping Up to Management™ online training
modules.
The
partnership supports ECO Canada's newest business stream into the
professional training services realm. ECO Canada's environmental
employer and professional members will directly benefit from the
partnership and expanded human resource offerings.
The
partnership reinforces several of ECO's existing employee
engagement commitments and professional development offerings
through its Canadian Centre for Environmental Education
(CCEE).
ECO's 2010
Profile of Canadian Environmental Employment report, ongoing
training of these skilled workers is a priority for many employers,
with 36% of environmental employers budgeting $2,000 or more
annually to train each environmental employee.
Compounding
this with the lack of qualified candidates with the appropriate
education or experience, cited by about a quarter of firms and the
competitive recruitment environment, investing in staff's
professional development has become a major component through which
many companies are defining themselves.
Doing so
limits the staggering costs to an organization of: hiring an
employee, training, ongoing poor performance, ultimate failure,
dismissing the employee, and beginning the cycle again.
"Building effective
partnerships that provide crucial professional development support
and provide environmental organizations the tools to invest in
their employees and strengthen engagement is the best way we can
make a difference." Michael Kerford, Vice President of ECO
Canada"We are very pleased to
establish this agreement with Harvard Business Publishing and look
forward to escalating our Human Resource initiatives for our
membership."
The
Harvard Business Publishing online model is a natural fit for the
environmental industry with its vast interdisciplinary nature of
work which tends to have a largely scientific and technical
foundation.
The online
arena harnesses great advantages to attract this highly mobile
workforce that posses a rich skill-set including; reduced training
costs, more rapid deployment, more consistent applications of
training with less dependence on the performance of individual
instructors, adaptability to scale up (or down) training programs
based on an organizations or individual needs.
The
Stepping Up to Management™ series includes eight targeted modules
to assist project team leaders, employees who serve on teams,
individuals looking to upgrade their credentials or managers who
need to enhance their leadership skills as they shift into
managerial roles.
The lessons
cover everything from managing performance and working through
others to supporting your organization and evolving as a
manager.
ECO Canada
rolls out this training series on its website February
15th, 2011. To learn more and to register, please
visit www.eco.ca/harvard