Recent News
Clearing the Haze - The Impacts of Marijuana in the Workplace
The state of cannabis use in Canada is an ever-changing landscape. Registered medical marijuana users are growing exponentially, and the number of recreational users is expected to rise in a similar trend when the Cannabis Act comes into effect. Canadian employers are concerned that the normalization of marijuana use will lead to serious changes in the workplace. Four major areas of employment are expected to be affected: health & safety, the duty to accommodate, drug benefit plans, and drug testing. A June 2017 survey of HRPA members showed that nearly half of respondents do not feel their existing policies are equipped to handle these changes. This new white paper from HRPA details the major areas of concern and makes recommendations for Canadian employers and government to prepare for the new impacts of marijuana in the workplace.
Read the white paper here
Next Steps for Improvement - Identifying the Gaps Between Education and Employability in Ontario High Schools
Employers continue to voice concerns that new graduates entering the workforce are lacking the core skills required to take on entry-level jobs. This skills gap directly impacts productivity and creates a competitive challenge in today’s global economy. When workers are not able to do the jobs they are hired for, businesses must train them or hope they learn on the job. This takes time, energy and resources, and can impact the economy.
The Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) undertook to identify whether there is a skills gap in Ontario, and if so, what particular skills are missing. Through its own unique research, the HRPA has found that various soft skills are missing from the skillset of entry-level workers today, not the hard skills that are easiest for employers to teach.
The development of soft skills continues to be a focus of Ontario’s high school curriculum. These skills have been a measurable outcome on report cards since 1998, and are critical to building a competitive workforce for the 21st century. Without a strong foundation of soft skills developed in high school, students have challenges that progress through higher levels of learning and into the workforce.
With this in mind, this paper explores whether gaps between the current Ontario high school curriculum and employability may be a root cause of this skills challenge, and whether students are being taught the way employers need them to be taught. It provides quantitative evidence directly from employers that a soft skills gap does indeed exist.
Read the white paper here
The Evolution of Workplace Mental Health in Canada: Report
HRPA is proud to have sponsored newly-released research about the evolution of mental health strategies in the workplace that shows the great strides Canadian companies have taken toward creating psychologically safe and healthy workplaces.
The focus of the Evolution of Workplace Mental Health in Canada: Research Report (2007-2017) was to examine the evolution of Canadian workplace mental health policies and strategies over the past ten years.
Although there is, of course, more work to be done, the findings are encouraging. In 2016, 77% of working Canadians indicated attitudes toward workplace mental health issues are better than they were in 2007 (Samra 2017). Additionally, those Canadians who say their workplace is psychologically unhealthy or unsafe (10%) has been cut in half, down from 20% in 2009 (Ipsos 2016).
Developments were examined across several key thematic domains, including: Legal and Standards; Business; and, Sector-Specific Evolution. Significant developments were observed across each thematic area. The project was commissioned by the Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace to support research through the University of Fredericton, led by Dr. Joti Samra, R.Psych.
Read the full report here
HR & Millennials: Insights Into Your New Human Capital
November 22, 2016 - Millennial workers are the future of all Canadian businesses and represent the largest age cohort in the Canadian workplace, and are steadily moving past entry-level jobs, and into leadership roles. It is therefore critical for the human resource industry to understand Millennials – what defines them, how to attract them, retain them, and integrate them into our organizations. With this goal in mind the association has undertaken to help its Members understand the Millennial generation by exploring what Millennials look for from their employers and how they can be better transitioned into a new workplace.
HR & Millennials: Insights Into Your New Human Capital
How to avoid ticking off your Asia team
October 26, 2016 – Managing remote teams presents a number of new challenges. Luckily, there are clear best practices to help ease and streamline the process. HRPA board member Girish Ganesan provided some insight to the Globe and Mail on the topic, and set out three things that are crucially important when operating on the global stage.
How to avoid ticking off your Asia team
Want a skilled workforce? You need skilled collaboration
October 25, 2016 - An estimated one in three Canadian graduates are currently working in low-skill jobs unrelated to their education. Meanwhile, 59 per cent of HR professionals feel that Ontario students, workers and businesses do not currently have sufficient access to labour market data. Identifying and closing those gaps to build a strong, highly skilled workforce was the central goal of Strengthening Ontario's Workforce for the Jobs of Tomorrow, a report released this week by HRPA.
Want a skilled workforce?
HRPA's proposal to begin development of global HR competency framework endorsed unanimously
September 26, 2016 - HRPA last month presented its comprehensive core competency framework to a technical committee (TC260) of the International Standards Organization (ISO) with a recommendation that ISO should mandate a multinational working group to develop global standards in HR integrating competency frameworks from various countries into a single global framework. The committee approved HRPA’s proposal unanimously, and created a new working group to develop that harmonized framework. HRPA CEO Bill Greenhalgh was named Chair.
HRPA proposal
HRPA Applauds Direction of Ontario Premier's Highly Skilled Workforce Expert Panel Report
June 23, 2016 - The Human Resources Professionals Association ("HRPA") applauds the direction outlined today by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne's Highly Skilled Workforce Expert Panel.
HRPA applauds Highly Skilled Workforce Panel
HRPA members who conduct workplace investigations to be exempt from the PSISA
June 20, 2016 - Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure introduced a package of legislative amendments that are intended to reduce regulatory burdens and practices that cost businesses time and money. As a result of our advocacy work, one of the legislative amendments will be to our act which will now allow HRPA members who conduct workplace investigations to be exempt from the PSISA.
Burden Reduction Act
Hire Authority gets a new home, more features, enhanced value
June 2, 2016 - HRPA's HR job board, Hire Authority Canada, has moved onto a new feature-rich platform that offers more value to employers and HRPA member job seekers.
Hire Authority
CPD Skills Self-Assessments pass 1,000
June 2, 2016 - More than 1,000 members have completed the CPD skills self-assessment since its release on January 23rd, 2016. Individuals have found the tool helpful in identifying and prioritizing their CPD requirements. Organizations say it has helped a lot in terms of career development plans and department skills gap analysis.
Skills Gap Analysis
"Mind the Gap" - Government and industry must fix the gender wage gap, says HRPA
April 12, 2016 - HRPA white paper calls on government and businesses to address the gender wage gap in Ontario.
Mind the Gap whitepaper
