Contact: Zyna Taylor
Email: ztaylor@lfsfamily.ca
Phone: 403-320-1589
Service Location: 1107 – 2 Ave. A  North, Lethbridge, AB
Office Hours:
8:30 AM—4:30PM
Monday—Friday, closed statutory holidays
Cost: no fee for this service

Rural Employers' Awareness on Diversity and Inclusion (READI)

The Rural Development Network (RDN), Lethbridge Family Services (LFS) and ASSIST Community Services Centre are spearheading a capacity-building project that supports employers in rural communities with the attraction, retention and integration of immigrants and refugees into rural workforces.
 
READI is a provincially-funded project that focuses on customized training for selected employers across northern, central and southern Alberta.

View the READI project informational video (9 mins.)
 
This project runs until spring 2023 with the goal of training three to five employees from managerial, human resources or leadership positions within each organization.

What will I get as a READI participant?

• Before training begins, you’ll have a conversation with a READI team member to determine your needs and knowledge gaps
• You’ll participate in your choice of multiple training sessions developed to support employers who have or want to hire newcomer workers
• You’ll learn more about the needs of your newcomer employees and gain a greater ability to understand and respond effectively to their needs
• You’ll receive support with the integration of immigrants and refugees into your business
• At the end of the project, you’ll receive a toolkit with everything you learned and additional resources and information that can be accessed by your entire organization

Training may be offered in person, live online, or in blended format. Session dates, times and format will be organized according to the needs and learning preferences of participants.

How will this benefit my business or organization?

• With your new skills and knowledge, you’ll have a greater capacity to attract, hire, integrate and retain immigrant employees
• You’ll be more aware of resources and services/program opportunities that support newcomer settlement and labour market integration
• You can use what you learned to help fill important positions and address labour shortages by hiring valuable employees
• Your business will benefit from the additional skills and fresh perspective newcomers can bring to the workforce
• Throughout the project you’ll have opportunities to meet other employers with similar concerns and/or valuable experience that you can apply to your own business

What exactly will I learn?

That depends on which modules you choose to participate in, but could include valuable and timely topics such as:

• Understanding the Canadian immigration/work permit system
• Recent trends in immigration to Canada/Alberta and how that may impact the labour pool and your industry
• Best practices for hiring and training newcomers and minimizing bias
• Preparing your workplace to integrate newcomers, and bridging the gap between newcomers and local workers
• Developing a foreign worker/immigrant policy within your organization
• Working with community partners and municipalities on newcomer integration strategies
• Other topics suggested by project participants

How do I qualify? What is the commitment?

The READI project is seeking businesses/organizations that:

• are small to medium in size.
• are locally owned (or are local franchises of larger enterprises).
• currently have newcomer employees or intend to hire some within the next year.
• can provide two to five employees from managerial, human resources or leadership positions to participate in the training. *exceptions may be made for very small businesses.

How do I sign up?

If you are interested in participating in this project, please fill out an Expression of Interest before the end of October 2022. Successful candidates will be contacted by the end of October. This program is offered free of charge.
 
If you miss the cutoff but would still like to receive the training resources at the completion of the project, please share your contact information with one of the READI team members.
 
For more information on the project, or if you have any questions, please contact the project manager, Soheila Homayed at soheilah@ruraldevelopment.ca 

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Located on the traditional lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy, Lethbridge Family Services is committed to honouring the land from a place of knowing. We honour the Siksikaitsitapi as both the traditional and current Land Keepers of this area, and we welcome all First Nations, Métis, Inuit and non-Indigenous peoples who call Blackfoot territory their home.