Join the Immigrant Welcome Centre’s Welcoming Communities Coalition on Feb. 24 for their 2022 collaboratory to learn, discuss, and reflect on creating inclusive workplaces for the recruitment and retention of newcomers.
Community members are invited to register for an online event from 2 to 4:30 p.m. featuring keynote speaker Ruth Mojeed Ramirez, the chief equity officer at The Inclusion Project in Victoria.
Mojeed Ramirez brings extensive lived experience and grounded expertise to her work in racial equity, diversity and inclusion. She is a nation builder and community organizer who has been widely recognized for her role in supporting newcomers and racialized people on the path to finding a sense of belonging within Canadian institutions and communities.
Liz Wootton from Comox Valley-based Human Nature Development will then facilitate small group discussions that will help re-frame how to think about inclusion in the workplace. Wootton is a business consultant and leadership coach whose mission is to make the world a better place for people in business, not by changing the world but by guiding and supporting change for those people. Her approach to excellence in business is a human-centric one, encouraging people to work with their human nature to get the best from themselves and their teams.
The event also features a guest from the B.C. Provincial Nominee Program, Aireen Luney. Luney, the manager of program development and promotion with the Immigration Programs Branch, will share some of the tools available for newcomers and employers.
Topics to be discussed include employment equity; overcoming unconscious biases; inclusive workplace cultures; impacts of the pandemic on existing gaps; actions and recommendations for making organizations more welcoming.
“Through the coalition’s conversations and research, we are hearing there is a desire in our communities to learn more about how to attract and retain a diverse workforce,” said Jim Brennan, Immigrant Welcome Centre executive director.
“Increasingly, organizations are realizing that immigration, diversity, and inclusive cultures are all part of the solution to labour gaps and economic growth.”
The collaboratory is free to attend and advanced registration is required. Register at: collaboratory2022.eventbrite.com.
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