ThirdQuarter News Stories
ThirdQuarter Launches in Victoria
"The ThirdQuarter program is one of those that will help us meet our labour needs in the long term."
Bruce Carter,
CEO, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
Victoria, B.C.
ThirdQuarter is now coast to coast with the launch of a pilot program in Victoria, B.C., on Sept. 12.
The addition of the island city brings the number of pilots to 14 Canadian communities from B.C. to the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
The Victoria pilot will be unique with the support of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, which will promote and oversee the program.
Bruce Carter, chief executive officer of the Victoria chamber, said early indications are ThirdQuarter should be successful in what's now its largest urban centre.
"I'm amazed that even before we launched this program we had 25 resumes in the system and 10 businesses that are registered to put jobs in," Carter said.
"I was surprised because I was concerned that our challenge would be getting the people interested in the work.
"In the early stages that certainly doesn't appear to be challenge, so we expect that as we start to use this as a community resource that it will be very highly used and that chamber network will come into play to make it a success."
The launch took place at a Canadian Tire store, which has a 75-year-old man on staff.
Promotional plans are underway for a series of ads, a booth at a business trade show in October and numerous articles. Jim Tighe has been hired as the ThirdQuarter community co-ordinator.
Carter said Victoria has a vibrant economy and the chamber got involved with ThirdQuarter because of a need in the business community to find talented labour. The chamber has close to 1,500 members.
"One of the barriers that our members have identified to growth in their businesses is attracting qualified employees," he said. "So we see the ThirdQuarter program as one of those that helps address one of the core needs of our business members.
"There is that opportunity to bring someone in who is experienced and perhaps highly trained to perform a role in your business and therefore achieve better results."
He predicted that should be the case for businesses revolving around customer service.
"The customer service skills or the ability to deal with people that someone develops in the first two quarters of their life can be very valuable to a lot businesses, particularly those that provide customer service," Carter said.
"Those ThirdQuarter workers, in general terms, have a better set of those skills and can work as a workplace leader or a workplace model for how well it can be done and how you can do these things."
One aspect of the program he believes will be a welcome change to businesses is the unique process of matching individuals' essential skills to a firm's job requirements.
"We've all been employers where we've had that challenge where you receive 200 resumes for the receptionist position and having to go through all of those to try to find the people who are roughly qualified so that you can get to a short list," Carter said.
"The process that's used here where there is that matching of skills to jobs really allows both the employee and employer to make a better selection early on and reduce the anxiety on both parties' parts."
He added ThirdQuarter can play an important role in meeting labour needs for years to come.
"Throughout Canada, our demographics indicate that we're going to have more and more challenges of finding the labour that we need," Carter said.
"The ThirdQuarter program is one of those that will help us meet our labour needs in the long term and I think it's a very good fit for both the workers and the business."
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Archives
November 2011
October 2011
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September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
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May 2011
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April 2011
- ThirdQuarters Have Talent for Tutoring
- A Refreshing Change
- Bill Denyar - President - Atlantic Chambers of Canada
March 2011
- When Jim King talks about transferable skills, he speaks from experience
- Wanting a ThirdQuarter Encore
February 2011
- ThirdQuarter Hires Make an Impact
- ThirdQuarter Hires Make an Impact
- Steve McLellan - CEO - Saskatchewan Chambers of Commerce
- Don Anderson found his perfect match in ThirdQuarter
January 2011
- Office of Literacy and Essential Skills
Bureau de l'alphabétisation et des compétences essentielles
