Monday, September 27th, 2010
 
7:00pm – 9:00pm ~ Wine and Cheese Networking Evening
 

One Week Job, Two Years Later

Sean Aiken

The recent Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development report has stated findings that youth joblessness has surged throughout the world and youth will likely see a prolonged period of unemployment. Given the documented increase in youth joblessness around the world and how young people are hit especially hard by economic challenges, Sean Aiken will share his knowledge gained about youth employment and how businesses and organizations can help prevent a "lost generation". The One Week Job Project has culminated in a new book, a documentary and has taken him in a direction he didn't even know would arise when he started. Sean will also revisit his journey of one job a week for 52 weeks, his lessons learned and how that experience of trying to find a potential career has progressed into a new passion.
 
Sean Aiken

Sean Aiken, a graduate from Capilano College with a degree in Business Administration in 2005, spent the a year traveling around North America working his way through a different job, one week at a time. At the top of his class, with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, he was voted the class valedictorian. Sean promised himself that he would not settle for work he was not passionate about and he came up with an idea to try a myriad of jobs in a diverse range of industries to figure out what he wants to do with his career. He started the One-Week Job project in February 2007, at age twenty-five, and finished his 52 weeks in March 2008. His primary goal for this journey was to gain a better understanding of what he needs in a career to be happy and inspire others to go after their passions.

His One Week Job Project, that started as his own journey has turned into a movement being followed by thousands of people. Sean's vision is to provide the opportunity for others to gain what he did from his own One Week Job experience through the development of the One Week Job Program where others can experience a snippet of what he did over a two month period. Sean has been travelling throughout North America giving presentations at high schools, colleges, and corporations, sharing his experience and all that he learned along the way.
 
 
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
 
7:00am - 8:15am ~ Breakfast
 
8:00am - 8:15am ~ Conference Welcome
 

The Post Everything Economy: An Economic Outlook for 2010 and Beyond

Linda Nazereth – 8:30am - 9:45am

This presentation provides a big picture look at what remains following the worst economic downturn since the Second World War, and more importantly, where we can expect to be in a year or more. The current economic crisis offers organizations and leaders a unique opportunity to rethink their business. It is no longer "Business as Usual". Complex new challenges brought by the customer, technology, competitors and the marketplace will make being successful in business tougher than ever. This presentation will offer an understanding of what the "next economy' will look like by discussing key trends and economic shifts that will not only shape business but also society and life in the future. This keynote will help organizations to take a proactive approach to not only survive but thrive in the future.
 
Linda Nazereth

Economist Linda Nazareth's dynamic presentations guide her audiences through the maze of changing economic, financial, labor market and demographic shifts now hitting North America. Her presentations are always-tailor made for her audience, designed to educate each group about the key trends that will affect their specific outlook. Published in fall 2007 in the US and Canada, Linda's book The Leisure Economy details what will be a sea change for the North American economy. For the past three decades, we have been steadily creating an extreme 'time-crunch economy' that has affected jobs, portfolios, businesses and lives. But the 'time-crunch economy' is turning into 'the leisure economy' and it will mean wrenching adjustments for our lives and institutions. Everyone from consumers, investors, businesses, and policy-makers will need to understand the changes afoot. As well as being an economist and author, Linda is also an experienced television journalist who since 1999 has been the in-house economist for Business News Network (BNN), Canada's only all-business television network. Prior to that, she was a senior economist with CIBC and a demographic and labor market economist with the federal government. She is a frequent speaker to business groups, translating economic forecasts into information that can be used for their planning purposes.
 

Essential Skills to Move Organizations Forward

Dr. Tom Keenan – 9:45am – 10:45am

What does the future hold for the Canadian workplace and why do workers need to have sound essential skills in order to be equipped to embrace the rapid rate of change in a post recession economy? What are the emerging market trends such as the impact of technology, skills shortages, skill gaps and global competition and how does the relationship between these trends and the use of essential skills by workers at every level of the economy affect organizations? This presentation will provide a very clear message that essential skill development is an economic imperative, an employment imperative and a social responsibility if Canada is to remain competitive and prosper in the future that is unfolding.
 
Dr. Tom Keenan

Dr. Tom Keenan, FCIPS, I.S.P. is an award-winning educator, public speaker, and science journalist. He worked as a systems programmer on some of the earliest mainframe computers, and has opened up the world of technology to thousands of students over a distinguished three decade academic career.

His 1984 CBC Radio IDEAS series, "Crimes of the Future" predicted the emergence of crimes like identity theft and illegal trade in human tissues. In 2003 he received the Calgary Award, his city's highest award presented to a citizen, but he is most proud of his Teaching Excellence Award since it was bestowed by his students. He writes a regular technology column for The Business Edge news magazine, and appears regularly on radio and local and national television. Tom is frequently quoted in leading business and trade publications and has been a featured speaker at many industry and academic events. He holds BA, MSc, MA, and Ed.D degrees, all from Columbia University in New York, and did additional study at Harvard University and The Banff Centre.

Currently, he is Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, as well as Adjunct Professor of Computer Science. He founded the Calgary campus of the Shad Valley Program and was involved with it for 24 years. Tom has shared his passionate views about the intelligent use of technology with audiences on five continents in groups ranging from six cub scouts in Calgary to 15,000 engineers in Belgium.
 
 
10:45am - 11:00am ~ Coffee Break
 

Training Budgets: Doing More with Less

Panel Experts – 11:00am - Noon

As the economy begins to show signs of life after this latest lengthy recession, employers will have to decide how they will manage their businesses to stay competitive in the new economy of the future. In the past, after recessions many employers ramped up their investment in training for their downsized work force in an effort to help their remaining employees cope with increased workloads and responsibilities. However, recent surveys tell us that this time around many employers will spend less on training and plan to utilize government sponsored training programming, on-line learning applications, on the job training, as well as traditional mentoring and reverse mentoring to bring the needed skills to their employees. This presentation will focus on informing and understanding cost effective training and skill development strategies that can be implemented immediately in the workplace.
 
Panel Experts

This presentation will be delivered by a panel of experts representing various skill enhancement opportunities that are available from government sponsored programs and on-line learning applications. It is envisioned that this panel will provide information on Employer Sponsored Training, Small Business Employee Training Program, Targeted wage Subsidy, Work Place Training for Innovation, Job Creation Partnerships, etc....
 
 
12:00pm - 1:00pm ~ Lunch
 

Future of Business – Green Jobs and Sustainable Industries in the 21st Century

Angela Reid – 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Green jobs are the jobs of the future. Statistics Canada cites the current Canadian job loss rate as surpassing the economic downturns of the 1980s and 1990s. Despite these ominous figures, the green collar economy is seeing robust growth. A recent study by Pew Charitable Trusts claims that the growth potential for green collar jobs is "explosive" and the green collar job growth rate is about two and a half times faster than job growth in the economy as a whole. This presentation will demonstrate to business owners how the green and clean trend will affect the future of business with the movement of consumers indicating they are concerned about the environment. Businesses need to consider their "green strategy" and this presentation will help organizations prepare and understand that socially responsible practices will create customer loyalty and contribute sustained profitability.
 
Angela Reid

Angela Reid is the CEO of Tigress Ventures Inc., which pursues and develops projects in the renewable energy, green business development and environmental education industries. A subsidiary of Tigress is GreenStep Sustainability Coaching, a business consulting firm focused on improving the efficiency, productivity and bottom line of its clients, while minimizing their environmental footprints. Angela is also the Vice President of BioStreet Canada, a biodiesel company working to build Canada's first fully integrated and most energy efficient biodiesel refinery.

In 2008, Angela was elected to Kelowna City Council and appointed to the Board of the Central Okanagan Regional District. She sits on the economic sustainability committee of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and is a founding member of the Okanagan Greens Society, which is largely focused on local food and the local economy.

For the past three years, Angela has received annual training from Al Gore and David Suzuki to deliver "The Climate Project Canada" presentations to educate the public about the risks and solutions surrounding climate change. Angela lives in Kelowna with her fiancé. To keep life balanced and to continuously learn from nature, she is an avid outdoors person with a love for snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking, camping, fishing and gardening.
 

Linking in to Social Media

Barbara White – 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Social Media Boom! Social media is relevant to businesses and organizations in general and can and will contribute to the bottom line. Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, MySpace, can help an organization grow its brand, understand its clients and gain maximum insight into the marketplace. This presentation will demonstrate how to gain exposure and advertising, demystify the fear of sacrificing privacy and provide practical examples of companies and entrepreneurs using social media to effectively expand their business.
 
Barbara White

Barbara is an entrepreneur who didn't discover internet marketing until into her 40s and says if she can do it, so can you! She is a passionate presenter who is contracted with the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and delivers keynotes across North America. Her passion for internet marketing started when she learned to promote her own corporate website and she grew proficient in the intricacies of the ever-changing world of the web. Known as the Social Media Boomer, she is recognized as an early adopter of internet marketing and is now on the cutting edge of social media as a marketing and business building strategy.
 
 
 
3:00pm - 3:15pm ~ Coffee Break
 

A Changing Workforce in a Changed World

Shawnee Love – 3:15pm – 4:15pm

Today's world is different. Employees are different. What is an employer to do? This session will look back in time to review how employment and employees have changed over the last two hundred years and the culminating forces (demographics, social, business) that have led us to today's workplace. We will discuss how a company's value is created by and from employees and reveal 8 practical strategies to find, engage and keep your employees performing to their fullest potential. Upon completion of this session, you will have a clear understanding of which activities and practices will increase your employees' efforts to work harder & perform better now and in the future, and the tools to implement these practices within your business.
 
Shawnee Love

Through Shawnee Love's career in human resource management she has worked in a broad range of industries and company types helping build businesses and grow people. Shawnee started Love HR in 2009, and focuses her consulting practice on small to medium sized organizations who want to achieve greater success through their people and people practices. She delivers HR strategy, employment practices, and people skills to her clients with practicality, creativity, energy, integrity, and an irrepressible sense of humour. She is passionate about enabling change, facilitating adaptability, and encouraging creativity to enhance the organization's potential for success and likelihood of achievement.