MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM — Tourism Saskatchewan is offering tourism professionals a chance to develop their essential skills by attending free online webinars hosted by industry experts.
"We've launched a new series of webinars ... to provide some advice on marketing, social media, worker recruitment, and other topics of interest for people working in the tourism and hospitality sector," explained Tracy Breher, Tourism Saskatchewan's VP of destination and workforce development. "Last year, we did a webinar series that focused more on leadership skills.
"This year, our topics are a little bit broader in terms of content. And the registrations are exceeding our expectations."
Tourism Saskatchewan will train approximately 10,000 people this year in the province's tourism sector. Their programs range from free webinars to nationally recognized certifications for specific occupations, and they have two provincial apprenticeship programs in partnership with the Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission.
Most courses are offered online, with longer workshops taking place in person. Breher noted, however, that the one-hour webinars are increasingly popular because they don't take long and are convenient to attend.
"We're targeting a lot of the training resources right now on high-in-demand, transferable skills, so with a focus on people up-skilling or re-skilling," she added. "Those are for things like digital or interpersonal skills, those sort of career pieces that, once you have them mastered, you can take to all kinds of places."
Free webinar course topics and titles for February and March include:
- Building your Business with International Visitors, Tuesday, February 14; 10 a.m. Full — registration limit reached
- Top Tips to Market Your Business on Social Media in 2023, Tuesday, February 14; noon
- Handling Difficult Conversations, Tuesday, February 21; 7 p.m.
- Online Reputation Management, Wednesday, March 1; noon
- Traditional Marketing and the Growth of Digital, Tuesday, March 7; 7 p.m.
- Discover the Employer Services Branch of SaskJobs, Wednesday, March 8, 10 a.m.
- Recruiting with Diversity in Mind, Wednesday, March 15; 2 p.m.
- Handling Difficult Conversations, Tuesday, March 21: noon
- Building an Online Presence, Tuesday, March 28; 11 a.m.
- Top Tips to Market your Business on Social Media in 2023, Thursday, March 30, 2 p.m.
"The other kind of investment in professional development is that not only do you help people already working within the industry, acquiring new skills and knowledge so that they can do their jobs better," Breher said, "but it also helps with recruiting and retaining employees when they know you're investing in their professional development."
Breher noted that labour shortages are increasing competition between employers. That means employees are looking more closely before accepting jobs — and could prioritize working for businesses that value them long-term.
See the full list of training opportunities from Tourism Saskatchewan at business.tourismsaskatchewan.com/en/courses-and-workshops.
"We've got five sections within the tourism industry: accommodations, food and beverage, recreation and entertainment, transportation, and travel services. Everybody working in those areas is very welcome to come and sign up," Breher added. "We're just really excited to be able to have members of the industry engaged with us."
