Award recipients from left to right: Matthew Stenerson and Rebecca Collins - Lake Country Co-Op, Laura Goodwin - Prince Albert SPCA, Mona Selanders - Coronet Hotel, Jag Gill - Grainfields (Submitted photo/ Angela Dumont)

By Nigel Maxwell

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Jun 27, 2019 | 4:55 PM

Five local employers in Prince Albert have been recognized for their work creating diversity in the work place.

Grainfields Pancake and Waffle House, Lake Country Co-op, The Prince Albert SPCA, Coronet Hotel and Aallcan Wood Products have received certificates from the Community Service Centre. Grainfields General Manager Jag Gill told paNOW he enjoys having diversity in the work place.

“For me I get to learn sign language because my dish washer is hearing impaired; I get to hear about the Congo because I have somebody who is a refugee from the Congo,” Gill said.

The Community Services Centre runs several programs designed to assist people find work or transition from one career to another. In some cases it may be people who have disabilities, or someone who may have just moved to Prince Albert from a remote area of the province. Gill said he has been involved with the program for four years and finds the people who get referred to him, are hard working and just want a chance to prove themselves.

“From a business aspect we get that longevity where as some of the other staff come and go, especially in this industry,” he said.

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The Community Services Centre is now in its 51st year of operation. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bill Powalinsky said the supportive employment programs are mainly geared for people with disabilities.

“We find that there are so many reasons why people with disabilities don’t get the chance to show their stuff and our work assessments and our job coaches really open the door for that possibility but without the employer being willing to open the door for us it wouldn’t go anywhere,” he said.

The centre also provides training for people who may be viewed by some employers as too old to hire. Typically these are people between the ages of 55 and 72.

“A lot of people are working longer but if they have been laid off from a job that they’ve had for 30 years, they don’t know where to start,” Powalinsky said.

In advance of the employment equity recognition awards, an internal committee reviews nominations from a pool of employers that the centre works with. Powalinsky said the committee felt the recipients this year were a representative cross-section of he employer community and emplify the values of inclusive employment.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell