The Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council (CSCSC) is one of over thirty councils initiated by industry and funded by government to deal with human resources and labour market issues in key segments of the Canadian economy. The Council’s work is in direct response to the “Strategic Human Resources Study of the Supply Chain Sector” published in October 2005. Since that time the Council has completed phase one of two projects, and LMI study which identified areas of priority in the development of a labour market information system for the sector, and the development of a national database of education and training offerings supporting learning within the sector. The Council is now poised to deliver on three additional projects over the next two years with the following initiatives:

Education/Certification Standards Development Project
Research completed by the CSCSC in its Phase I Education/Certification project, completed in 2007, indicated a need for a standardized approach to post-secondary training, education and certification. This Phase II project will establish a set of standards, defined by industry stakeholders, for the promotion of the supply chain-related learning programs of associations and post-secondary educational institutions.

Labour Market Information Project
In this Phase II project, the Council’s four Regional LMI Working Groups will develop four to eight LMI products based on needs identified in the Phase I project, also completed in 2007. These resources, tools for the sector to undertake more effective human resources planning, will be made available to all stakeholders. Top-priority LMI needs identified in the Phase I study include, for example, information on supply and demand for specific occupations; information on wages for specific occupations by region/local area; job descriptions/skills requirements for specific occupations; and, a list of HR best practices.

Development of Occupational Profiles
Through this project, the Council will develop a foundation for the process of creating occupational profiles for the sector. Utilizing a best-practices approach, the Council will develop a model in which occupational profiles can be written and validated more quickly than is normal through consultation with key stakeholders in the sector. With stakeholder input, the Council will develop a prioritized list for each of the sector’s seven functional areas to identify the occupations most in need of occupational standards to assist in developing job descriptions, competency profiles and job-performance tools that will help to address our labour shortages.

This session will outline the research and implementation phases of each project and where appropriate, will provide an opportunity for input from key stakeholders.