Automate Canada recognizes the issues impacting advanced manufacturing and seeks innovative solutions through the collective voice of our members.
Promoting Inclusivity in Recruitment, Training, Education, and Collaboration
As an industry association, Automate Canada takes on the responsibility of addressing industry challenges and being part of the solution. Companies are realizing the benefits of tapping into top-tier talent beyond traditional recruitment markets. Diversifying the workforce brings different backgrounds and experiences together, linking employee engagement to a sense of inclusion. Diverse companies perform better due to the infusion of different ideas and perspectives.
Companies have adjusted their recruitment strategies to be more inclusive, and Glassdoor reports that 75% of job seekers consider this critical when evaluating job offers, highlighting the importance of these initiatives when attracting talent and emphasizing that diversity and inclusion are commitments that go beyond policies.
Challenges in enhancing diversity can also be found within workforce training and development. We collaborate with post-secondary institutions and other organizations to raise awareness of diversity and inclusion initiatives, limitations in training and education and enhancements to recruiting, hiring, and training practices. Training programs must extend beyond technical skills, integrating diversity and inclusion elements. This is important to member companies when cultivating a workplace culture that embraces diversity and increase employee retention.
Cultural competency training, diversity assessments, inclusivity training, and unconscious bias training deepen the understanding of different cultures, and experiences while also promoting the benefit of having different perspectives on a team. A 2015 McKinsey study found that companies in the top 25% for diversity were 35% more likely to have financial returns above the industry median.
Education for the Next Generation of Skilled Workers
Through partnerships with organizations like WEST, YMCA, and We Build a Dream, we promote advanced manufacturing to the sector’s next leaders while educating members on being employers that are attractive to new hires. By promoting various initiatives to improve diversity and inclusion, the association plays a role in removing stigmas some may have about the industry.
Automate Canada also brings awareness of government initiatives to our members. Federal and Provincial governments allocate funding for workforce development, prioritizing underrepresented groups, offering support to companies that increase diversity when hiring, and investing in initiatives that encourage underrepresented groups to pursue careers in STEM. We collaborate to promote diversity and inclusion, resulting in targeted initiatives, effectively addressing specific challenges and we collect feedback from member companies and industry partners, using a collective voice to help influence policy and future initiatives.
It is critical that we recognize the momentum around diversity and inclusion, in advanced manufacturing, and ensure that it remains. A diverse workforce allows Canadian manufacturers to be innovative, creative, and ensures employee retention, engagement, and satisfaction.
Visit our website to review the Diversity and Inclusion practices of member companies, like Vista Solutions and ABB: www.automatecanada.ca
