CTO and Tourism HR Canada Sign New Agreement to Strengthen Regional Tourism

OTTAWA, Canada – The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and Tourism HR Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that they say will support and grow a skilled, sustainable tourism workforce in both regions.

bovellctoCTO’s Sharon Banfield-Bovell (second from right) is pictured with (l-r) Darlene Grant Fiander, President, Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia, and Executive Director, Nova Scotia Tourism Human Resource Council; Philip Mondor, President and CEO, Tourism HR Canada; and Joe Baker, Tourism HR Canada Board Member and Dean at the Okanagan College School of Business.They said that the collaborative working relationship builds upon long-established tourism links between the two regions.

“The agreement is based on the organizations’ respective mandates, emphasizing that the growth and competitiveness of tourism rely on the industry’s ability to attract and retain a skilled workforce,”  according to a statement issued here on Friday.

“This agreement with Tourism HR Canada allows CTO members to tap into their wealth of expertise in workforce development,” said CTO’s director of  Resource Mbilization and Development, Sharon Banfield-Bovell.

“By collaborating on training, capacity building, and competency standards, we will not only strengthen our own tourism workforce but also create opportunities for knowledge exchange that will benefit both regions.”

Tourism HR Canada president and chief executive officer, Philip Mondor, said “we are excited at the opportunity to share with and learn from an organization who shares our goals and values around the importance of workforce development, skills training, employer support, and professional recognition.

“We have over 30 years of experience around labor market topics, which we hope will enhance the initiatives being undertaken by the Caribbean Tourism Organization. In turn, we look forward to the chance to expand on our own capacity and gain fresh perspectives as we work with their esteemed professionals.”

The collaboration entails information sharing with each organization building on decades of sharing labour market intelligence on matters of joint interest, including invitations to participate in events or special committees.

The organisations will work together to enhance the skills and knowledge of personnel through training and knowledge-sharing initiatives, striving towards exemplary practices to grow and develop sustainable tourism workforces.

The MoU also  calls for leveraging resources and this includes CTO adapting Tourism HR Canada’s tourism competency library for use in the Caribbean, adapting Tourism HR Canada’s Emerit certification credentials to inform similar instruments for the Caribbean market, and brokering or adapting proprietary learning content for use in each other’s market.

The agreement also allows for developing a new technology platform to host and manage the tourism competency library with the organizations working together to continually improve programs and services to create globally competitive workforces.