Canada Bread grows skills
When Mandeep, a quality assurance professional, first came to Canada, she found that she needed to take courses to upgrade her skills before she could work in her field. Keen to gain work experience in Canada, she started work on the production floor of Canada Bread in Hamilton. In the meantime, she took courses that would allow her to work in quality assurance again.
Through the yearly talent assessments at Canada Bread, Mandeep’s managers soon learned about her qualifications. When an opportunity came up in the quality assurance department, Mandeep was encouraged to apply and had the opportunity to bring her knowledge and experience to the quality assurance function at Canada Bread. She is now a key asset to the organization and has been instrumental on a number of major projects, including introducing a new Oracle enterprise resource planning system at Canada Bread.
“It is inspiring to see that Mandeep
was able to leverage her foreign experience and now work in a role that is helping her achieve her career goal, while helping Canada Bread grow,” said Marcin E. Krzyzanowski, regional human relations manager.
“Conducted every year, talent assessments help us recognize skills and match our employees, including newcomers, to opportunities within our organization.”
The talent assessments examine current role, skills, interests and identify opportunities for all employees at Canada Bread. Employees are encouraged to make development plans and are often paired with managers or senior employees who serve as mentors to coach employees and assist them with professional growth. Subsequent assessments help to keep employees on track and check if they are ready to move into different positions.
With 350 employees at its stateof-the art Trillium bakery facility in Hamilton, Canada Bread actively seeks out skilled professionals, both at home and internationally. More than 50 per cent of Canadian staff are immigrants or internationally trained professionals.
In May 2014, Canada Bread was purchased by Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest baking company. Grupo Bimbo has a wide global reach, with operations in 22 countries, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, and China.
“As an equal opportunity organization, we actively pursue anyone with the skills set that will help Canada Bread grow,” said Krzyzanowski. “By leveraging skills that people have learned in different countries and different markets, we are able to learn the best practices of baking.”
To attract skilled trades labourers, management and maintenance professionals, Canada Bread also actively reaches out to its counterparts in different countries to seek out professionals who are willing to relocate to Canada. A relocation specialist is employed to help internationally trained professionals settle in Canada smoothly.
“We find that having a diverse staff brings in different perspectives and opinions. Everyone has a different life story, which enriches our decision-making and how we look at issues,” added Sachin Mohan, human resource manager.
This series is a joint initiative of the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council, Workforce Planning Hamilton and the City of Hamilton’s Global Hamilton Office. Know an employer who embraces diversity? Email: global@hamilton.ca