Business Mentorship with the Ajax Business Network

The Town of Ajax hosted its Ajax Business Network (ABN) event on Wednesday, June 26, at Audley Recreation, with a focus on Business Mentorship.  

The DWA Executive Director, Heather McMillan, participated as a mentor in Workforce Planning/Employee Training. 

The event was structured like a ‘speed dating’ event, and participants had the opportunity to introduce themselves and their business services and learn more about how they could use the information available. 

Here are some highlights from the DWA’s mentor presentation on workforce planning: 

Labour Demand and Supply: 

  • Assess business long-term business goals and consider skills needed to meet those goals 
  • Research industry trends and economic changes that might impact workforce needs 
  • Evaluate your workforce’s skills, experience, demographics 
  • Do you have current employees who could be developed for future roles? What must you do to support staff training, and who in the community could help? 

Recruitment Strategies: 

  • Plan for attracting and hiring new employees to fill gaps, use the DWA’s Jobs First Durham portal to explore competitors’ salaries, job descriptions 
  • Work with Employment Ontario Service Providers to create plans to upskill or reskill current employees 
  • Create succession plans by developing internal candidates 

Benefits of Workforce Planning: 

  • Creates alignment with business goals the workforce required to support them 
  • Workforce planning improves human resources activities, reduces costs, increases productivity, and provides existing staff with career growth pathways that can improve employee satisfaction and retention. 

 You can find more events hosted by the Town of Ajax here.