On Tuesday, January 17, the Honourable Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation visited the provincial office of the BC Human Resources Management Association (BC HRMA) to talk business.

The visit was the first of the association’s new Government Relations Forum series, an initiative intended to raise the profile of BC HRMA and the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation, the importance of HR professionals and the impact HR has on a business’s bottom line.

Mike Cass, BC HRMA president, the Honourable Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, and Simon Evans, CEO of BC HRMA

Minister Bell opened the luncheon by addressing a select group of senior BC HRMA members who were accompanied by their organization’s senior operations leader. The topic of the day? The BC Jobs Plan.

“We were honoured to host Minister Bell to discuss the BC Jobs Plan together with some of our industry’s top thought leaders and plans for a series of such luncheons are already in the works,” said Simon Evans, CEO of BC HRMA. “In opening the doors of dialogue between our provincial government and BC HRMA, we have taken the first steps in founding a future grounded in the open exchange of information.”

Minister Bell is leading the Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan initiative which was announced by Premier Christy Clark in September. The goal of the plan is to attract investment, open new markets for BC products and services, and create new jobs for British Columbians. To accomplish that, the plan is based on three pillars: expanding markets into Asia, ensuring physical and regulatory infrastructure enables business to get goods and services to market, and working with employers to enable job creation.

“It was informative to have Minister Bell present to BC HRMA’s first Government Relations Forum, with representatives participating from the HR community and business leaders,” said Mike Cass, BC HRMA president and vice-president of human resources at Western Forest Products.

“The Minister highlighted key points from the government’s Jobs Plan and reinforced that we need to be focused on executing what we do well, increasing our export base, and learning from the best practices that others have developed. ”

Questions from the audience touched on a range of topics and included international workers, labour shortages, credential recognition and innovation.

BC HRMA’s Government Relations Forum will continue throughout the year featuring relevant government ministers. If you are a senior BC HRMA member interested in participating, please email ccodrington@bchrma.org.