“Everybody brings kind of a different lifestyle, a different story.”
– Mona Selanders, Coronet Hotel general manager
Five Prince Albert employers got certificates of appreciation from the Community Service Centre (CSC) last week for their diverse hiring practices.
The CSC runs employment programs where they provide work placements for people of different cultures, education levels and abilities, to name a few.
This helps them transition into full-time employment or further education.
At their 51st annual general meeting on June 25, the CSC acknowledged representatives from Grainfields Waffle and Pancake House, the SPCA, the Lake Country Co-op Association and the Coronet Hotel for inclusive hiring. Aallcann Wood Suppliers Inc. also received recognition; however, representatives were unable to make it to the meeting.
The Coronet Hotel’s general manager, Mona Selanders, said she sees the benefits for these employees during their placement and into their futures.
“I think everybody needs a chance and sometimes it’s difficult to get that chance,” she said.
With about 16 years of partnering with the CSC, she’s employed many people in difficult circumstances.
Selanders explained she hired a woman who was raising six children on her own. The single mother has now moved on to another job, but still comes in to work for the Coronet Hotel when they need her.
“She’s done extremely well, as have all her children,” said Selanders.
“Everybody brings kind of a different lifestyle, a different story,” she said. “We can provide an opportunity for someone to work, to gain some experience, to discover that they have skills that they can put to good use.”
She said it’s helped her business as well.
“I think it benefits us because it causes us all to remember the importance of training, the importance of being flexible, the importance of spending time with people to get them through situations and then generally it helps our business grow because it helps us to reflect on a lot of those kinds of things.”
“This is special,” said CSC Board Chairperson Gloria Mahussier in a news release. “By providing participants with meaningful employment and focusing on participants’ strengths, these employers are contributing to the social and economic fabric of the community.”
CEO Bill Powalinsky added it’s important to find the right fit of employers and employees.
The release said an internal committee chose these five employers from a group of them who were nominated for diverse employment.
