The Talent Pool HR Trends 2015: The Year of Resiliency

• Adam Czarnecki is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) and a recipient of the HRIA Award of Excellence. He is a member of the Senior Management team of a heavy duty truck dealership group in Alberta where he is responsible for Human Resources, Health and Safety and Information Technology. He is an HR Instructor at the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University and Chair of their Advanced HR Curriculum Committee. Adam is an avid contributor to industry webinars, conferences and expert panel discussions related to human resources, trades and the Alberta employment pool, including a role as technology columnist for HRIA’s quarterly magazine, HUMANCapital. Adam is an HRIA Member of the Board, volunteers with SAIT, Bow Valley College, Calgary Immigrant Educational Society and Calgary Catholic Immigration Society as a speaker on employment, corporate readiness and as a resume advisor to students. Adam holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences Degree from the University of Calgary with a concentration in Crime and Deviance.

• Dirk Volschenk has a broad and varied background in Technical and Leadership Training and development. His practical interest in competency development originated from the late 1970’s when he started his career in process operations. His interest developed in a career when he researched and implemented fast track development programs as a Cognitive Psychologist within different industrial and academic institutions. He joined Sasol during the late 80’s and soon afterwards became Manager of Training and Development for Sasol. During this period, he also acted as an industry representative in redesigning the then new occupational and vocational training system in South Africa. This system became the National Competency based Qualifications Framework (NQF). Dirk has worked at Syncrude, Petro-Canada and now Suncor in the area of training and development focusing on implementation of competency based learning.

• Janet Lane, Director, Canada West Foundation Centre for Human Capital Policy, became involved in the literacy and essential skills field after a successful career in the financial sector. Over the last fifteen years Janet has gained expertise in human capital development, and a clear understanding of the economic impact of essential skills shortages. She moved into policy work as her interests and expertise in aspects of training and development expanded. An engaging public speaker, she has articulated these issues at various venues, to leaders in the public, private, post-secondary and non profit sectors. Janet holds a B.Sc. from Western University, and an MA from Royal Roads University. Canada West Foundation’s Centre for Human Capital Policy champions a West which thrives as its people reach their full potential.

• Jeff Griffiths is a seasoned organizational development consultant with a focus on competency. He gained his initial experience in competency profiling and development while serving as an officer in the Canadian Forces. He has been working with occupational standards and competency-based training and certification for more than a quarter century. He’s written a number of papers and articles on competency, apprenticeship, skills recognition and lifelong learning. Jeff is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and was named a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Alberta (ICMCA) in 2014. He currently serves as the Registrar for ICMCA, as well as the Chair of the National Certification Committee for the Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CMC-Canada). Jeff is a member of the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD), he is certified as a Training and Development Professional (CTDP), and is also a Fellow of the UK-based Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (The RSA). Jeff is a volunteer consultant with the UK-based Grow Network, which helps micro enterprises in Africa through remote business consulting support.

• Jennifer Bertrand is the Registrar of the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET). She is a Certified Association Executive with over 11 years of experience in the public and not-for-profit sectors. She has worked with a variety of employers, including the Government of Alberta and professional associations at both the provincial and national level. Jennifer has served in a variety of volunteer roles in the not-for-profit sector, most recently as a Director of the Canadian Society of Association Executive (CSAE)’s Alberta chapter and a committee member on the CSAE’s Communications Awards Task Force. She currently serves as the Chair of the Governance and Audit Council of Technology Accreditation Canada (TAC) and as a member of the TAC Standards Council. She is also an active student at Athabasca University (AU) where she is completing a second degree and was awarded the AU Academic Leadership Award for her contribution to leadership and the local community via volunteerism and active participation in extracurricular cultural activities.