Conversations Matter – Welcome to YYC Talks

With near capacity registrations, Champions was delighted to kick-off the YYC Talks series this month with an engaging and interactive presentation by Brian Kruegar, Workplace Education Consultant with the Alberta Government. An experienced facilitator, Brian spoke about Alberta’s Employment Standards and the rights and obligations of employees and employers.  Although the topic may have been dry, Brian succeeded in engaging the crowd.

“It was fun, there were even prizes!  There were great questions from the crowd, which stimulated discussion. One question led to another and he did a great job of addressing every question that arose. I saw a lot of ‘aha’ moments,” said Champions’ Executive Director, Lisa Moon.

There was positive feedback from attendees, who came from a wide cross-section of the Calgary community. “This lecture was very helpful. My previous experience with labour regulation had been in a unionized environment, so it was great to learn more about the Albertan laws.” said an attendee.

“This was a wonderful talk, a lot of very useful information in very little time!” said another.

YYC Talks is a community series, hosted by Champions Career Centre each month. Its mission is to inform, empower and promote success for the people who attend, and for the Calgary community as a whole.  It is open to all members of the community and covers a variety of interesting and relevant topics by local speakers. The idea to start this series came about when members of the Champions team were looking for a productive and mutually beneficial forum to share ideas and knowledge within our network of community partners. What evolved was a wider scope of topics and a more inclusive forum. And, with the high registration numbers for the premiere session it’s a clear demonstration from the Calgary community that there was a need for this type of series.

“We wanted to give people useful information to start conversations,” says Andrea Arellano Stubbs, Champions’ Intake Coordinator and one of the event founders.

This sentiment is echoed by Client Services Manager, Lori James. “Conversations are always important. Having speakers who are passionate and/or are subject matter experts to start those conversations is a bonus. YYC Talks is about having truly integrated conversations. If you’ve only got a session that’s for employers, or for business leaders, or people who are looking for work, you don’t really get the full picture. YYC Talks is going to help develop and expand the picture.”

Looking ahead, YYC Talks continues on May 14 with a session titled “Unleashing Creative Confidence” with Presenter  Kristan Nielson who is a coach, consultant and leader in the field of organizational development.

YYC Talkers can expect to learn what kind of environment supports creativity, how to harness and unleash their personal creativity, and strategies to tap our collective creative capacity.

YYC Talks, Unleashing Creative Confidence, Wednesday, May 14, 5-7pm

Champions Career Centre, 6^th Floor, 839 5^th Ave SW, Calgary T2P 3C8

REGISTER ONLINE