· Kumanan and McFadden had the pleasure of meeting with representatives of the London/Middlesex Immigrant Employment Council (LMIEC) in London on Tuesday to discuss employer engagements approaches and challenges, and share ideas about what works and what doesn’t. It was a very productive meeting and we hope to expand the interactions to include employers in the future.

· Work continues on the refinement of WRIEN”s Employer Engagement Priorities for 2009/2010. The Employment Initiatives Work Group will be reviewing them on the 26th.

· A mentor recognition event is being planned by the Y and WRIEN for April 23rd to celebrate the good work of mentors in the Mentoring Partnership Waterloo Region program.

· Plans are progressing well for the May 7th Employer “Tool Time” Mini Conference. It will feature a workforce driven economic update session, a session on High Definition Employment Branding, a session on Qualifications and experience Assessment resources, the launch of the new Employers Guide for Waterloo Region and an overview of support services provided by our dynamic local service providers. All of this will take place between 3:00pm and 6:00pm.

· Upcoming WRIEN Events:

o March 26 – Employment Initiatives Work Group – 9:00am – 10:30am – Chamber office

o April 21 – Diversity in the Workplace Seminar – (invitation attached)

o April 29 – Networking and Recruiting Event – 4:00pm to 6:00pm, Cambridge City Hall

o April 23 – Mentor Recognition Event – 5:00pm to 8:00pm – details to follow

o April 1 – WRIEN Steering Committee Meeting – 3:00pm – Chamber office

o May 7 – Employers “Tool Time” Tools and Supports for hiring ITI’s Event – Launch of the new Resource Guide – details above