OTTAWA, Jan. 19, 2016. Engineers Canada and Geoscientists Canada have jointly published a planning resource guide that outlines best practices for employees and employers managing maternity or parental leave in Canada’s engineering and geoscience professions.
Managing Transitions: Before, During and After Leave is intended to assist engineers and geoscientists who are considering maternity or parental leave, and is designed to also assist their employers. It provides extensive checklists and outlines steps that individuals, supervisors and companies can take to help smoothly off and on ramp employees taking a leave of absence.
“This guide will be a tremendous resource for new parents and for their employers,” said Kim Allen, FEC, P.Eng., the Chief Executive Officer of Engineers Canada. “The guide and its recommendations will go a long way to creating welcoming workplaces in the engineering and geoscience professions with good leave practices that will attract talented employees.”
Engineers Canada and Geoscientists Canada are both dedicated to enhancing gender diversity in their respective professions, where women remain under-represented.
Diversity has proven value for innovation, customer relevancy and project management, and employers are therefore looking for ways to improve workplace inclusivity, attract top talent, and ensure their company is on the leading edge of policy and practice. Improving career transitions and managing leaves of absence are crucial for the retention of this skilled and valued talent, and thereby increase workplace diversity.
“Geoscientists Canada is delighted to be jointly publishing this new guide together with our colleagues at Engineers Canada,” said Oliver Bonham, P.Geo, FGC, the Chief Executive Officer of Geoscientists Canada. “Experience and research has shown that without forethought, rejoining an organization can be frustrating, especially when expectations are not managed. The solution is to actively manage the transition and this guide outlines the steps to do so, ensuring that employees and employers know what to expect; that leaves of absence do not disrupt career progression or productivity; and that business continuity remains.”
Engineers Canada and Geoscientists Canada thank the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Alberta (APEGA), and acknowledge the groundbreaking work done by the women and men of the Women in APEGA group. That group created the foundational document, Managing Transitions: Before, During and After Leave, upon which this national guide is based.
Engineers Canada is the national organization of the 12 engineering regulators that license the country's 280,000 members of the profession. Together, we work to advance the profession in the public interest. www.engineerscanada.ca
Geoscientists Canada is the national organization of the provincial and territorial licensing bodies that regulate the practice of geosciences in Canada. The geoscience profession, which encompasses many specialized practice disciplines, currently has over 13,000 licensed professionals and Geoscientists-in-Training across Canada.
www.geoscientistscanada.ca
For more information, contact:
Brent Gibson
Practice Lead, Communications
Engineers Canada
613.232.2474 Ext. 234
brent.gibson@engineerscanada.ca
Oliver Bonham, P.Geo.
Chief Executive Officer
Geoscientists Canada
604.412.4888
obonham@geoscientistscanada.ca
