July 4 2003 - The former Ontario Society for Training &
Development (OSTD) has been expanded to cover all of Canada as the Canadian
Society for Training and Development (CSTD). CSTD represents 1,700 training & development
professionals, suppliers and service providers in all sectors of the economy, including
government, health care, finance, manufacturing, transportation and IT.
CSTD is intended to help boost the productivity and
profitability of Canadian businesses through better training and
professional development of employees and executives across Canada.
"Smart companies and organizations understand that by investing in their
people through new, innovative training and professional development tools and
programs, they will ultimately see a very real and very tangible return on
that investment in terms of a higher-calibre workforce, higher productivity
and, most importantly, an improved bottom line," said Dale Wilcox, President
of CSTD.
"Our goal is to take that message right across Canada, and to link
training and development professionals with their counterparts in all
provinces and in other countries around the world."
CSTD's launch has been greeted by leading voices in both
business and government.
"Developing a highly skilled workforce is essential for Canada's future
and a key component of the Government of Canada's Innovation Strategy. CSTD,
an organization dedicated to the profession of training, workplace learning
and human resources development, has an important role to play. It's an
organization I look forward to working with in the coming months," said the
Hon. Jane Stewart, Minister of Human Resources Development.
Stéphane Boisvert, President of Sun Microsystems Canada, agrees.
"Sun Microsystems has a long-standing history of innovation as a direct
result of our commitment to top-notch training and development of our
employees. In fact, Sun has grown out of an academic environment, and
additional training has allowed us to develop new technologies that have
delivered bottom-line results," said Boisvert. "We applaud CSTD for reaching
this milestone, as well as their ongoing dedication to promotion the benefits
of education."
The former Ontario Society for Training & Development (OSTD) was established in 1946.
From July 1 2003 CSTD has taken on the role of its predecessor in setting standards and promoting excellence in the training and
development profession but now throughout Canada. CSTD also provides its members with the opportunity to
enhance their professional abilities and to share best practices within their
fields.