Engineering has a diversity issue, and Canadian institutions know this. Thanks in part to the work done by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), the idea of “Indigenizing” the profession of engineering and engineering curriculum has been a recurring theme across post-secondary and regulatory bodies across the country in recent years. According to Queen’s University, “Indigenization can be seen as the re-doing or reaffirming of education to include Indigenous ways of knowing, thinking, feeling and being. It involves elevating the voices of Indigenous peoples, elevating tradi ..read more

Calgary, AB – October 5, 2021 – Agilus (Design Group Staffing Inc.), a recognized leader in the staffing industry, today announced it has acquired BOWEN Group (BOWEN Workforce Solutions Inc.) and its ownership stake in Stream Source, an Indigenous workforce management firm, bringing together more than 90 years of recruitment experience, award-winning talent, and long-term client relationships. This acquisition will expand Agilus’ Alberta footprint, offer clients a more robust Contingent Workforce Management solution and help further drive its commitment to diversity and inclusion. It brings ..read more

“The execution of Indians ought to convince the Red Man that the White Man governs.” – a quote from the first Prime Minister of Canada in 1855. The atrocities committed by residential schools may not have begun with our first Prime Minister, but they certainly didn’t end with him. From 1831 to 1996 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were taken from their families and forced to attend Residential Schools. These schools were overcrowded, underfunded and delivered substandard education; children were hurt and staff were never held accountable for how they treated these children. On June 21 ..read more

Hiring new talent has been a lot more challenging recently and nearly every industry in Canada is currently affected by this change to the employment market. According to a recent survey from ManpowerGroup, 73% of Canadian employers say they can’t find the skills they need – a 15-year-high. Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reports that participation in the labour force is at pre-pandemic levels for most demographic groups. If that’s the case, then why is it so difficult to hire new employees and how can your organization overcome these challenges? The Race is On We’re currently in a period of cha ..read more

If you live in Calgary, you may have noticed the Beltline has recently had a colourful facelift. That’s thanks to the annual Beltline Urban Murals Project (BUMP) Festival, a community driven initiative to transform the centre of Calgary into an expansive open-air art gallery. This year Parkside Place, home to BOWEN’s Calgary headquarters, had the honour of being chosen for a mural application from internationally recognized artist, Alexandar Bacon. Having spent the better part of his life painting graffiti, Bacon entered the world of professional mural painting in the last ten years with gre ..read more

Excitement, anxiety and apathy – your employees are likely feeling one or more of these emotions when the words “return to office” are mentioned. What was once the norm — heading into the office Monday to Friday from 9 to 5 — is now seen by many as outdated and “old school.” Prior to March 2020, many business leaders assumed working from home reduced productivity, impeded collaboration and fostered laziness. Now, over a year and a half later, this theory has been thoroughly debunked. Not that proof didn’t exist beforehand, a study conducted by Stanford in 2015 found working from home led to a ..read more

As public health restrictions begin to ease across the country Canadian employment made a small increase after a significant wave of job losses from April – May. Although any increase in employment is positive for Canadians, Statistics Canada reports the employment growth in June was entirely in part-time work and concentrated among youth aged 15 to 24. Meanwhile after falling by 143,000 over the previous two months, full-time work was little changed. With some good news to report, the Canadian unemployment rate fell by 61,000 while the labour force grew by 170,000 in June. Additionally, empl ..read more

Calgary (June 28, 2021) – Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF) announced last week the appointment of BOWEN Group’s Vice President of Corporate Development, Patricia Kaiser, as the new Chair of CHF’s Board of Directors. Patricia has been an active member of CHF’s board for the last three years and served as the Chair of the HR and Governance Committee this past year. With a strong reputation in the community as a respected business leader, Patricia brings over 25+ years of senior executive experience to CHF’s board. She also maintains her ICD.D designation, certified from the University of Toron ..read more

Staying on top of inclusive language in the workplace can be a daunting task. Fear of change, offense or accidentally creating a hostile working environment are all sufficient reasons to feel the need to step lightly when having conversations involving gender inclusivity. Nevertheless, not taking the time to educate yourself and your team is even more detrimental in the long run. At BOWEN diversity and inclusion are ingrained in everything we do, but even so there’s still work to do. We know this, which is why for our most recent Corporate Connection event we invited Lindsay Peace – Executive ..read more

Today we celebrate and mourn for the Indigenous Peoples of Canada who have contributed so much to the fabric of this country, despite having had so much taken from them. It’s the least we can do to take the longest day of the year, where in certain parts of Canada the sun will not set, to celebrate Indigenous heritage. In fact, for centuries Indigenous Peoples have held celebrations on the summer solstice celebrating both their heritage and the dawn of summer, which is why June 21 was chosen 25 years ago as National Indigenous People’s Day in Canada. However, we know that one day – or even o ..read more