Contact: Lise Alain                                                                                                                        FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel.: 604-736-3304
Cell Phone: 604-240-9743
email: lalain@yms-intl.com

VANCOUVER AT THE HEART OF GATEWAY ECONOMY

As North America’s most Asian city, Vancouver will increasingly play a vital role in promoting cultural, commercial and political ties with China. 

VANCOUVER - By announcing his country’s renewed commitment to developing a “strategic partnership” with Canada, Chinese President Hu Jintao recognizes the importance of building on already existing services and networks that connect our two countries. With a Chinese speaking population of 300K, Vancouver is particularly well positioned to act as the Gateway to Asia.

To effectively reinforce already existing networks and connections, cross cultural communication is central to business dealings. “Your Multilingual Solution” is a Vancouver based organization focussed on providing a complete range of language services to businesses. Our language training division provides language and cultural training to skilled immigrants working in Vancouver or to businesses who wish to  travel to Asia in search of commercial deals. “Using theatre techniques, participants can physically experience a language and its culture” says Lise Alain, President and Founder of TSL, a training program offered by YMS. “Our theatre consultants work with language instructors to create and deliver programs focussed on enhancing communication between people of different cultural or linguistic background. Theatre techniques are ideal to create a climate of trust and acceptance, focussing on what we have in common instead of on our differences.”  “Although theatre is all about saying YES”, continues Leyla Carreira, Corporate Training Manager at YMS, “the three basic principles of a TSL class all start with “no”: “no blocking” – a theatre term which means to accept offers, other people’s ideas and initiatives; “no judgement” and “no mistakes”. Another important element inherent to YMS programs is the use of humour.

Victor Borge once said: "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." In a multicultural workplace, humour can do wonders to bring people together. Many businesses are beginning to realize that however important technical skills may be, soft skills such as communication, teamwork and attitude will significantly affect the bottom line.

According to the Information and Communications Technology Council[1], the technology industry will continue to increasingly rely on Internationally Educated Professionals (IEPs) as a source of supply for the industry. Integration issues of IEPs into today’s ICT workforce should be a priority. Canada’s reliance on IEPs will affect all industries. The integration of immigrant workers within the ICT industry is complex. In 2006, 19% of workers in core ICT occupations were IEPs. As BC companies increasingly need to lean on foreign workers to fill labour shortages, language training is as important as team building or corporate integration. “Integrating new staff into a team requires creativity”, says Leyla. “Helping employees connect through humour and creativity will help them thrive and be innovative. Employers should aim at providing training that stimulates creativity and a sense of belonging”. Effective orientation programs are also important in order to reduce staff turnover, increase productivity and boost moral. There are typically two components to an orientation program: a general introduction into the company, its culture, values, vision and policies; and a departmental or job-specific orientation when the employee actually starts work. Both of these components, when delivered through theatre techniques and games, can have powerful results.

At YMS, we believe that Diversity is BC’s Greatest Asset!^TM 
 

To discuss how our multilingual team can help your company make the best of its diverse workforce, give us a call at 604-736-3304 or visit our website at yms-intl.com for more information about our services.