Our rebrand story

It’s about time. 
The events of 2020 to now have amplified gaps, inequities, and challenges related to employment. Issues that were once siloed into the social domain, such as mental health, diversity & inclusion and childcare, have pushed to the forefront as economic (and workforce) imperatives. 

We’ve seen big changes in the world of work – from the ways we work to the demographic makeup of workers. We proved our ability to adapt to remote work, had meaningful conversations about prioritizing wellbeing at work and witnessed international phenomena, like The Great Resignation. Workers in the baby boom generation are moving into retirement at high rates and the resulting labour shortage has shifted us into a job seeker’s market. 

After decades of observing workforce trends, listening to employers and navigating employment systems as Niagara Workforce Planning Board, we committed to taking action to address issues like labour shortages and wellbeing in the workplace. We’re acting as a hub for developing collaborative solutions and nurturing new ways of thinking and doing for a better workforce.  

We are Workforce Collective.    

Workforce Collective will continue to deliver labour market data and insight, through the work we do as Niagara’s workforce planning board. We’ll also dive deeper into our initiatives related to the equity of work, newcomer employment strategies, and more.

It’s also about people. 
Our capacity expanded with the addition of Rachel Crane (October 2021) leading our community relations, learning and engagement strategies; and in April 2022, with Camila Concha supporting our Immigrant Refugee Citizenship Canada-funded projects and Kevin Unger strengthening our communications and marketing activities.  

The new team members joined longer-serving staff, Lisa Cairns, Finance & Business Administration Lead; Thalia Semplonius, Research & Project Lead; and Vivian Kinnaird, Strategy Lead/CEO who, alongside NWPB alumni (namely, Adam Durrant ‘21 and Mario De Divitiis ‘19), built a solid foundation from which organizational transformation and a new brand could emerge.  

With an engaged group of leaders serving on our Board of Directors, we are continuously supported in thinking differently about how to realize our vision for a thriving community powered by a diverse and healthy workforce. 

Some say it takes a village to build a brand. We found that to be true as many other creative people pitched in to help with this rebrand process: the team at Elev8 with website development; Hughes & Co— Allie Hughes & Carly Snider with their communications strategy input and Shane Turner with our logo and colour palette; Jenny Vu, of JVU Creative, with graphic design assets; and the Unger Studios team— Kevin Unger, Jacob Paura & Lauren Dam for the beautiful photo/video content, and Tannis Thatcher with the re-launch of our e-newsletter. 

With the unveiling of the Workforce Collective brand, we invite collaborators, changemakers, and problem-solvers to explore new ways of thinking and doing for a better workforce with us.