http://www.carmagroup.ca// CARMA - Central Alberta Rural Manufacturers Association - Latest News en-ca http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2013/02/26/carma-2013-total-compensation-survey/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2013/02/26/carma-2013-total-compensation-survey/ CARMA is very pleased to announce that we are commencing work on our 2013 Compensation Survey. A Survey Questionnaire (the “Survey”) will be sent out at the beginning of February for those companies interested in taking part. This year marks the third annual survey compiled by CARMA... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2013/02/22/carma-supervisory-development-program/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2013/02/22/carma-supervisory-development-program/ CARMA Supervisory Development Program – February, 2013 On February 14th CARMA held the last two modules of our Supervisory Development Program. This session on Recruitment, Selection and Retention Strategies was again facilitated by Ed Grose of Hr Outlook. The session was attended by 9... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2013/02/22/multigenerational-workplaces-tips-for-working-with-generation-y/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2013/02/22/multigenerational-workplaces-tips-for-working-with-generation-y/ Keeping up with the gen Yers By Harley Richards - Red Deer Advocate Published: February 13, 2013 7:57 PM Holly Bilton has spent the last decade working with members of generation Y — young people born between 1980 and 2000, and who are becoming an increasingly important part of the labour... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/11/08/business-leaders-split-on-obama-victory/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/11/08/business-leaders-split-on-obama-victory/ By Harley Richards - Red Deer Advocate Published: November 07, 2012 7:28 PM Former prime minister Pierre Trudeau once compared living next to the United States to sleeping with an elephant, observing that, “one is affected by every twitch and grunt.” There was plenty of twitching... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/11/06/bill-6-the-protections-and-compliance-statutes-amendment-act-new-penalties-for-health-safety-and-trade-violations/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/11/06/bill-6-the-protections-and-compliance-statutes-amendment-act-new-penalties-for-health-safety-and-trade-violations/ Edmonton... Alberta workers and employers who violate Alberta’s safety rules and fair trading practices are facing new penalties and significantly greater fines. “There will be no more slaps on the wrist in Alberta; a worker or employer who puts health and safety at risk, or is... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/11/06/carma-supervisory-development-program/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/11/06/carma-supervisory-development-program/ With the completion of the last two supervisory training program modules on November 1st, the association has now completed its first full offering of our CARMA Supervisory Development Program. CARMA wishes to recognize and congratulate Tom Pickett of Almita Piling Inc. for being the first... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/10/19/congratulations-to-mclevin-industries-inc/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/10/19/congratulations-to-mclevin-industries-inc/ Red Deer Businessess Receive Pretigious Awards The Red Deer Chamber of Commerce has announced the three recipients of the 2012 Business of the Year Awards at their 31st Annual Business Awards gala held October 17th 2012 at the Red Deer College Arts Centre.   300 business leaders were on hand... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/07/05/daily-economic-comment-buy-the-book/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/07/05/daily-economic-comment-buy-the-book/ Alberta's economy is doing well and most indicators in the retail and manufacturing sectors are showing solid gains,  But at least traditional industry is bucking this trend and watching revenue slump lower. Book publishers in the province posted total revenues of $28.9 million in 2010 -&nbsp... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/07/03/daily-economic-comment-order-up-restaurant-receipts-hit-record-high/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/07/03/daily-economic-comment-order-up-restaurant-receipts-hit-record-high/ In another sign that Alberta’s economy was heating up this past spring, the amount of money spent on meals and beverages hit a record high! In April, Albertans racked up nearly $641 million in sales at restaurants and drinking  establishments. That’s an increase of 0.9 per cent... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/27/daily-economic-comment-alberta-family-incomes/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/27/daily-economic-comment-alberta-family-incomes/ Alberta’s two largest cities have enjoyed a healthy rivalry in many ways over the years, but in at least one area— average family income—Cowtown has enjoyed a slight advantage. However, over the last decade Oiltown has been catching up. Median family income (before taxes) in... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/26/gentex-packing-fracking-heat/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/26/gentex-packing-fracking-heat/ Please see the attached article about one of our members! http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/21/daily-economic-comment-alberta-in-bound/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/21/daily-economic-comment-alberta-in-bound/ Once again, Alberta is the place to be! This, based on the latest population and migration data released this morning. The province’s population as of April 2012 was 3,847,119—an increase of 2.4 per cent from a year ago and by far the fastest pace of provincial growth in Canada. The... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/19/daily-economic-comment-higher-by-a-country-mile/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/19/daily-economic-comment-higher-by-a-country-mile/ Regular monthly reports show Albertans earn the healthiest weekly paycheques in the country. But in a separate report on annual household income, the same point is highlighted: Alberta is the place to be for top wages. The median annual family income in Alberta in 2010 was $78,800. This is... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/18/daily-economic-comment-bienvenue-en-alberta/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/18/daily-economic-comment-bienvenue-en-alberta/ The shortage of labour in Alberta is once again reaching a worrying level. Foreign temporary workers and migrants from other provinces are being recruited to fill vacant positions, and one province particularly—Quebec—is seeing job seekers moving to Alberta in greater numbers. In... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/07/daily-economic-comment-move-west-young-man-and-women/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/06/07/daily-economic-comment-move-west-young-man-and-women/ Alberta’s economy picked up steam through 2011 and wages began to climb higher after stagnating for a bit during the recession. Other parts of Canada weren’t so lucky, especially in the country’s most populous province, where wages have stalled altogether. Prior to... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/05/22/daily-economic-comment-singin-the-gas-pump-blues/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/05/22/daily-economic-comment-singin-the-gas-pump-blues/ The May long weekend is the kick-off to the summer travel season—and it’s often accompanied by an increase in the price of gas at the pump. Alberta gas prices may not have experienced the traditional Victoria Day bump this year, but they still outpaced general price inflation over the... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/05/16/daily-economic-comment-manufacturing-flattens-out/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/05/16/daily-economic-comment-manufacturing-flattens-out/ Factory floors and refineries in Alberta have been a blur of activity lately. However, the rate of increase seems to have levelled off somewhat in the first quarter of 2012. Manufacturers in Alberta shipped a total of $6.4 billion worth of goods in March. That is only a slight improvement over... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/05/14/daily-economic-comment-regional-differences-in-unemployment/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/05/14/daily-economic-comment-regional-differences-in-unemployment/ With Alberta’s economy back in the groove, it’s a job bonanza for a lot of people—employment is at a record high. Still, the potential job opportunities are not uniform across the province for job seekers. Surprisingly, the highest rate of unemployment in Alberta is in... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/05/07/daily-eonomic-comment-construction-intentions-rise-in-march/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/05/07/daily-eonomic-comment-construction-intentions-rise-in-march/ Build it and they will come? Well first, you need permission to build—and the permission slips for Alberta home and non-residential developers are on the rise. The value of Alberta’s building permits issued in March rose to $1.21 billion, an increase of 5.6 per cent over February, and a... http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/04/30/daily-economic-comment-canada-s-gdp-takes-a-dip/ http://www.carmagroup.ca/news/2012/04/30/daily-economic-comment-canada-s-gdp-takes-a-dip/ Sometimes with the economy, it's two steps forward and one step back - and in February - the Canadian economy saw itself shuffling in reverse. The value of all goods and services produced in the country, the gross domestic product or the GDP, contracted by 0.2 per cent in February.  That was a...