This week, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced that it will be supporting one more local organization in its undertakings. This time, the Crown corporation has teamed up with the Black Talent Initiative to help improve Black representation in the workplace, as well as invest in the growth of Black professionals.
The BTI is a volunteer-driven social impact organization whose objective is to provide professional development, mentorship, and community for Black talent seeking career advancement. Volunteers and partners of the organization are working on creating connections and career opportunities for the said communities through its networks, resources, and business collaborators.
Joining Forces
Tyjondah Kerr, Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for the Crown corporation commented that the company is proud to be joining Black Talent Initiative. The agency is hopeful that it will be able to help and support the organizationās goal of proving Black talent seeking career advancement with the professional development, mentorship, and community that enables career opportunities and inspire equitable and anti-racist workplaces.
Ms. Kerr further said that the OLG celebrates its differences and its unique perspectives, backgrounds, and orientations, which make the Crown corporation a tremendous workplace. According to her, through the collaboration with BTI, the Crown will be able to further extend its commitment to creating an environment where current and future employees of the OLG would be able to excel.
With the recent partnership, the OLG will be able to publish job opportunities on the organizationās network. Thus, creating a pipeline through which OLG leaders will provide BTI with opportunities for mentoring and networking to members of the organization. In addition to that, the Crown and BTI will work on developing learning opportunities that benefit both sides of this symbiosis.
Founder of the Black Talent Initiative, Mark Harrison commented that in the history of Ontario only a few organizations can match the level of commitment and contribution that the OLG has provided to communities. In his opinion, the Crown agencyās focus is on securing better economic benefits for locals, and that aligns perfectly with BTIās goal.
One of the Employers
Last month, the OLG revealed that it has made Forbesā list of Canadaās Best Employers for 2022 for the first time in its history. This category applies to corporations with over 500 employees and it is voted through an independent survey given to more than 10,000 employees. The grade consists of direct and direct recommendations from staff who were asked to what rate they would be willing to recommend their employer to others.
Reinvesting Back into the Province
Through its gaming activities, the Crown corporation is able to support many Ontario communities and municipalities that host casino properties. Also, last January, the Crown corporation started to issue its third-quarter revenue-sharing payments to local communities. For instance, the City of Windsor was among these communities receiving a total of CA$2,158,545 for the period of October 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021.
Source: āOLG and Black Talent Initiative Partnering to Help More Black Canadians Succeed and Thrive in the Workplaceā, OLG, February 23, 2022
