SHARING CANADA'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERTISE
WITH DEVELOPING OR NEWLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES

Introduction

The importance of telecommunications in the economic, social and political development of a country is now recognized throughout the world. The benefits derived from improved telecommunications not only contribute to strengthen the economy of a nation but also to reduce isolation and improve the effectiveness of social programs.

The Canadian telecommunications industry has provided Canadians with one of the most advanced networks in the world.  Almost all households have telephone service and public surveys consistently reveal that the public is very satisfied with the quality of service.

The Maitland Commission in its 1984 report, “The Missing Link”, identified the existence of a wide gap between the telecommunications facilities of developed and newly industrialized countries.

The report went on to say: “The lack of sufficient trained staff is a major cause of the shortcomings of telecommunications with emerging economies… Most major manufacturers provide training in the techniques and maintenance particular to the equipment they supply. But a serious gap persists between developing countries’ needs and available training opportunities.”

The report recommended that: “Industrialized countries organize seminars to improve the qualifications of experts from developing and newly industrialized countries in the field of telecommunications”.

The Need for Executive Management Training

Numerous studies have shown that the single most important factor that distinguishes the best company from the others, in any industry, is not the availability of capital or its technology or even the degree of mechanization but rather the quality of its management.

The telecommunications sector is undergoing unprecedented changes.  Privatization, deregulation, competition and the global economic imperatives exacerbate the importance of quality management for the success of an organization.  Technology has become a commodity and management “know-how” has replaced land and capital as a strategic resource in successful corporations.

This transformation to quality management must start at the top of an organization if there is hope of succeeding in creating a “learning organization” that can cope with a world evermore complex, dynamic and interconnected.

Creation of the Institute

It is with the above in mind and in keeping with the Canadian tradition of international cooperation that the telecommunications industry of Canada decided in 1986, in collaboration with the Federal Government, to respond and implement the Maitland recommendation. Human resource development being key to sustainable development in any sector, it was decided to focus on executive management training, which contributes to the durability of the assistance given.

The TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE OF CANADA (TEMIC) was thus created as a non-profit organization with the mandate to assist telecommunication organizations from developing and newly industrialized countries in expanding their capability to build their future.  Based in Montreal (Canada), the Institute holds training seminars in Canada and abroad, in order to allow participants to acquire, from member-organizations, first hand knowledge on the latest management techniques and technologies available in Canadian telecommunications.

The Institute's founding members are the GOVERNMENT OF CANADA, BELL CANADA INTERNATIONAL, NORTHERN TELECOM (NORTEL), TELECOM CANADA and TELESAT CANADA. The Institute is supported by a large cross section of the Canadian telecommunications industry. Governmental support is mainly provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA),  Industry Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

The Institute’s Programs

Subject-matter experts from member-organizations are loaned to the Institute to present different training modules.  This approach has the advantage of offering various views on a particular subject, and from time to time, of hearing conflicting opinions from competing companies.

The basic techniques of training include traditional classroom settings, a case study, demonstrations and field or site visits.  The transfer of knowledge and skills occurs mainly through a participatory approach.  The breadth of knowledge, the interaction between participants and the ability to interact with managers from both the public and private sectors were praised by participants within a third party independent evaluation.  In general, TEMIC Fellows have found the seminars helpful in increasing their knowledge of telecommunications.  Almost all stated that they were able to apply the knowledge acquired.

The Participants

Participation in TEMIC programs is by invitation from the Institute.

At present, over 2,078 executives and senior managers from 144 developing or newly industrialized countries have attended the seminars offered by TEMIC since its inception.  Please refer to the Fellows page for more details on the number of fellows per country.

The selection of participants is based on prerequisites, which have been established for each program in conformity with Canada’s foreign policy or according to the current interest of member-organizations for a particular region.

Conclusion

At the request of the Canadian Government, an independent firm conducted an assessment study of TEMIC and its operations.  The conclusions of the firm indicated that, in the opinion of its member-organizations and program participants, the Institute successfully managed to fulfill its dual role of transferring practical knowledge and developing an increased awareness of Canada’s potential.

What clearly emerged from this study is that telecommunications institutes, like TEMIC, are able to play a positive role in bringing assistance to developing and newly industrialized countries in improving their telecommunications management and, by this very fact, collaborate in forging the “Missing Link”.

TEMIC has decided to invest in the productivity of people and is willing to work with the ITU/BDT in setting up plans and goals and developing programs aimed at increasing the number of telecommunications executives trained in quality management.