Vancouver 2010 welcomes Accenture and Pharmasave to employee loan program

VANCOUVER , Oct. 15 /CNW/ - Two leading businesses, Accenture and Pharmasave, are the latest to offer their employees the ultimate team building exercise and a chance to be a part of the 2010 Winter Games as they confirmed their participation today in the Vancouver 2010 employee loan program.

The announcement was made at a Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon featuring John Furlong , CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), who provided highlights on the progress to date of the VANOC secondment program.

Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, will loan 100 "person months," which as details are finalized could mean 33 employees for three months, or 50 employees for two months. Pharmasave also confirmed their support, and will work with VANOC in the coming weeks to determine final numbers of employees that will participate in the program.

"The Games are all about high-performance teams working together to achieve greatness," said Furlong. "Businesses like Accenture and Pharmasave also need strong teams to reach their goals. This employee loan program initiative creates an environment for unique team building opportunities full of rewarding and beneficial experiences for our business partners and their talented employees. We welcome their support as we all work together to stage great Games on behalf of all Canadians."

"VANOC's employee loan program provides a great opportunity for organizations to supercharge their employees' skills and become a recognized employer of choice in the community," said Sue Paish, chair of the Vancouver Board of Trade and CEO of Pharmasave. "I encourage all of our members to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

The corporate initiative is part of a larger secondment program offered by VANOC. In July, the Organizing Committee launched a private and government employee loan program to fill most of its remaining 1,500 short-term jobs. Until the launch of the program, VANOC already had 45 seconded staff from about 20 different partners, including Deloitte, the Canadian Tourism Commission and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. Similar secondment programs have been used at previous Olympic and Commonwealth Games, including Calgary in 1988.

In the past two months, 200 employees from the BC Public Service have received offers to join the VANOC team for this once-in-a-lifetime professional experience. Jobs remain available in 32 of VANOC's 53 departments. For a full list of positions available, visit www.vancouver2010.com.

While the final value and number of loaned employees will not be known for several months, the program will result in significant savings to VANOC's operational budget.

Blake Hanna , managing director of Human Capital and Diversity for Accenture in Canada , added: "Our employees in British Columbia and across Canada are proud of Accenture's support of the 2010 Winter Games. Accenture employees from around the globe have already enrolled to participate in the 2010 Olympic volunteer experience and VANOC's secondment program offers yet another way for our employees to apply their skills in support of the Games. Accenture looks forward to working with other private and public sector partners to deliver a world-class event."

Companies offering to loan groups of employees join the 'Friends of the Games' corporate secondment program. By loaning 10 to 50 employees for at least eight weeks to VANOC, a company will have the opportunity to showcase their teamwork skills and run a complete project or function, such as a parking area, venue function or transport staging site.

In return, the company will receive a number of torchbearer positions, sport event tickets and seats at the dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games based on the number of employees it provides.

"The impetus for this secondment program is for us to maintain a balanced budget for the Games - the use of seconded employees will ease some of the pressure on our budget as we navigate this extraordinary downturn in the economy," Furlong added.

Interested businesses and employees can find additional information on getting involved in the program by e-mailing [email protected].

About VANOC

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

For further information: Media Contacts: Darlene Small, VANOC Communications, [phone], [email protected]