Backgrounder - Government of Canada creating more skills training opportunities for Canadians

Over $16.5 million in funding under the Skills for Success Program will be allocated to nine organizations located in the Greater Toronto Area to deliver a mix of national and regional projects that help to address  skills and labour issues across Canada.

Note: Projects funded under the Research and Innovation Stream will not have associated participant targets, given the nature of the projects.

Organization: AccessNow
Project name: AccessNow Accelerator Program 
Description: AccessNow will develop new research and innovative methods to help persons with disabilities better prepare for, return to or keep employment. This project will support research planning, recruitment, and research methodology on entrepreneurial/experiential learning to encourage the skills development of persons with disabilities across Canada.
Stream: Research and Innovation
Targeted participants: N/A 
Funding amount: $843,967

Organization: The Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work
Project name: Research in STEAM - Skilled Talent Employment Advantage Method 
Description: This project, which will run for 20 months, will examine the relationship between employment outcomes of persons with disabilities and their socioemotional skill development. Research findings will be shared with stakeholders to ensure that existing skills programming meets the needs of persons with disabilities across Canada.
Stream: Research and Innovation
Targeted participants:  N/A 
Funding amount: $1,014,928

Organization: Youthful Cities
Project name: Bounce Back - New solutions for the young workers’ skills gaps exacerbated by the pandemic 
Description: This project will use a community action research model to examine how the development of foundational and transferable skills was impacted by the pandemic. It will focus on identifying ways to increase the uptake of the Skills for Success model for young workers, including those from underrepresented populations.
Stream: Research and Innovation
Targeted participants: N/A 
Funding amount: $4,184,453

Organization: Prepr Foundation
Project name: Flexible Upskilling Network - Skills for Success (FUN-SFS) 
Description: This project will design and implement training for participants to help improve their foundational and transferable skills to meet on-the-job demands. It will offer training programs and toolkits with practical guidance on skills development, with a focus on women, racialized Canadians and newcomers.  
Stream: Training and Tools
Targeted participants:  240           
Funding amount: $2,667,048

Organization: Imagine Canada
Project name: Futureproofing the Community Service Frontline Workforce 
Description: This project will conduct research on the current and future supply of digital skills in the non-profit sector. It will explore how the Skills for Success model, such as digital and related skills, can be applied in the non-profit sector to create more upskilling opportunities and more effective training services for workers. The organization will also collaborate with experts and key stakeholders to co-design and prototype solutions in an effort to close the digital skills gap and better promote the use of digital skills in the non-profit sector.
Stream: Research and Innovation
Targeted participants: N/A  
Funding amount: $3,170,763

Organization: Institute for Performance and Learning (I4PL)
Project name: Building Our Capacity to Develop Skills for Success in Canada's Workforce
Description: This project will conduct an integrative (systematic) review of leading research and professional literature on effective and ineffective practices to integrate Skills for Success practices in the workforce. Through literature reviews, model projects, evidence-based best practices and surveys, this research project will offer guidance to learning professionals on ways they can successfully apply Skills for Success practices in their work.
Stream: Research and Innovation
Targeted participants: N/A 
Funding amount: $544,489

Organization: SKETCH Working Arts
Project name: QTBIPOC Arts Legal Lab Employment Generator 
Description: This project will support youth in the Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous People of Colour (QTBIPOC) community to help them build their careers in the arts. Through learning workshops, printed lesson kits, online lesson modules and more, participants will gain leadership skills and learn how to build self-sufficient careers in the arts. For example, in addition to cultivating transferable and foundational skills, the project will offer training to young artists on the legal aspects of doing art as an occupation such as copyright and intellectual property law.
Stream: Training and Tools
Targeted participants: 300 
Funding amount: $568,424

Organization: Toronto Metropolitan University
Project name: Accessible Upskilling of Diverse Talent for SMEs
Description: This project will offer a variety of skills training and tools to participants of equity-seeking groups with the goal of bridging the skills gaps between small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) and workers across Canada. The project will identify skills opportunities and areas of growth by working with SMEs. It will also connect participants with the skills training that they need to gain employment in SMEs. Online training modules will be offered to participants to improve their communication, collaboration, adaptability, creativity and innovation skills, with a focus on digital skills and competencies. 
Stream: Training and Tools
Targeted participants: 350
Funding amount: $2,404,887

Organization: WoodGreen Community Services
Project name: Enabling Employment and Broad Adoption of Skills for Success for Older Workers 
Description: This project, which will run for 12 months, will offer job training programs to racialized older job seekers in the Toronto region to better prepare for, get, and keep a job. The project will focus on six skills within the new Skills for Success model (digital, collaboration, adaptability, creativity and innovation, communication and problem solving), while supporting assessment services and service coordination for three additional skills (writing, numeracy and reading).
Stream: Training and Tools 
Targeted participants: 106  
Funding amount: $1,171,046