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September 6, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
05-54
OTTAWA, ONTARIO-Belinda Stronach, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal, today announced that the Government of Canada is releasing its first Call for Proposals for pilot projects that will be supported through the Government's new Workplace Skills Initiative (WSI).
The WSI is one of the early initiatives under Canada's overall Workplace Skills Strategy (WSS), designed to ensure we have the skilled labour force needed to succeed in the 21st century.
"Canada's greatest source of creativity and economic strength is its people, and our future competitiveness depends on a highly skilled workforce," said Minister Stronach. "The Workplace Skills Initiative will help us improve and sustain our skilled labour force by encouraging employers to test new approaches to developing the skills of their workers. It will also help workers overcome some of the barriers that often prevent them from developing workplace skills."
The WSI will support partnership-based projects that improve the human resources (HR) practices and capacity of businesses, with particular emphasis on small- to medium-sized enterprises. It will support the strengthening of links among business, labour and education to foster the development of skills programs that address industry-defined needs. The WSI will also support innovative activities to enhance skills laddering, up-skilling and re-skilling, in addition to the exchange of ideas, approaches and techniques that strengthen, encourage and promote good HR management activities.
A number of existing government programs are also linked to the WSS, including the Government's Sector Council Program, Foreign Credential Recognition Program, Training Centre Infrastructure Fund, and the Essential Skills and Workplace Literacy Initiative.
The WSS aims to contribute to a labour market that is flexible and efficient; to help Canadians be the best trained, most highly skilled workers in the world; and to ensure that the needs of employers and employed Canadians are met.
While the Government of Canada has a role in initiating and facilitating a new approach to skills development in Canada, other groups have an equally important part to play. Partnerships are therefore key, and the Government of Canada will continue working closely with other levels of government, as well as with business, unions, sector councils, employer and employee associations, chambers of commerce, local economic development organizations, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, and other partners so that Canadian workers have the opportunity to develop their skills and succeed.
Funding for the WSS was announced in the 2005 federal Budget.
For further information regarding the WSI, or to get a copy of the Call for Proposals, please go to http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/ws/initiatives/wsi/index.shtml.
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Please see the attached backgrounder for more information on the Workplace Skills Initiative.
For further information (media only):
Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
(819) 994-5559
Workplace Skills Initiative
The Government of Canada has developed the Workplace Skills Strategy (WSS) to build a labour market that is flexible and efficient; to help Canadians be the best trained, most highly skilled workers in the world; and to respond to the needs of employers to make Canadian workplaces more productive and innovative.
To achieve these broad goals, the WSS is focusing on three priority areas for action:
promoting workplace skills investment;
promoting skills recognition and utilization; and
promoting partnerships, networks, and information flows.
Building on these priority areas, and to build momentum and strengthen partnerships with workplace stakeholders, the first phase of the WSS is focusing on a number of key initiatives including the Workplace Skills Initiative.
The Workplace Skills Initiative
The WSI will fund pilot projects over the next three years that develop, deploy, and connect employed Canadians and, most importantly, lead to measurable results.
The WSI is designed to:
Build on current and leading-edge trends in Human Resources (HR) that address skills gap impacts;
Address specific skills development issues facing small and medium enterprises (SMEs); and
Address issues concerning low-skilled, under-employed and older workers.
PROJECT FUNDING
The WSI objectives were determined following extensive consultation with representatives from major sectors of the workforce across Canada during the past year.
The WSI has been designed to support pilot projects (up to three years in duration) that are partnership-based, that focus on employers and employed Canadians, and that address one or more of the following objectives:
Demonstrating new and innovative approaches to workplace skills development, including essential skills and literacy; management, supervisory and leadership skills; technical skills (such as engineering skills, project management skills, and automotive skills); and other non-technical or soft business skills;
Supporting the adoption and sharing of improved HR practices and of best practices relating to recruiting, developing, retraining, and retaining employees-particularly for SMEs;
Piloting new and innovative approaches to identifying, recognizing, and using skills, such as skills passports, talent portfolios, skills matching, and inter-regional and inter-sector worker mobility; and
Piloting new and innovative approaches to promote partnerships, networks, and information flows within and across firms as well as across sectors, such as collaborative partnerships between the business and education sectors.
To be considered for funding, projects must provide a clear rationale outlining the importance, originality, and significance of the proposed pilot project outcomes for the applicant organization and the Canadian workplace in general.
For further information regarding the WSI, please go to http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/ws/initiatives/wsi/index.shtml.
