Future Skills Centre invests $7.65M to transition displaced workers
July 9, 2019
By PLANT STAFF
Innovation projects will test and evaluate approaches to support thousands of workers facing career transitions.
TORONTO — Mid-career workers displaced by technology or other factors will get some help retraining and improving their skill levels.
Future Skills Centre – Centre des Compétences is investing $7.65 million in 10 innovation projects that will help identify the best training opportunities for mid-career workers.
The centre, funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Program, says the projects, from skills assessment platforms and apprenticeships, to upskilling via a virtual reality simulator, will allow thousands of Canadians to participate in testing these approaches to skills development.
Many of these projects will engage mid-career workers in specific sectors that are experiencing, or are at-risk of, disruption and displacement, and help to identify ways to transition them into high-growth job opportunities. Others will explore common denominator barriers to successful career transitions and improving current services.
Examples of projects include:
• In Calgary, exploring training types to help prepare and connect highly skilled oil and gas workers with high-demand jobs in the growing tech sector
• In Nova Scotia, assessing the effectiveness of a virtual reality upskilling program for professional truck drivers
• In Oshawa and Kitchener-Waterloo, identifying the specific skills needed by at-risk auto workers to transition to high-demand jobs in the mold-making and injection-molding trades.
• Testing training models that would upskill cashiers and meat processing workers across Canada for higher skilled jobs in the food and retail sectors.
• In Manitoba, assessing enhanced training programs for adult learners who experience “Learner Shock,” including feelings of frustration, confusion, and anxiety about mid-career transitions.
• Exploring upskilling opportunities that best support mid-career workers with disabilities across Canada, who are particularly vulnerable to displacement in today’s changing labour market
Full project descriptions can be viewed here.