Schulich ExecEd to provide skills-training for recent immigrants with funding from Ontario Government

The Schulich ExecEd (Schulich ExecEd) will help train unemployed and underemployed immigrants to work in the supply-chain sector thanks to government funding made available to Schulich ExecEd and its partner organizations. The program is part of the Ontario Ministry of Training, Labour and Skills’ $115 million Skills Development Fund that will enable market-driven solutions and unlock the economic potential of skilled trades and broader workforce development initiatives to facilitate economic recovery.

Schulich ExecEd is proud to collaborate with the Immigrants Working Centre of Hamilton, the lead organization in the project, and with McGraw Hill to develop and deliver a suite of skills-development activities for 80 recent immigrants, focusing on employment in manufacturing supply chain operations. The program aims to serve newcomer job-seekers in Hamilton and the surrounding area, as well as Halton and Niagara Regions and Brant County. While the program will be delivered remotely, the project will maintain a regional focus in order to respond to the local labour market context and enable local development activities and positive employment outcomes for participants.

Schulich ExecEd will support this $400,000 project, titled Newcomers in Supply Chain Operations, by delivering virtual programs on foundational and advanced project management skills to support recent immigrants facing multiple barriers to economic participation and sustainable, living-wage work. The project will create an opportunity for internationally-trained individuals to enhance and apply their skills in the local economy and to fill specific workforce gaps related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are excited to be a part of this project that will not only help with the post-pandemic recovery but also allow us to showcase Schulich ExecEd’s capabilities to develop learning programs that directly help newcomers to have a wider range of employment opportunity in the local workforce,” said Elena Caprioni, Schulich ExecEd associate director. “This project will also help a sector that was hard-hit by Covid-19 to recover faster. Schulich ExecEd and York University look forward to applying for more government funding to help workers and employers meet changes in the new economy.”