July 25, 2022 Winnipeg, Manitoba Employment and Social Development Canada
Canada's economic recovery is well underway. We have recovered 115% of the jobs lost during pandemic. In fact, our economic growth is beginning to outpace the ability of some employers to find workers. The country has faced shifting demographics, new technologies, and different practices, such as gig and part-time work. New sectors like green technology are growing rapidly. The ways we work, such as teleworking and digitalization, are creating more options for people. Now, more than ever, it's critical that workers have the foundational and transferable skills they need to adapt, and thrive in the evolving workforce of today.
Today, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, announced that the Government of Canada is investing over $3.8 million in Workplace Education Manitoba (WEM) through the Skills for Success program. WEM's Workplace Connections project will help 120 people become certified Skills for Success practitioners. As practitioners, they will design and deliver employer-focused skills training, tailored to the specific needs of 60 different workplaces, predominantly in manufacturing. About 500 workers across Canada, including in Manitoba, will benefit from this training.
Launched in May 2021, the Skills for Success program focuses on nine foundational and transferable skills that Canadians need to participate, adapt and thrive in learning, work and life. They include foundational skills like writing, reading and numeracy, and socio-emotional skills - the human skills required for effective social interaction, such as collaboration, communication, problem solving, adaptability, and creativity and innovation.
The Skills for Success program is helping address Canada's immediate and long-term training needs, particularly for under-represented groups in the labour market, including Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and racialized Canadians. The projects funded by the Skills for Success program will contribute to an estimated 90,000 job training opportunities, helping deliver on the Government's commitment to create 500,000 new training and work opportunities for Canadians.
