TORONTO—As part of a $32 million investment, Future Skills Centre (FSC) is funding 64 innovation projects that are expected to provide practical solutions and skills for thousands of workers and employers impacted by COVID-19 across the country.
The projects aim to explore new technologies and processes for whole industry sectors that are evolving or emerging, while others are designed to reskill or upskill workers displaced by the pandemic and to help prepare the workforce for the jobs and opportunities of the future, indicates a release.
Highlights include:
- Thirty-three projects worth $17.7 million that will focus on providing equitable opportunity and access for Indigenous communities.
- Nine projects worth $7.8 million that will invest in new fields or mobilize emerging industries such as cellular agriculture, sustainable fisheries and robotic manufacturing.
- Many of the projects aim to reach people in rural (67 per cent), remote/isolated (35 per cent) or Northern communities (40 per cent).
- Forty-seven per cent of projects use tech innovation, applying new technology to the delivery of training or service, including the skilled trades.
- Almost two-thirds of projects target specific populations such as youth, women and Indigenous people to create a more diverse and equitable workforce
“We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted certain groups of people and industry sectors more than others,” said Carla Qualtrough, minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion, in a statement. “These shock-proofing projects, funded through the Future Skills Centre, will contribute to finding innovative skills development and training solutions to help Canadian workers develop resilience in the face of sudden economic and technological changes.”
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