NLWIC has updated our Research Projects page on our website with more information on projects and our NL Workforce Innovators!
The NL Workforce Innovators Roundtable 2021 was a virtual event held on October 5, 2021 to give Research Proponents the opportunity to provide updates on their NLWIC-funded Research Projects. Each Research Project page has been updated to include the slide decks presented at this event.
NLWIC provides proposal-based funding for applied research projects that test innovative approaches to address labour market challenges and opportunities and improve outcomes in Newfoundland and Labrador.
NLWIC’s goal is to promote the research, testing and sharing of ideas and models of innovation in workforce development that will positively impact employability, employment and entrepreneurship within the province’s workforce and particularly underrepresented groups. Funding is provided by the Department of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills (IPGS) under the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market Development Agreement.
There are 20 research projects funded to date by NLWIC following two Calls for Proposals in 2017 and 2018
Stay tuned for video updates from our NL Workforce Innovators Roundtable 2021. Also, the NL Workforce Innovators Roundtable 2021 Report will soon be available to download.
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Regional Sounding Tours - What do Canadians think about the future of work and skills?
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The Future Skills Centre held two Regional Sounding Tours and talked with Canadians in every province and territory who are actively engaged in the country’s skills and training community, as well as individuals interested in learning more about skills development and the future of work.
NLWIC was pleased to have collaborated with The Conference Board of Canada and Future Skills Centre as Convening Partner in Newfoundland and Labrador for both Future Sounding Tours.
Future Skills Centre wanted to know what does—and doesn’t—work for skills development, and how skills and training play a role in leaders’ strategic priorities. The first round of Regional Sounding Tours was held in-person between October 2019 and October 2020.
The virtual second round of consultations were held between December 2020 and March 2021. The Virtual Regional Sounding Tour focused on how the country has been impacted by COVID-19, and how the Future Skills Centre can help on the road to recovery.
What was learned?
Five key themes emerged from the consultation with Canadians during the Regional Sounding Tours, which lead to five reports:
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Recovery for All: Finding Equities in Education and Employment
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Beyond the Classroom: The Future of Post-Secondary Education Has Arrived
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Social and Digital Infrastructure: Laying the Groundwork for an Inclusive Recovery
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Essential Skills for Learning and Working: Perspectives From Education and Employment Leaders Across Canada
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The Only Constant: Changing Nature of Work and Skills
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Over $12 Million for Job Creation and Student Employment will Support Come Home 2022
March 7, 2022
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The Provincial Government is now accepting applications for Job Creation Partnerships and Student Summer Employment programs with the aim of boosting Come Home 2022 efforts in every corner of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Enhanced Job Creation Partnerships
Job Creation Partnerships is dedicating $5 million of the $10.5 million total budget exclusively for Come Home 2022 projects. This year will also feature the following increased pay for workers:
- Supervisor or equivalent – $638 per week, up from $595 (e.g., project supervisor, skilled carpenter, or program manager);
- Administrator or equivalent – $603 per week, up from $540 (e.g., museum interpreter, administration or program coordination); and
- General labour or equivalent – $540 per week, up from $510 (e.g., office clerk or maintenance).
Employers can apply online. Approvals will begin in late April and continue thereafter, subject to available funds. Deadline for submitting an application is August 19, 2022.
Student Summer Employment
Non-profit and private sector employers can apply for a portion of over $1.6 million in subsidies to employ students this summer. Many students can expect to be employed restoring and enhancing community features that support Come Home 2022 activities.
Non-profit employers are provided with 100 per cent subsidy for positions. Private sector employers, such as those operating in the tourism and hospitality sector, will receive a wage subsidy reimbursement of 60 per cent of the student’s hourly wage, to a maximum of $13.20 per hour.
“As visitors explore all the varied nooks and crags of our vast province, they will be enjoying the many community features created or enhanced by Job Creation Partnerships and the work of student employees," said Honorable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills.
"Many of the jobs created through these programs will help showcase Newfoundland and Labrador on the world stage, with communities and employers benefiting from projects that will attract visitors and delight residents.”
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Empowering People for Recovery and Growth: 2022 Skills Survey Report
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on Canada’s businesses, workers, and the economy over the past two years, adding to ongoing technological and demographic shifts and an increasing demand for skilled workers. With a focus on recovery and growth, the country’s leading employers are finding new and innovative ways to identify and develop skilled talent.
Produced by the Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) in partnership with the Business Council of Canada (BCC), Empowering People for Recovery and Growth: 2022 Skills Survey Report, analyzes survey responses from 95 of Canada’s largest employers. The report offers insight into how priorities have evolved over time and helps us see emerging trends and challenges, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key takeaways:
- COVID-19 has shifted the skills employers are looking for. While human skills, such as communication, empathy, and the ability to work well with others, are still as critical as ever, the demand for technical skills is growing.
- Employers are generally confident about their ability to hire and replace workers, but opportunities exist to find new ways to recruit, train, and develop future workers, including recruiting more recent immigrants.
- Canada’s leading employers are looking to post-secondary institutions to produce new graduates with the skills they need, and are willing to work with them to ensure that graduates are equipped to succeed.
- Employers view work-integrated learning (WIL) as the best way to develop, recruit, and transition new graduates into the workplace.
- Companies continue to invest in employee training and development, despite the added costs of the pandemic.
- Canada’s businesses are willing to pay for worker upskilling and reskilling, but many signal they are struggling to develop tailored programming. Opportunities exist for increased collaboration with post-secondary institutions to address these needs.
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Women in Recovery: COVID-19 and Women's Labour Market Participation
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Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, LMIC explores how women in Canada are recovering in a tumultuous labour market.
Key Findings:
- Two years after the start of the pandemic, jobs recovery for women in Canada has been rapid and is now slightly ahead of men’s recovery. As of February 2022, women’s employment is up by 2.0% (+178,000 jobs) compared to February 2020, while men’s employment is up 1.9% (+192,000 jobs) over the same period.
- Women’s employment recovery has been strongest among women aged 25–54 (“core-aged”). By February 2022, the share of core-aged women with a job reached the highest level ever recorded (81%), primarily driven by gains in full-time employment.
- The employment gains for core-aged women are concentrated in middle- and high-earning occupations, which have increased by more than 4% since 2020’s lows. Employment for women is up slightly in lower paying occupations, 0.5% above pre-pandemic levels.
- Across all age groups, part-time employment for women is up 1.6% (+37,000 jobs) compared to two years ago. The recovery of part-time employment continues to be strongest for men 25 years old and over.
- Full-time employment for younger (15–24 years) and older (55+ years) women and men has yet to fully recover, remaining below pre-COVID levels.
- The initial declines in the labour force participation rate among mothers has now been fully reversed. Core-aged women with children are now participating in the labour force at or above pre-pandemic levels.
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Laying Foundations: Technological Maturity in Canada's Construction Section
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Canada’s construction sector is a significant contributor to Canada’s overall GDP and employs over 1.4 million people. It plays a central role in addressing challenges around housing affordability, the completion of new infrastructure projects, and adapting to climate change, making the sector’s competitiveness critical to the overall health and resiliency of Canada’s economy.
This Report provides an in-depth examination into the unique challenges Canadian firms are facing with adopting technology, what firms have done to address them, and actionable recommendations on what governments and industry actors can do to potentially improve the rate of technology adoption.
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CIRA’s Community Investment Program grants fund innovative community internet projects to build a resilient, trusted and secure internet for all Canadians.
Who can apply?
- Non-profit organizations
- Registered charities
- Academics at universities and colleges in Canada
- Indigenous communities
Priority funding areas include infrastructure, digital literacy, cybersecurity and community leadership. CIRA is especially looking for initiatives that benefit:
- Northern, rural and Indigenous Communities
- Students (kindergarten to grade 12 and post-secondary)
Grants are available up to $100,000. In addition, one grant is available up to $250,000.
The grant application period is open until April 13, 2PM ET.
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Volta LEAP - Leading Entrepreneurs to an Accelerator Path |
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Looking to gain traction, access mentorship opportunities + raise capital?
Volta LEAP helps Founders of early-stage innovation-driven startups build a 24-month plan and supports them with submitting an application to an accelerator. Participating Founders take milestone-driven workshops and training sessions to equip themselves with tools and business techniques to move from early-stage startup to accelerator-ready.
Ideal LEAP candidates:
- Have validation in their target market
- Have domain expertise
- Have the ability and means to bring the startup to life
The Program – led by Toon Nagtegaal – is comprised of four, half day sessions taking place over four days. Over the next month companies will receive four additional one-hour, one-on-one sessions with the facilitator.
Volta LEAP is designed to support the growth of early-stage Atlantic Canadian tech and innovation companies and prepare them to apply to accelerator programs. The Program will be offered to eligible Founders at no cost to the participant.
The next Volta LEAP session will take place from May 2 - 5, 2022. Applications are currently being accepted on a rolling basis, however, to be considered for the next LEAP intake, please apply by April 13, 2022.
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Bad Communication in the Workplace: Is the Way You Communicate Helping or Hindering You? |
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A 2020 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resources Management uncovered that effective communication was the number one skill employees felt their direct leader could improve. Unfortunately, many well-intentioned leaders may find themselves with a gap in their communication skills, hindering their leadership abilities.
In this guide, the Niagara Institute asks nine questions to help you identify common communication mistakes, along with practical advice to correct them.
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Restaurants, hotels, and attractions across Canada are an important place of work, particularly for youth, students, and newcomers to Canada. But with cycles of closures and layoffs, health and safety concerns, and new enforcement requirements due to COVID-19, there has been an exodus of workers from the hospitality and tourism industry. How are businesses rethinking their hiring, training, and compensation practices to adapt and recover?
The latest episode of the Future Skills Centre podcast explores how the tourism and hospitality industry has been managing the effects of the pandemic on its workforce, and what strategies are being used to deal with labour and skills shortages - and to drive the recovery of the sector through training and increased resilience.
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The Regional Workforce Development Committees have been busy since the launch of the project in November 2021 developing action plans to address workforce development needs specific to regions across the province.
The implementation of Regional Workforce Development Committees in ten regions across Newfoundland and Labrador is one of NLWIC's mandated activities. A concurrent research project funded by the Future Skills Centre will test and evaluate the design, setup and operations of these Regional Workforce Development Committees as a new model of workforce development in NL during this first year.
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Ukrainian Family Support Desk Expanded to Poland |
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Shortly after, Darek Nakonieczny, Iwona Nakonieczny, Sonya Parker and Allison Day, a team of professionals from the Government of Newfoundland & the Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism, arrived in Warsaw, Poland to establish a NL Ukrainian desk for all displaced Ukrainians.
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CNA launches campaign for Ukrainian humanitarian aid |
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Fundraising appeal goes out to employees, students, alumni, and partners
March 28, 2022
STEPHENVILLE, NL – Many have seen the horrific images on global news channels and social media, as life for the people of Ukraine has undoubtedly changed forever...
Liz Kidd, CNA President & CEO, says the college is launching a three-week Ukraine Humanitarian Aid fundraising campaign, starting Monday, March 28, aimed at providing support to the people of Ukraine through the Canadian Red Cross. The goal is to raise $20,000, and while some may think it’s lofty, she believes anything is possible when people come together. |
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CNA set to offer first applied degree this fall |
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Bachelor of Applied IT: Systems and Network Cybersecurity designed to meet industry needs
March 10, 2022
ST. JOHN’S, NL – College of the North Atlantic (CNA) is once again leading the way in post-secondary education opportunities available in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Starting in September 2022, CNA’s School of Business and Information Technology (IT) will build on its existing two-year diploma offering in Computer Systems and Networking and give students the option to obtain a specialized applied degree over an additional two years – a first for CNA and among comparable colleges across Canada.
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CiCan CONNECTION Conference 2022 - Navigating Anew |
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CICan’s Annual Conference is the largest event of its kind in Canada! It fosters connections between post-secondary institutions from across the country and around the world. In 2022 these connections will focus on navigating anew in this fast forward future. This year’s will be a hybrid event taking place online and in person in Halifax.
April 25-27, 2022 (Halifax Convention Centre + Virtual)
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During the conference, NLWIC's Director Sharon McLennon and Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator Susanne Dawe will present the panel session: |
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Accelerating Economic Growth and Prosperity in Newfoundland and Labrador |
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Like the iconic iceberg, there’s more than the eye can see when it comes to NLWIC’s applied research and innovation project collaborations.
This panel will take attendees “below the surface” to explore the testing and evaluation of the design, action planning, and impacts of regional workforce development committees throughout the province as a new innovative workforce development model for Newfoundland and Labrador.
April 26, 2 p.m. - 3 p.m., Room 611
Halifax Convention Centre
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The Conference Board of Canada - Start-Up Success: The Gender Difference |
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Building ideas from scratch into multi-million dollar enterprises is a momentous feat for anyone. And while men and women have similar initial business aspirations, they appear to have unique approaches, experiences, and challenges.
The Conference Board of Canada explored these gender differences through research conducted between men and women leading tech start-ups. On March 30, 2022, we will discuss the unique challenges for both entrepreneurial men and women to be successful in scaling-up and share recommendations for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
March 30, 11 a.m. ESD (12:30 p.m. NT)
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The Harris Centre - Forecast NL: Community Capacity & Infrastructure |
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What is the capacity of NL's municipalities to take on the adaptation and preparation that is needed to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change?
What is already underway, and what else needs to be done?
What is the role of regional and place-based decision making in relation to adaptation? And how equipped (or not) are we?
April 5, 12 p.m.
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The Conference Board of Canada - Better Workplace Conference 2022 |
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Join the Canada-wide conversation to improve organizational culture and employee wellbeing and safety.
This event will be a virtual conference experience with engaging sessions that blend The Conference Board of Canada’s trusted research with inspirational stories and conversations.
This is your chance to expand your network, gain insights, and access practical tools to improve your organization’s culture.
April 5-7
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RAnLab - Data to Decisions: Making Sense of the Census |
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Every five years, Statistics Canada releases census data – it's now that exciting time in the data world! But as always, data can seem a little overwhelming at first.
In this session, we'll discuss how to use the skills we've learned through Data to Decisions to access the new 2021 Census data.
Featuring RAnLab's manager, Jamie Ward, and policy analyst, Meghan Eibner.
April 6, 3 p.m. NT
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Canadian Agricultural HR Council, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and Food and Beverage Canada's National Workforce Strategic Plan Webinar |
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The National Workforce Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Food and Beverage Manufacturing will be developed in partnership with other organizations who play workforce development roles today in both sectors. The Plan is envisioned to be an actionable roadmap leading to a sustainable and skilled workforce. Through the development and implementation, industry will confirm priority action items, and then work collaboratively to address both immediate labour gaps, and systemic issues faced by the sector.
Come join us to hear about how your organization can become involved in this initiative!
April 8, 1 p.m. ET
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Labour Market Information Series - Analyzing online job postings data to understand employment trends |
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The Labour Market Information Council (LMIC) presents a series of webinars on emerging labour market information in Canada, sharing research and analysis which supports career practitioners in their work to ensure Canadians have the necessary information and insights to succeed in a changing, dynamic world of work.
What participants will learn:
- How to use the Canadian Job Trends Dashboard
- How job postings data can help you assess employment trends (what and where the jobs are)
- How job postings data can help you understand work and skill requirements for jobs (which are among the most sought-after LMI
April 25, 12 p.m. ET
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NLOWE - Reimagining Communities, Reimagining the Economy |
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NLOWE 2022 Annual Conference Women are Shaping the Future of Business.
Opening Keynote Speaker: Zita Cobb.
Zita Cobb is an eighth-generation Fogo Islander, Founder and CEO of the registered charity Shorefast, and Innkeeper of the award-winning Fogo Island Inn. With an enduring commitment to Fogo Island, Shorefast is expanding its mission through a Community Economies Pilot – a pan-Canadian initiative to strengthen place-based economic development within the global economy.
April 26, 10 a.m. NDT
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Canada Growth Summit 2022 |
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Canada Growth Summit is returning to downtown Toronto. This must-attend event on Canada’s economic policy calendar brings together the thinkers, doers and deciders in business, government, academia and civil society to discuss Canada’s long-term prosperity.
With the theme ‘Transitions to Opportunity’, the Summit will highlight the following topics:
- Technological disruption on the path to a net-zero economy
- Inclusive and sustainable growth for a better future
- Canada’s place in a world of big power rivalries
April 28, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., Metro Toronto Convention Centre
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Was this email forwarded to you by a coworker or friend? Sign up so you don't miss updates from NLWIC about news, collaborations and events! |
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The NL Workforce Innovation Centre (NLWIC) was established by the provincial government in 2017 and is administered by College of the North Atlantic (CNA) with a provincial mandate to provide a coordinated, central point of access to engage all labour market stakeholders about challenges, opportunities and best practices in workforce development.
The Centre’s goal is to promote and support the research, testing and sharing of ideas and models of innovation in workforce development that will positively impact employability, employment and entrepreneurship within the province’s labour market and particularly underrepresented groups. Funding for NLWIC is provided by the Department of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills (IPGS) under the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market Development Agreement.
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©NL Workforce Innovation Centre 2022 |
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