McGill University: Reducing barriers through professional development

This text is part of the Higher Education special section

Beginning in the winter of 2023, a professional development initiative will spring up within the walls of McGill University to help marginalized communities and newcomers.

McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies will be able to launch the School of Continuing Studies’ Experience Strengthening and Development Initiative thanks to a two million dollar investment “a gift from Scotiabank’s ScotiaINSPIRE program.” (SEED) Professor and Director of the Initiative for Adaptive and Integrated Learning and Indigenous Relations at the McGill School of Continuing Studies.

In the winter of 2023, the SEED initiative will welcome its first cohort of 40 people. ” [Elle] has three goals: to accelerate the path to employment, to increase participation in post-secondary education and to remove barriers to the advancement of participants’ careers,” said Ms.^I Sicily.

Courses offered to students to achieve these goals language, for improvement and professional development in French or English. “We want to target the skills and jobs that people need. For example, we know that there are many jobs in technology. We really want to listen to people,” he says.

This professional development project targets marginalized communities, namely Aboriginal people, racialized people, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities and newcomers to Canada. “We also want to help people who are struggling to keep their jobs. We have seen this a lot with the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to look at how to train them so that they have stability in their jobs,” adds Carmen Sicilia.

A unique initiative

By creating the SEED initiative, the School of Continuing Studies distinguishes itself from other programs designed for this client, Mr.^I Sicily is selected as “360”. “The reason I call it that is because we work [conjointement] with community organizations and employers to identify people’s training needs. […] It is often said that there is no bridge between university and work, so this is the bridge,” he explains.

Organizations such as Parc-Extension Youth Organization, Immigrant Community Support Center, Tyndale St-Georges Community Center, Microcredit Montreal and Charity Center for Women are participating in this new initiative. According to Ms., other non-profit organizations may be added over the years.^I Sicily.

The SEED initiative will also be able to cover full tuition fees, offer paid internships at one of the participating companies, and provide personalized training and support to the 40 enrolled students. ” [Ce] it’s not just training, it’s everything that guides each participant to achieve success,” says the professor.

Barriers to training

The selection of students who want to participate in the courses within this training will be carried out by the commission. They will have to pass an interview and fill out a questionnaire, M^I Sicily. But nothing has been set in stone yet. “We are in the process of doing this in consultation with community organizations. We don’t want it to become an obstacle,” he adds.

As for the duration of the training, it will be different for everyone as it will be tailored to each person’s needs. However, it will not exceed one year, as the aim is to integrate students into the labor market as quickly as possible. “The aim is to provide more short-term training, lasting one or two sessions, or even a maximum of a year,” said Mr.^I Sicily.

Other barriers may face customers targeted by the SEED initiative. “When someone comes from another country, it happens that they don’t have a diploma or they have a copy of their records, but the University wants to see the original. Therefore, we are working with the admissions office to accept the copy. Another obstacle is that sometimes the candidate does not have sufficient foundations or prerequisites in French or English. We will conduct this training to overcome these obstacles. »

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