This text is part of the special section Higher Education
Starting in the winter of 2023, a professional development initiative will emerge within the walls of McGill University with the aim of helping marginalized communities and newcomers.
McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies will be able to launch the School of Continuing Studies Experiential Empowerment & Development Initiative thanks to a two million dollar investment, “a gift from the ScotiaINSPIRE program of Scotiabank”. (SEED), says Carmen Sicilia, Associate Professor and Director of Adaptive and Integrated Learning and the Indigenous Relations Initiative at McGill’s School of Continuing Studies.
In the winter of 2023, the SEED initiative will welcome its first group, made up of 40 people. ” [Elle] has three objectives: to accelerate the path to work, to increase participation in post-secondary education and to remove barriers for participants to advance their careers,” said Ms.me Sicily.
To help achieve these objectives, the courses offered to students will be language, for an upgrade in French or English, and professional development. “We want to target the skills that people need and where there are jobs. For example, we know that there are a lot of jobs in technology. We really want to listen to people,” she says.
This professional development project targets marginalized communities, that is to say, Aboriginal people, racialized people, the LGBTQ + community, people with disabilities and newcomers to Canada, she lists. “We also want to help people who have difficulty keeping a job. We have seen this a lot with the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to look at how we are going 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 its other programs intended for this clientele with an approach that Mr.me Sicilia qualifies as “360”. “The reason I call it that is because we work [conjointement] with community organizations and employers to identify people’s training needs. […] Often, it is said that there is no bridge between university and work, so here is the bridge,” she explains.
Organizations such as the Parc-Extension Youth Organization, the Immigrant Community Support Center, the Tyndale St-Georges Community Centre, Microcredit Montreal and the Amal Center for Women are participating in this new initiative. Other non-profit organizations could be added over the years, according to Ms.me Sicily.
The SEED initiative will also be able to pay full tuition, offer a paid internship at one of the participating companies, and provide personalized coaching and support for the 40 enrolled students. ” [Ce] is not just training, it’s everything that guides each participant to achieve success,” says the professor.
Barriers to training
The selection of students who wish to take courses as part of this training will be made by a committee. They will have to go through an interview and complete a questionnaire, says Mme Sicily. But nothing is cast in stone yet. “We are in the process of putting this in place by consulting community organizations. We don’t want it to become a barrier either, ”she adds.
As for the duration of the training, it will be different for everyone since it will be adapted to each person’s needs. However, it will not exceed one year, because the aim is to integrate students as quickly as possible into the labor market. “The objective is to provide more short-term training, lasting one or two sessions, or even a maximum of one year,” underlines Mr.me Sicily.
Other obstacles may stand in the way of the clientele targeted by the SEED initiative. “When someone comes from another country, it happens that he does not have his diploma or that he has a copy of his notes, whereas the University asks to see the original. We therefore work with the admissions department to accept the copy. The other obstacle is that sometimes the candidate does not have enough basics in French or English or lacks prerequisites. We are going to give this training to remove these barriers. »
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