With funding from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development’s Skills Development Fund, the Cooperation Council of Ontario (CCO) will soon launch a major project that will help train and educate employers and individuals who want to optimize their tech and leadership skills in the job market.
The CCO is a not-for-profit social enterprise that focuses on the development, creation, and expansion of social enterprises and cooperative businesses in Ontario.
This project, in partnership with the Skills Development Fund, breaks down into three components, Julien Geremie, executive director of the CCO said.
The three components are: A networking platform, employer training, and training for job seekers.
Networking platform
The networking platform, almost like a “dating app”, is for people who are looking to start a business but do not necessarily have the acquaintances or connections in their networks to start that business.
“It is something that is really meant for people to find one another when they want to collaborate in a business,” Geremie said.
The platform will be rolled out through a website, but he said there is potential for it to also be accessible through an app.
Employer training
The next component, employer training or change management training, will be offered by the CCO and external experts. These training sessions allow employers to become familiar with new productivity tools and innovation programs, as well as get a sense of new management models that help companies grow.
Skills training
The final component of the CCO’s project will include training for job seekers. This training also targets those looking to change career paths and people already working in the social and cooperative economy sectors.
It will focus on enhancing people’s skills when it comes to using online tools and software.
“We’ve noticed that there is a bit of discrepancy right now between what the job market actually needs and what the people have to offer to the job market,” Geremie said. “And we see that the people that are most disconnected at the moment are the people that lack those technological skills.”
The CCO is partnering with several organizations to bring in experts to create training programs. Some of the skills this program is looking to cover include training people on essential platforms such as the Microsoft Office Suite, as well as Adobe’s Creative Cloud.
“And for a lot of people, that’s not really their cup of tea. But this is what we’re trying to change to make sure that more people have access to software and they can actually integrate into the job market more easily,” he said.
A second stream of training will focus on building general leadership skills in the social and cooperative economy sectors.
The CCO and Ministry of Labour partnership
This is the CCO’s second year partnering with the Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development.
Last year, the partnership involved a project to develop some training sessions for people looking for employment in the social economy sector, which was offered through several webinars.
“Our government is on a mission to make Ontario the best place to live, work and raise a family,” Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training, and Skills Development said in a press release. “That is why we are partnering with the CCO to ensure employers and entrepreneurs have the support they need to grow their businesses, create more well-paying jobs and build an economy that works for everyone.”
The new project offerings will be available on the Job Impact platform, a website powered by the CCO that was created in year one of its partnership with the Ministry.
Geremie said this new project will be launched around early fall, and as of now, will be offered mainly online.
