Strategic Program Review Archives - SRDC

Improving Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition Policies & Practices in Ontario

Wallaa Daramlly — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:39:48 +0000

This project involves conducting a mixed-methods study of Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) across Ontario’s postsecondary education system. The study will examine how PLAR is currently implemented in colleges, universities, and Indigenous Institutes, identify factors that support or hinder its utilization, and explore how PLAR can contribute to learner mobility, lifelong learning, upskilling, and reskilling.

The project includes a comparative review of PLAR practices in Ontario and selected jurisdictions, an institutional survey, interviews with key stakeholders, and the development of illustrative institutional profiles. Findings will be synthesized into a practical roadmap and recommendations to help institutions and policymakers strengthen recognition of prior learning and expand access to educational pathways for Ontario learners.

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Evidence Review: Sustainable Jobs

Wallaa Daramlly — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 20:46:09 +0000

This project involves a systematic review of findings from the projects that the Future Skills Centre (FSC) has funded in the area of sustainable jobs. This review aims to synthesize evidence and lessons from FSC investments in sustainable jobs, complemented by relevant external evidence and emerging research in the ecosystem on supporting a just transition to a low-carbon economy. It examines which approaches and resources best help communities proactively shift to low-carbon activities while aligning labour market and skills strategies with local economic development goals.

It is also assessing effective models of collaboration among local and regional actors, including skills ecosystem partners, and analyzing how decarbonization pathways may affect the demand and supply of skilled trades, along with strategies to address workforce gaps. Additionally, the project is exploring measures that empower workers, paying particular attention to Indigenous Peoples and underrepresented groups, to play meaningful roles in the transition while ensuring equitable participation and access to its benefits. Finally, it is identifying the most effective skills development strategies—such as upskilling/reskilling and wraparound supports—to facilitate labour market mobility, reduce retraining time, and optimize labour market outcomes for people facing an uncertain and unpredictable future.

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Expanding Apprenticeship Success Through Improved and Enhanced System of Technology (EAST Project)

Wallaa Daramlly — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 20:11:39 +0000

SkillPlan, BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement Council, in partnership with Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU), Provincial Building Trades Councils (PBTC), U7 SOLUTIONS, British Columbia Colleges (BCC), and the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC), are providing online educational tools, resources, and materials to support apprentices progressing in and obtaining certification in an apprenticeship in the Red Seal trades. This project will be delivered across Canada. More specifically the project seeks to firstly improve the quality of training in the skilled trades by utilizing a structured, integrated, and accessible online training system and secondly to support Red Seal trades partners to create safe and inclusive workplaces of equity-deserving groups, including women, youth, newcomers, Indigenous and racialized persons, persons with disabilities, as well as low-skilled individuals by expanding training platform and developing new courses. SRDC is helping to test and measure the results of this project through a mixed-methods approach which will include administrative data from online platforms, surveys, and interviews.

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Pathway to Productivity: Using Pay-for-Performance to Facilitate SME Investment in Human Capital

Wallaa Daramlly — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 15:38:03 +0000

This initiative is testing the effectiveness of a Pay-for-Performance (PFP) funding model in encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to increase their investment in employee training across various industries. We are exploring the potential of PFP to promote more intentional employer planning and support of training activities, and more generally to build a culture of continuous learning within SMEs. Furthermore, we are seeking to understand how the PFP model previously implemented with our partners Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC) can be adapted cross-sectorally, leveraging the existing expertise of SRDC and EMC along with the unique insights and employer networks of our new sectoral partners, The Environmental Careers Organization of Canada (ECO Canada), Food Processing Skills Canada, and BioTalent Canada.

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Characterization of Continuing Education in Quebec and Canadian French-language Universities

Wallaa Daramlly — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 14:04:07 +0000

The Association canadienne d’éducation des adultes des universités de langue française (ACDEAULF) and the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail have hired SRDC to produce a portrait of continuing education at the university level in Quebec and in Canada’s Francophone universities. The project aims to update knowledge on the interventions of university members involved in adult education, and to identify mechanisms for increasing the contribution of universities to workforce skills development, business productivity, and the promotion of a culture of continuing education in Quebec and elsewhere. The project will serve to clarify the identity of the players involved in university continuing education, their modes of operation, their governance, their financing, their collaborators, their clienteles, and the volume and nature of their activities. The results of this project will complete and refine the vision of the public continuing education ecosystem, by harmonizing the training offer with the skills of the workforce and the needs of the job market, thanks to increased concertation between universities and other stakeholders.

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Evaluation Methodology for the Pathway to Apprenticeship Completion in the Trades (PACT)

Wallaa Daramlly — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 15:40:55 +0000

The PACT (Pathway to Apprenticeship Completion) is an important initiative that tests and gathers data on scalable solutions for apprenticeship retention, progression, and completion in British Columbia. Focusing on the needs and experiences of individual apprentices, the project aims to offer services that align with the unique personal and interpersonal factors affecting apprenticeship pathways, with the goal of informing future investments. The current project focuses on Phase 1 pre-implementation activities, focused principally on SRDC’s development of an outcome tracking and evaluation methodology. SRDC is also providing feedback on the partner-developed Theory of Change and key performance indicators, and contributing to a review of services and programs that illustrate emerging best practices. Phase 2 will be focused on implementing the Phase 1 design and corresponding data collection and analysis.

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Assessment of the National Chart Review Study on Substance-related Acute Toxicity Deaths From 2016 to 2017

Wallaa Daramlly — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 14:26:42 +0000

Canada continues to experience an overdose crisis with more than 35,000 people dying from opioid-related overdoses since 2016 (ref.). To support the national evidence-base needed to respond to the crisis, the Substance-related Harms Division at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has been working closely with provinces and territories on a national chart review study to address data gaps. Detailed information from coroner and medical examiner files was collected to describe the characteristics of people who died from a substance-related acute toxicity in Canada, including the circumstances of death and the specific substances involved. PHAC has engaged SRDC to conduct an assessment of this national study’s design and implementation to identify lessons learned and support planning for future studies. This assessment will also explore the extent to which the study findings have informed, or could inform, policies and decision-making. Given the critical nature of the overdose crisis, it is vitally important to assess and learn from this first-of-its-kind national study to identify opportunities for improvement and future research to better understand and address the overdose crisis as it evolves.

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Skills for Success in Employment and Skills Training: A Feminist Perspective – Evidence Brief

Wallaa Daramlly — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 20:14:43 +0000

This evidence brief was drafted to inform the design and development of skills training curriculum and approaches as part of the WOMEN FIRST project, funded through Employment and Skill Development Canada’s (ESDC) Women’s Employment Readiness pilot program. It may also be more broadly useful for organizations, training developers, and practitioners working in the employment and skills training sector seeking to employ an equity-driven approach to their design and delivery of Skills for Success materials. Following an overview of intersectionality as it relates to employment and skills training, we provide an overview of key skill differences between different demographic groups. This is followed by a discussion about the role of training to address systemic inequities, as well as practitioner considerations, suggestions, and examples for training development and delivery.

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Wraparound Supports in Employment and Skills Training: A Feminist Perspective

Wallaa Daramlly — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 20:04:03 +0000

This evidence brief was drafted to support program innovations or adaptations as part of the WOMEN FIRST project, funded through Employment and Skill Development Canada’s (ESDC) Women’s Employment Readiness pilot program. It may also be more broadly useful for organizations, training developers, and practitioners working in the employment and skills training sector seeking to employ an equity-driven approach to their delivery of wraparound supports. Beginning with an overview of wraparound supports and practical exemplars, the brief follows by outlining a series of considerations and approaches that may support the design and implementation of wraparound supports in employment and skills training. Throughout the document, an intersectional lens is adopted to examine key issues to consider when planning and delivering supports to populations facing multiple and complex barriers.

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Skills for Success Proficiency Levels Development

Wallaa Daramlly — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 16:03:08 +0000

In May 2021, the Skills for Success model was launched to provide a common structure that aligns program and policy transformation with evolving skill and workforce development needs. Along with the skill descriptions, the launch of Skills for Success included preliminary proficiency descriptors; however, it was seen as important to build a stronger evidence base before providing more details (Palameta et al., 2021; Nguyen et al., 2022). This project, Skills for Success Proficiency Levels Development, was conceptualized as the first step toward addressing the need for more detailed proficiency levels and descriptions. The project aimed to produce a richer set of conceptual resources on skills proficiency to inform and inspire further work.

Skills for Success Proficiency Levels Development was conceptualized as the first step toward addressing the need for more proficiency details. The project aimed to produce a richer set of conceptual resources on skills proficiency to inform and inspire further work. Led by SRDC and funded by the Skills for Success Program, this project consolidated existing knowledge on skills proficiency in Canada and international jurisdictions, adding more depth to the conceptualization of Skills for Success proficiency that was developed prior to its launch. In the current project, we aimed to set a strong foundation upon which further work can emerge to support the continuation of Skills for Success implementation.

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