WOMEN FIRST: Building Skills for Success
In Canada, women face multiple and systemic barriers to their engagement and success in training and employment (Pakula & Smith Fowler, 2021; Hess et al., 2016).
For women who experience multiple forms of marginalization (e.g., due to racism, ableism, poverty), these barriers are often compounded. In addition to facing a broad range of social, historical, economic, and health inequities, members of equity-deserving groups are often underserved by skills training and employment programming.
For example, the cost and time commitments of training, physical and mental health challenges, the need to work multiple jobs, and a lack of affordable childcare are all associated with barriers that can inequitably limit access to training and employment (Auclair-Ouellet et al., 2022; Kaufmann et al., 2022; Pakula & Smith Fowler, 2021).
Funded by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) through the Women’s Employment Readiness (WER) pilot program, the Women First: Building Skills for Success (“Women First”) project sought to intervene in this context by drawing on the knowledge and expertise of partners across the country to develop, deliver, test, and evaluate pre-employment and skills training for women facing multiple and complex barriers to employment.
This project was led by PTP Adult Learning and Employment Programs (PTP), an experienced provider of over 25 years of adult learning and employment programs who also served as one of the delivery sites. PTP and five other service delivery organizations across Canada (Construction Foundation of British Columbia, Futureworx Society, Manitoba Building Trades Institute, Saint John Learning Exchange, Seven Generations Education Institute) built on the success of their existing programs to deliver programming to equity deserving women, including racialized, Indigenous, newcomer, low-income, disabled, and 2SLGBTQ+ women.
As part of this project, all sites enhanced their models by incorporating a new Skills for Success curriculum and enhanced wraparound supports. Ultimately, the strength of the project was not in designing programs from the ground up, but in supporting partners to build on the work they already do and generating evidence from the collective knowledge, expertise, and resources of partners and their learners. In addition to those designing and delivering services, the project involved several other key partners. Focus Company, a women-led project management firm, served as the project manager. Alberta Workforce Essential Skills (AWES) developed a new Skills for Success curriculum to meet the needs of delivery partners and the women they serve. AWES specializes in developing customized essential skills training solutions for industry, government, Indigenous and immigrant-serving organizations, and career and employment agencies.
Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) designed and led the evaluation of the project.
- “I’m eager to learn more” – Employment and Skills in Women First
- “Everyone’s success looks different” – Understanding and Responding to Learner Realities in Women First
- “Strength in numbers” – Relationships, Belonging, and Community in Women First
- “A moment of light and hope” – The Role of Wraparound Supports in Women First
Project Details
Published: January 2024
Capability: Program Evaluation/ Performance Measurement - Strategic Program Review - Collective Impact Evaluation - Survey Design and Data Management - Strengthening Capacity
Policy Area: Adult Learning - Adult Training - Workplace Training - Literacy and Essential Skills, Community Capacity, Employment - Workplace Diversity and Inclusion - Employment Supports and Services - Employment Programs
Population: 2SLGBTQ+ People - Low-income Populations - Newcomers - People with Disabilities - Racialized Canadians - Women - Indigenous Peoples
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