A new professional development program is taking root at McGill’s School of Continuing Studies to help boost income stability and career advancement opportunities for newcomers to Canada and members of underrepresented local communities.
The School’s Experiential Empowerment & Development (SEED) Initiative is supported by a $2-million gift from Scotiabank – the largest ever to the School of Continuing Studies – through its ScotiaRISE platform.
The SEED Initiative powered by ScotiaRISE is designed to help newcomers, including refugees, and other members of marginalized groups, build the durable (or ‘soft’) skills they need to thrive in a dynamic labour market. The program includes experiential training, personalized coaching, French and English language upskilling, paid internships, job shadowing and networking opportunities. Participants will receive a stipend to ensure they can attend the program and their tuition costs will be covered.
The School of Continuing Studies (SCS) plans to welcome up to 40 learners a year in the SEED Initiative starting in 2023. We spoke to Professor Carola Weil, Dean of Continuing Studies, about the inspiration and aspirations for the new program.
Q. How does the new SEED Initiative align with the objectives of McGill’s School of Continuing Studies?
This gift speaks very much to our core mandate and mission, which is to build bridges between the University and our community, and to offer diverse adult learners a path of lifelong, professional and personal transformation. We will be able to amplify that mission in a powerful way and reach audiences that we might not have been able to as effectively before.
It also allows us to support and strengthen civil society in Montreal and beyond by partnering with community organizations and employers. In many ways what we are doing with the aptly named SEED Initiative is to seed capacity beyond the walls of the School of Continuing Studies.
Q. What was the impetus for launching SEED?
The School has historically served a substantial newcomer or foreign-born population in Quebec, as well as members of local communities who might not otherwise come to McGill University. We recognized that one of the challenges was that while people might be able to come to us for language training or for a course or two, they did not necessarily have a comprehensive support system to counter the many obstacles that stand in the way of gainful employment and gain the income stability that they need.
We are drawing on experience that we've built over decades of working with Indigenous and underserved communities where we were able to see what worked most effectively, and the importance of really listening to our community partners.
Q. What are some of the barriers to career advancement and income stability that newcomers to Canada and members of marginalized groups encounter?
For newcomers and some racialized groups here, there may be language barriers. We know that there are certain implicit biases in the workplace that may pose barriers to individuals who might look different, speak differently, wear different clothing, have different last names than what one might be accustomed to in one's immediate environment. There are social barriers and some real economic barriers that limit the choices people have.
Many of our learners, particularly newcomers, come to us while they are holding what we may refer to as survival jobs. The School of Continuing Studies tries to open up transformative opportunities so that someone could switch or grow from a survival job to something that could build out into a career.
Q. What makes the SEED Initiative unique?
I think the holistic 360-degree approach. Our focus is on helping participants as human beings to manage change, to achieve the comprehensive, all-around mindset and toolkit that they need to succeed professionally and personally.
Secondly, I think what makes SEED unique is that it is built in a context of bilingualism. Participants may need either French or English language skills topped up to ensure they're able to work effectively in Quebec. Many of our instructors already function in multiple languages and across different cultures, and so can help cross cultural differences as well.
And the program is grounded in partnerships – not just external community partnerships, but also across the university.
Q. What kind of essential skills will participants acquire to help them thrive in the workforce?
We want to make sure that we are listening to employers, community organizations and participants themselves to get a clear understanding of what essential skills participants need most. So that could vary from individual to individual. We ultimately want to ensure that they have the combination of durable and technical skills to work collaboratively in today’s and tomorrow’s workplace.
Q. What kind of out-of-the classroom experiential learning opportunities will participants have access to?
We will have the typical internship opportunities – a paid internship with an employer where they can hone their work skills. Experiential learning can include bringing guest speakers into the classroom, working on case studies, having simulations of a particular situation so that they can practice what they are learning. We also are looking at job shadowing.
Part of our concern is to make sure we are not providing too narrow a set of choices to individuals who may be in precarious or uncertain living situations. We want to try and expand horizons and make sure that people have an opportunity to experience different kinds of professional development pathways.
Q. What role will SCS community partners play in the SEED Initiative?
We see our partners as helping us design and refine the initiative further – and as important resources in recruiting participants and becoming part of the larger support system.
Our community partners come from a wide range of organizations: advocacy groups that support the needs of particular groups; social service organizations that work in particular with newcomers and refugees; organizations working specifically with women, or with historically equity-seeking groups. To that, we are adding partners representing employers, such as Scotiabank, employers in other economic sectors, as well as potential employers at the University.
Q. Do you foresee a role for McGill alumni in this program, as mentors for example?
Very much so. We look forward to working with our network of alumni, who, in some cases, have had the same experiences. They've had to make their way through many of these barriers. We appreciate the support that we have been getting from alumni, as mentors, guest speakers and as counselors in many ways.
One of the great assets we have at the School of Continuing Studies is our McGill Community for Lifelong Learning (MCLL), a peer learning organization that hosts senior learners, many of whom have had very accomplished careers. They often are willing to step in as mentors and as guides to our other students, and we hope to tap into them [as well].
Learn more about the SEED Initiative at the School of Continuing Studies