The Consortium has partnered with Concordia University’s Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovation in Teaching and Learning on a project focused on Skills for Success in Quebec’s English-language Post-secondary Education Sector.
Context
Over the past several decades, economic, social, and technological changes have transformed the workforce and society at large. These changes have led to a stronger focus on skills development in post-secondary education around the world, with an emphasis on promoting lifelong learning and helping individuals develop the skills they need to succeed in the modern economy.
The names for these skills abound (21st century skills, employability skills, etc.) as do the models and frameworks to support their development. Two are of particular note for this project: the Référential québecois des compétences du future (Commission des partenaires du marché du travail) and the Skills for Success framework (Government of Canada).
Spotlight on Quebec: French Language Skills
A lack of French language skills – whether real or perceived – remains a significant barrier to employment for English speakers in Quebec. There is a pressing need to find new, innovative ways to enhance French as a Second Language (FSL) competencies for English-speaking PSE students and graduates when considering Skills for Success in Quebec.
Skills for Success Project Overview
Consortium member institutions each offer unique curricular and co-curricular opportunities for students to develop their skills for success; each facing their own triumphs and challenges in this work.
This project aims to create opportunities that bring key people together from all nine Consortium institutions to share, foster relationships, and identify areas for potential collaboration to advance students’ skills for success across Quebec’s English-speaking PSE institutions.
Convenings in support of the Consortium’s Skills for Success Project
Skills Symposium – November 9, 2023
Organized collaboratively by the Consortium of English-language CEGEPs, Colleges and Universities of Quebec, and Concordia University’s Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovation in Teaching and Learning, this PSE Skills Symposium will:
- Foster stronger relationships among the nine English-language CEGEPs, colleges and universities within the Consortium network;
- Highlight initiatives happening within Consortium-member institutions that have proven successful in supporting students to develop their Skills for Success;
- Identify best practices, opportunities, gaps, areas for collaboration, and resource sharing.
The Skills Symposium will focus on the following five themes:
- French-second-language Learning/French language training for the workforce in Quebec
- Innovative cross-sectoral, inter-institutional, and /or inter-regional collaborations
- Strengthening the “Post-Secondary Education to Career” transition for English-speaking graduates in Quebec
- Improving remote learning opportunities and regional access to skills development and employment services
- Impactful mentorship programs
We’re particularly interested in future-facing initiatives that could be scaled up/replicated across one or more of the PSE institutions in the Consortium network.
LEARN MORE about the Skills Symposium by clicking HERE.
REGISTER for the Skills Symposium by clicking HERE
Unlocking Potential 2023: Creating Opportunities for Quebec’s Workforce – May 31-June 1, 2023
From May 31 to June 1, 2023, practitioners and stakeholders from Quebec’s government, post-secondary education, employability services and community sectors gathered at the Palais des congrès in Montreal for a two-day conference, entitled Unlocking Potential: Creating Opportunities for Quebec’s Workforce.
Hosted jointly by the Consortium of English-language CEGEPs, Colleges and Universities of Quebec, the Provincial Employment Roundtable (PERT), and the Regional Development Network (RDN), the conference explored the following questions:
- How can the economic potential of Quebec’s English-speaking community be unlocked?
- What kind of employment services need to be developed and offered?
- How does the skills training ecosystem need to evolve to improve the English-speaking community’s employability?
LEARN MORE about the Unlocking Potential Conference (UP 2023) by clicking HERE.
