BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP

Thousands of people in Canada are facing systemic and structural barriers to discovering their talent and fulfilling their potential for education success and gainful work or self-employment.

People living in poverty, people of color, people with disabilities, girls and young women, refugees, economic immigrants and others routinely encounter challenges that leave them behind, despite their inherent talent.

STEM EDUCATION

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, but it is greater than a sum of its parts.

STEM education prepares and equips young people with skills for high-demand occupations and contributes to the vitality of their families, communities, and local economies. Supporting the view that STEM literacy builds foundational skills that are critical for ALL careers.

Founded on principles of equity, partnership, and sustainability, Skillcity Institute develops out-of-the-box initiatives and innovative partnerships that empower young people to discover their strengths and reach their full potential.

OUR APPROACH

Skillcity Institute is committed to using social innovation and strategic partnerships to bring down these barriers, make the playing field less uneven, and create more equitable access to opportunity.

We address the STEM talent shortage and the growing problem of skills mismatch in Alberta by pooling together expertise and resources from all sectors and stakeholders; working in partnership with leaders from business, education, government, human services and volunteers across the province;

Our bottom-up approach is to “catch them young”; Inspire and cultivate the next generation of inventors, discoverers, trail-blazers and world-changers by socializing young people into STEM-based education right from the elementary stage. Starting from the most disadvantaged, underserved and underrepresented young people.

Increasing the number of students who pursue education and careers in STEM fields, and building a robust pipeline of skilled educators to teach in these “backbone fields”, must be a high priority for every city that seeks to maintain (or increase) its competitive position, retain employers and pull new ones, attract new residents and retain graduates, as well as maintain its tax revenue base.