Blueprint

Join Max Palamar, Blueprint's Vice President of Data Capacity and Analytics, as we discuss how digital skills can empower nonprofit organizations and ensure better outcomes for the communities they serve.

Are you an Ontario-based organization with experience supporting social assistance recipients with employment and training? We're looking for partners for Pathways to Opportunity, an innovative workforce initiative led by Blueprint and funded by Future Skills Centre - Centre des Compétences futures. This project aims to transform how we support individuals on Ontario Works, helping them transition into meaningful, sustainable employment that pays a living wage. Together, we can bridge untapped talent with opportunity, charting a path to economic and social inclusion. Applications close on Friday, December 6, 2024. https://bit.ly/3USTn51

We’re excited to announce Pathways to Opportunity, an innovative workforce initiative led by Blueprint and funded by Future Skills Centre - Centre des Compétences futures. This project aims to transform how we support individuals on Ontario Works, helping them transition into meaningful, sustainable employment that pays a living wage. We’re currently seeking Expressions of Interest from Ontario-based service delivery organizations to co-design, implement, and test this evidence-driven intervention. This is your chance to collaborate on a transformative project, generate insights to inform public policy, and drive real change in employment services. https://bit.ly/4i4NtI3 To be eligible, your organization must: 🔵 Be Ontario-based (municipal, nonprofit, for-profit, or post-secondary)  🔵 Have experience supporting social assistance recipients with employment and training  🔵 Be available to engage in all project phases (January–December 2025) If your organization is passionate about building better futures through innovation and evidence, we’d love to hear from you! Applications close on December 6, 2024. 📢 Help us spread the word by sharing this opportunity with your networks  ✍️ Complete the Expression of Interest application https://bit.ly/3USTn51

“This program gave me more direction and ambition. It reaffirmed what I need to do next and gave me the confidence to get back on track.” Engaging with participants shows how Reboot Plus is leading to promising outcomes in youth empowerment and career readiness. In collaboration with Douglas College, PEERs Employment & Education Resources, and national partners, Reboot Plus offers a 16-week journey that helps young people re-engage with learning and develop skills for a brighter future. With high satisfaction rates and powerful personal transformations, Reboot Plus is reshaping how vulnerable youth connect to education and employment. Discover how tailored support, real-world skills, and professional networks are helping Canadian youth rediscover their potential and prepare for success. Check out the full post: https://bit.ly/4f7CFH3

Last week, I co-delivered a presentation at the ACS / AEC - Metropolis Institute / Institut Metropolis Identities Summit Conference, alongside my Blueprint colleague Joshua L. and our partners Patrick MacKenzie and Ben Marsh from the Immigrant Employment Council of BC about our research on FAST, an online program that helps newcomers assess their readiness for the Canadian labour market. Our presentation included findings shared in our most recent report, as well as some insights from across our work. We engaged our session attendees in a great group discussion about the challenges & opportunities evidence building within the context of newcomer services. A few of my key take-aways from the conference overall included: 1. Canada is growing quickly and becoming more diverse: according to 2021 Census findings, 1 in 4 Canadians belonged to a racialized group and 1 in 4 Canadians were immigrants 2. Newcomers and racialized and Indigenous folks continue to be underemployed across various sectors and underrepresented in leadership positions 3. Folks see potential for AI to support with newcomer integration, ideally starting with the lightest-touch services so that resources for highest-touch services can be reallocated 4. Despite a strong appetite for evidence-based programs, practitioners in the newcomer space face challenges with evidence generation related to capacity, grant timelines, and a focus on western-centric definitions of success 5. With recent and anticipated changes in immigration policies, we need to continue to collect evidence in ways that align with the populations we are trying to serve, emphasizing the importance of context and storytelling alongside quantitative data analysis Thanks to ACS / AEC - Metropolis Institute / Institut Metropolis for hosting such a great conference. Read our latest FAST report here: https://lnkd.in/gJ6nYjeJ If anyone has any questions related to Blueprint 's work on this project or otherwise, please feel free to reach out. 

📊 Nouveau rapport à découvrir ! Le Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience | Centre canadien pour la résilience numérique, en collaboration avec ses partenaires  Blueprint , The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University, Digital Governance Council | Conseil de gouvernance numérique et Imagine Canada, a récemment publié un rapport sur la main-d'œuvre technologique du secteur OBNL au Canada. Points saillants : - Un écart important en compétences numériques existe dans le secteur OBNL. - Des compétences essentielles comme la collecte de fonds numérique, la gestion des données et la cybersécurité sont en grande demande. - 66 % des organismes de bienfaisance reconnaissent un besoin d'amélioration de leurs compétences numériques. Découvrez le rapport complet pour mieux comprendre le paysage actuel et les exigences futures de la main-d'œuvre technologique du secteur OBNL au Canada. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/efChfPTi

Today, we’re excited to launch #SkillsHorizon Calls for Proposals aimed at mobilizing forward-thinking approaches to address Canada’s most pressing skills needs! We’re looking to support organizations to develop the next generation of insights and solutions for the future of work together. We invite proposals through two open calls: The Skills Solutions call will fund projects that focus on solution design and advancing skills initiatives based on evidence of what has worked. The Skills Research call will explore key knowledge gaps or emerging challenges shaping Canada’s labour market. If your organization has a bold vision to advance Canada’s skills and workforce development ecosystem, apply for funding now! Application deadline is December 13, 2024! Apply: https://lnkd.in/djHGHnTZ #FutureSkills #FundingOpportunity #CallForProposal – Aujourd'hui, nous sommes ravis de lancer les appels de propositions #HorizonCompétences, qui visent à mobiliser des approches avant-gardistes pour répondre aux besoins les plus pressants du Canada en matière de compétences.   Nous cherchons à soutenir des organisations pour développer ensemble la prochaine génération d'idées et de solutions pour l'avenir du travail. Nous recevons des propositions par le biais de deux appels de propositions : L'appel de propositions Solutions pour les Compétences financera des projets axés sur la conception de solutions et l'avancement d'initiatives en matière de compétences basées sur des preuves de ce qui a fonctionné. L'appel de propositions Recherche sur les Compétences explorera les principales lacunes en matière de connaissances ou les nouveaux défis qui façonnent le marché du travail canadien. Si votre organisation a une vision ambitieuse pour faire progresser l'écosystème du développement des compétences et de la main-d'œuvre au Canada, faites une demande de financement dès maintenant ! Soumettre avant le 13 décembre 2024 HE : https://lnkd.in/dmvzQtAr  #OpportunitéDeFinancement #AppelDeProposition

Knowing that collaboration is important isn’t enough to make it happen. So how can governments support effective collaboration with community partners? We participated in an expert panel at the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) conference to explore this complex issue.

Yesterday’s AccelerateGov conference in Ottawa was my first – and definitely won’t be my last! What an impressive event from the team at Global Government Forum . With over 1,700 registrants and standing-room-only sessions, the day was filled with up-to-the-minute discussions on data and digital transformation in government. I was honored to speak on the panel, Open, Accessible, Responsive Services: How Digital Transformation Can Help Build Trust in Government, alongside Charles Taillefer, Raj T. and international leaders Christine Bellamy, Miquel Estapé and Wolfgang Ebner. I had the opportunity to talk about how data and evidence are superpowers in our efforts to build trust in government. Leveraging data and evidence helps us understand how our policies, programs, and services are performing and how we can improve them to better meet citizens' needs. Demonstrating that we can deliver outcomes for Canadians is one of the best ways to build trust. At Blueprint , we’re working with governments across Canada to help them use data to create better policies, programs, and services. Reach out if you’d like to learn more – it’s powerful work. I’m looking forward to continuing these important conversations! #AccelerateGov2024 #DigitalTransformation #DataForGood #PublicPolicy #TrustInGovernment

Just returned from two days of insightful discussions at Minister Randy Boissonnault's Workforce Summit 2024 in Montreal, hosted by Emploi et Développement social Canada (EDSC) / Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). The Summit brought together key stakeholders to foster dialogue on skills development and ensure we are working together as effectively as possible to build a competitive, skilled workforce ready for a rapidly changing economy. I particularly appreciated the discussions on how we can address short-term labor shortages while strategically developing our workforce to capitalize on Canada's long-term economic opportunities. One of my key takeaways was the strong consensus on the need to break down silos and build collaboration among industry associations, labor organizations, postsecondary institutions, government, and nonprofits. With the high proportion of SMEs in Canada’s economy, these collaborative efforts are crucial. At Blueprint, we partner with innovative workforce development organizations across Canada and are focused on scaling proven programs in different regions. Hearing the shared commitment to collaboration and breaking down barriers is encouraging, especially as our work with NPower Canada shows that the most successful sector-based training programs work closely with employers, establish collaborative bodies like Industry Councils to keep pace with the evolving economy, and align service providers to meet the needs of both workers and employers in a way that makes sense for local economies. Thank you to Julie Dzerowicz, MP Irek Kusmierczyk, MP, and skills experts Julia Blackburn, Steven Tobin, Valerie Walker, Matthew McKean, Rhonda Barnet, for championing data-driven approaches to helping Canadians thrive in this rapidly changing labor market. Special thanks to Minister Boissonnault, Steven MacKinnon, Paul Thompson Colette Kaminsky, Catherine Demers, Rhonda Fernandes, and their teams for organizing such a successful event. It was inspiring to see Canada’s skills leadership so dedicated to driving meaningful results for Canadians. Let’s keep working together—our future prosperity depends on it!