Future Skills Centre announces leadership transition

Pedro Barata to step down and Noel Baldwin appointed as interim executive director effective June 3, 2024

After nearly five years as head of the Future Skills Centre (FSC), Pedro Barata is stepping down from his executive director position and will be taking on a new role as President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Canada. Noel Baldwin, FSC’s government and public affairs director, is appointed interim executive director, effective June 3, 2024.

“On behalf of the FSC consortium, I want to thank Pedro for his exceptional contribution to FSC, he has been instrumental in the organization’s trajectory of success,” said Steven Liss, Toronto Metropolitan University’s vice-president, research and innovation. “From the early start-up days at the Centre, to guiding the organization to achieve pan-Canadian relevance through the pandemic, and today seeing insights being shared from more than 375 projects across Canada, Pedro has left his mark on the skills ecosystem”.

For the last five years, FSC has been driving the dialogue and producing evidence that will lead to strong workforce development and better productivity across Canada.

“Skills innovation is essential in building an inclusive and productive labour market and that’s the mission I have embraced in leading FSC from start-up to growing insights, scale, and impact,” said Pedro Barata, executive director of the Future Skills Centre. “It has been a meaningful and rewarding challenge. I am grateful to have worked with an amazing team and partners across Canada and proud of what we have accomplished so far”.

Leveraging extensive insights from research on key trends and challenges in the labour market, as well as evidence from pilot projects to accelerate skills innovation, the Centre is now positioned to drive a comprehensive knowledge mobilization strategy aimed at informing policy and practice.

“Pedro’s leadership over the last five years has brought FSC to an exciting moment — with both the plan and team in place to deepen our impact in skills development with an incredible network of partners” said Noel Baldwin, FSC’s government and public affairs director. “I’m excited to help lead FSC to make the most of this opportunity in the next phase of our work.”

Since joining FSC in 2019, Noel has built strong relationships across all levels of government, facilitating more than $20 million in strategic investments to address regional and sectoral gaps and fostering new partnerships focused on under-served populations. Notably, he spurred FSC’s first regional partnership with La Commission des partenaires du marché du travail in Quebec. Noel has enhanced policy capacity by briefing officials and providing expert testimony, while also guiding project partners through successful completion of their projects. Noel has been an integral part of the Centre’s impact to date, and his leadership has been critical to navigating the diverse stakeholders in the skills ecosystem.

For more information, contact: communications@fsc-ccf.ca