Women
Research
Skilled Trades and Entrepreneurship: The Need for Business Competencies
This report set out to explore two questions: 1) To what extent should entrepreneurship be recognized as a critical dimension of the skilled trades, and 2) which competencies are most essential for entrepreneurs in the skilled trades to succeed?
Project
Leveraging Technology to Develop Modern Mining Skills
The Leveraging Technology to Develop Modern Mining Skills project, led by NORCAT with support from the Future Skills Centre, explored the potential for augmented reality and virtual reality to address labour and safety challenges in mining and construction. By incorporating simulations into core training programs, the project aimed to provide safer, more accessible practice environments for new workers while testing whether immersive tools could improve learning outcomes.
Project
Tourism and Hospitality Emergency Recovery
The Tourism & Hospitality Emergency Recovery (THER) initiative, funded by the Future Skills Centre and led by the Ontario Tourism Education Corporation (OTEC), aimed to support Canada’s tourism and hospitality sector during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project
Digital Transformation of Work: Racialized Immigrant Women and Skills Retraining
The digital transformation coming to Canadian workplaces accelerated significantly after the country-wide COVID-19 lockdowns, which increased demand for remote work. The digital transformation has and will hit some workers harder than others.
Project
North Forge Global Entrepreneurship Initiative
The North Forge Global Entrepreneurship Initiative aimed to address several key questions to enhance support for newcomers, particularly those involved in the Start-up Visa Program and highly qualified newcomers facing licensing barriers.
Project
Female Workers Facing the Challenge of Digital Transformation: A Case Study in the Insurance Sector
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation, leading to numerous changes in social interactions at work. To address this, the project focuses on how female workers in customer service roles who typically hold secondary or college-level education and work remotely for insurance companies in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Québec are adapting to these changes.
Project
Services to Social Impact
The COVID-19 pandemic and its series of lockdowns disproportionately impacted the service industry and many young women who work in this sector. This project provided online workshops and coaching to help young women in the service industry develop transferable social-emotional skills in leadership and confidence, communications, business literacy, job interviewing and networking to support their capacity to undertake career changes.
Research
DiversityLeads: Barriers and Enablers to Advancement for Equity-Deserving Groups
This report identifies significant barriers that hinder career advancement and enablers that allow leaders from equity-deserving groups to succeed. It is important to track progress because what gets measured gets done, especially at a time when Canada’s workers are aging and immigration levels are lowering, leaving a widening skills and talent gap for employers.
Research
More Than Just Numbers Revisited: Women in Engineering
This report reviews progress for women in engineering and the gaps that remain, and draws upon research and best practices to advance an evidence-based action plan.








