Global Skills Opportunity

As a pilot, GSO has been highly successful. Since its launch in 2019, GSO has met and surpassed all its targets despite challenging circumstances. To date, 141 participating post-secondary institutions across Canada have engaged more than 12,000 students in international work and learning experiences in over 100 countries leveraging more than 800 collaborative international partnerships in the process; 73% of participating students identify as a member of at least one traditionally underrepresented group.

Though a new funding commitment for GSO did not materialize in Budget 2024, advocating for the program’s renewal remains a key priority. To that end, Colleges and Institutes Canada and Universities Canada recently submitted a GSO specific brief to the Standing Committee on Finance in the context of pre-budget consultations that called for the program to be renewed. We continue to leverage support from the business community, member institutions and students, to engage with Members of Parliament and demonstrate the impact that international experience has on skill acquisition and labour market development.

With funding currently in place until March 2025, we continue to work closely with implementing institutions to deliver for students and support capacity building initiatives. Including the launch of a revamped GSO HUB and knowledge sharing series to highlight best practices and lessons learned from innovation and mobility projects.

For more information on how you can support GSO renewal efforts, please contact Andrew Champagne.

Indo-Pacific Strategy

CICan’s Indo-Pacific Strategy was approved by the Board of Directors on May 23rd, 2024. As the international voice of Canada’s publicly funded colleges, institutes, polytechnics, and applied universities, CICan will seek to establish the network as premier partners to support workforce development in the Indo-Pacific region.

To achieve this, CICan will:

1. Shape policy discourse on workforce development, position members as leading partners and service providers. CICan will promote Canada as a dynamic and technologically advanced economic partner, brand the excellence of CICan members as partners of choice in the region, and bring intelligence back to support CICan members’ and CICan’s mandate and objectives.
2. Provide members with opportunities with non-traditional partners that lead to contract training, applied research, transnational education, and other partnerships. CICan will provide its members with innovative partnership opportunities non-traditional funders (i.e. provincial or national government bodies; foundations; private sector partners) that not only enhance their communities at home but also foster collaboration and growth in the Indo-Pacific region.
3. Develop CICan-led international development cooperation programs in the Indo-Pacific region.

Contracting training opportunity Thailand/Malaysia

CICan responded to a call for proposals in May from the Asia-Pacific Foundation for a contract to undertake workshops on business management and provide mentorship for MSMEs in Thailand and Malaysia. In addition, a deliverable of the contract would be to conduct research on the impact of micro-credentials on professional development in Thailand and Malaysia. If CICan is granted the contract, it will seek to sub-contract one or more CICan member institutions to undertake the activities for the deliverables.

Contracting training opportunity Philippines

CICan is negotiating with the Philippines Commission for Higher Education (CHED) on a contract to deliver institutional leadership training for up to 20 institutions from the Philippines.  In addition, there may be contract training opportunities to develop short courses in allied health, tourism, and airport management sectors. This would likely only happen in 2025.

Strengthening Civil Society and Democratic Spaces in the Indo-Pacific

CICan was not invited by Global Affairs Canada to develop a full proposal in response to this call for concept notes.

Tunisia

After submitting a successful concept note, CICan has been invited to submit a full proposal to GAC for a project entitled, “Les ISSAT au Coeur d’une Économie Verte et Inclusive”.

Concept note for ‘Women and Youth's Participation in the Labour Force in Jordan’

CICan will not pursue this opportunity from Global affairs Canada to focus on other promising opportunities in the pipeline. Several CICan members would be well positioned to be selected for funding.

Green Skills for Honduras Economic Resilience Project Proposal

The unsolicited proposal led by Swiss NGO SwissContact, with CICan positioned as a sub-contractor, was not selected for funding by GAC.

Movetia opportunity

As the Pan-North American UNEVOC center, CICan was contacted by Movetia, the Swiss agency for exchange and mobility. Swiss TVET providers are very interested in collaborating with their North American counterparts. If you would like more information, please reach out directly to Ms. Yvonne Jänchen, Program Coordinator at Movetia,

Global TVET Fund

CICan is preparing to respond to a request from Global Affairs Canada to lead the development and implementation of a Global TVET Fund, which could position CICan members to take advantage of opportunities for global partnerships in the TVET sector. CICan is considering forming a consortium of organizations with experience in fund management in order to strengthen a potential proposal.

A Thousand Women: I am Woman, I Exist, I Participate (FEP) Senegal

Below are the results for the call for proposals on January 30^th focused on the provision of disciplinary and pedagogical training in Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE) and the establishment of a consultation mechanism to offer services tailored to the needs of vulnerable women:

• ETS_01_LTCEAN: in partnership with Cégep de Jonquière, Collège Boréal and Cégep de Trois-Rivières.
• ETS_01_CFPT_SJ: in partnership with Collège Boréal and Cégep de Jonquière

• ETS_01_LTID: in partnership with Cégep de Trois-Rivières and Cégep Marie-Victorin

The upcoming call for proposals on September 4 (wave 4) concerns the Female leadership and mentoring (PEEJF_02) and the Female entrepreneurship (ETS_03).

Senegalese partners are offered the opportunity this year to visit Canadian partner colleges and institutes to share different management and teaching techniques, draw inspiration and best practices from them and to improve the performance of processes in Senegalese institutions.

The second Forum on Women’s Employability and Entrepreneurship will be held in Dakar from December 3 to 5. The Forum will be accompanied by an orientation session for the Canadian colleges and institutes selected in the 4^th wave of calls for proposals.

At present, 713 women out of 1,000 have been selected to take part in the certification process through the VAE. A second selection cohort will be launched in the third quarter of the 2024-25 financial year.

Canadian International Development Scholarships 2030 (BCDI 2030)

The implementation of the first 14 scholarship projects in Canada has begun. 99 participants, including 50 members of scholarship selection committees from partner educational institutions, took part in the training offered by the program Integrating an inclusive and gender-sensitive approach to the awarding of scholarships for the BCDI 2030 program. The first scholarship recipients arrived in Canada in August 2024.

Forty proposals for scholarship projects in Canada were submitted by CICan and UnivCan member colleges and universities as part of the $18M call for proposals launched by BCDI 2030 in April 2024. These proposals, submitted in partnership with 99 partner educational institutions located in 19 countries benefiting from the program, were evaluated by members of the arms-length International Selection Committee (ISC). The list of selected projects will be announced in September 2024.

Upcoming calls for proposals

• September 2024: Institutional partnerships in leadership & governance, professional integration and in program development and gender-responsive teaching and learning environments.
• November 2024: Scholarship projects for studies in Canada (Possibility of a 3rd call if funds are still available in the envelope of Francophonie member countries following the ISC evaluation)

Stay tuned with the program developments and all the innovative projects by visiting our website.

EFE Tunisia Al-Najah

The EFE Tunisia Al-Najah Project successfully concluded all activities on March 31, 2024. The team is incredibly proud of the achieved results and would like to thank the participating members as well as the Tunisian strategic and institutional partners.

Discover these results by immersing yourself in the Impact Story book, which draws on over 40 interviews with TVET, government, civil society and industry representatives from Canada and Tunisia. This book celebrates the results of the project, its nine institutional partnerships, and it highlights best practices and lessons learned to avoid loss of information and make recommendations for the sustainability of activities.

Empowerment through Skills Program (ESP) Tanzania

CICan members traveled to Tanzania to continue working with their Tanzanian partners on the following topics:

• ESP 01: seven (7) participants from Nova Scotia Community College, North Island College and Saskatchewan Polytechnic conducted curriculum development training and equipment assessment at Tanzanian partner institutions.
• ESP 03: four (4) participants from the College of the North Atlantic and Norquest College conducted capacity building training on women’s leadership, entrepreneurship, and academic management at Tanzanian partner institutions.
• ESP 05: seven (7) participants from Seneca Polytechnic and Niagara College conducted Train the Trainer (ToT) workshops on Cookery, Tailoring and Entrepreneurship short courses, undertook curricula review from a gender perspective, and delivered a workshop on gender and marketing with students.
• Durham College and Centennial College (ESP 06) hosted and conducted in-person training in Canada for ten (10) Tanzanian partners on CBET, industry engagement, inclusive learning, student supports, and technical training.

The ESP team delivered a training on occupation health and safety (OHS) to all 12 Folk Development Colleges (FDCs) to facilitate the development of OHS policies, procedures, and action plans for each FDC. A total of 743 principals, staff, and student leaders were trained.

Three simultaneous trainings on Environmental Climate and Sustainability (ECS) were given to 36 staff at all 12 FDCs to address environmental issues, climate change, sustainable development, localize and link 7 of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals at the FDCs as well as develop workplans.

In May 2024, all 12 Community Based Organizations (CBOs) renewed their partnerships with ESP to continue to deliver gender and human rights awareness training in their communities after a refresher training. The ESP team also delivered a workshop to 40 CBO trainers, Directors, and the Prime Minister’s Office staff to train people with hearing and visual impairments in their communities. A total of 195 (97 f/98 m) community members were trained.

Kenya Blue Economy Skills Training (KBEST)

College of the North Atlantic, in partnership with Dalhousie University and Georgian College were successfully selected in response to the Request for Proposals to support national harmonization of Occupational Standards in Aquaculture and Fisheries and in Hospitality and Tourism.

A four-day Partnership Orientation was held in Mombasa, Kenya in February to develop an understanding of KBEST’s required outcomes and outputs and developing linkages, relationships, and networks between and among KBEST partners and stakeholders. Successful completion of inception missions with Kenyan partners, development of workplans and budgets and partnerships agreements were signed.

A gender equality (GE) and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) training was conducted in August, to orient Kenyan partners on gender analysis and strategy, to provide an overview of the MEL capacity assessment results and to discuss partner roles and responsibilities in data collection and reporting.

Member colleges are encouraged to take part in the upcoming call for proposals mid-September 2024:

• KBEST-12 partnership with Kenya School of TVET on online and blended learning
• KBEST 13 institutional partnership with Bandari Maritime Academy
• KBEST-14 institutional partnership with Railway Training Institute – Marine School
• KBEST-15 thematic partnership on recognition of prior learning (RPL)

Skills to Access the Green Economy (SAGE)

On the margins of CICan’s Annual Conference, 25 participants from Caribbean partner institutions engaged in a regional meeting with Canadian college partners and they took part in an Experiential Learning Tour in British Columbia and Alberta. The group visited Lethbridge Polytechnic, College of the Rockies, Selkirk College, Olds College of Agriculture and Technology, Red Deer Polytechnic, Bow Valley College, and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

In May, a two-day Applied Research Symposium took place for 36 participants in Grenada, highlighting the importance of applied research and to allow partners to present on their projects.

The pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship training continue across the Caribbean with a focus on construction, landscaping, pasture management, heavy equipment mechanics, and mining.

Below is an overview of the activities conducted between January and August:

• ITVET Stann Creek’s (Belize) cohort completed the Agro-Food Processing program.
• Dominica State College (DSC) continues its successful enrolment in Sustainable Construction and graduation from the Furniture Building program.
• A. Marryshow Community College (TAMCC, Grenada) commenced training in the Associate Degree in Environmental Technology program.
• Bina Hill Institute (Gyuana) launched a program in Photovoltaic Installation. The New Amsterdam Technical Institute (NATI) adjusted their training plan from Renewable Energy Level 3 to Photovoltaic Installation Level 3.
• Ebony Park Heart National Service Training Agency (NSTA) Academy (Jamaica) introduced its fifth cohort of food processors, consisting of 17 students.
• The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (St. Lucia) is completing another cohort of the Climate Smart Agriculture program. The National Skills Development Centre trainees concluded the Agro Food Processing Prep Program.
• Nova Scotia Community College’s activities on Eco-tourism included work on defining micro-credentialing, content development for short courses, and instructor training.
• Five out of six partner Caribbean countries received in-person training from Durham College on best practices and educational technology for creating online courses.
• College of the North Atlantic and Norquest College conducted a two-day in-country workshop (St. Lucia), focused on support for learners with exceptionalities, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), accommodations, and authentic assessment for instructors.

South African Skills Training Enhancement Program (SASTEP)

The Program Implementation Plan (PIP) phase of SASTEP included a consultation mission in February with excellent design and operational suggestions from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), 15 participating colleges in Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces, and other stakeholders. A baseline study and a gender analysis were also conducted.

In April Dr. Abimbola Abiola, Senior Technical Advisor, conducted a mission to South Africa and successfully deployed in May. The program’s requests for proposals (RFPs) is scheduled for September 30^th.

Young Africa Works – Kenya: Youth Employability Through TVET (YAWK-TVET)

The program continues to make significant contributions to the national TVET ecosystem, as it launched 118 CBET programs/courses with a cumulative student enrolment of 4,792 (1,617F/3,175M). With the support of 51 industrial advisory committees, 509 students (237F/272M) were assigned to work placements with 291 employers.

The in-service training of TVET trainers, in partnership with the Kenya School of TVET (KSTVET), reached 5,450 trainees who tremendously value the learner-centered, practical training and perceive it as transformational.

The program contributed significantly to the development of a national competency-based assessment framework which was spearheaded by the reinstated TVET Curriculum Development and Certification Council (TVET-CDACC). Two major pilot exercises for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) were implemented and supported its 25 partners with the RPL assessments.

Though Canadian partnerships are on track for a September 2024 close, the program is actively moving ahead with accelerated industry engagement, scaled-up marketing and outreach, finalization of course materials, technical training for instructors, support to gender mainstreaming committees, and dialogue on sustainability and long-term strategies in September 2024 and January 2025.

Canada-Europe Partnership Event | September 16 | Toulouse, France

Organized in conjunction with Universities Canada and taking place alongside the European Association for International Education (EAIE) conference in Toulouse, this event will focus on helping member institutions explore partnership opportunities related to applied research through the Horizon Europe framework. The program will include a technical briefing tailored to Canadian post-secondary institutions, a panel discussion on best practices and partnership models, and a networking reception where Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Directors responsible for international and applied research can engage with potential partners and key stakeholders from Europe.

CICan Global Engagement Mission | October 6-18 | Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand

As part of Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan)’s strategic engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, member institutions are invited to participate in a global engagement mission targeting partnership and business development opportunities in Southeast Asia.

The mission will consist of events and activities involving business-to-business meetings with representatives from industry, private sector organizations, institutions, recruitment partners, and will facilitate direct connections with prospective international students. Participating member institutions will have the opportunity to develop meaningful new partnerships in areas related to capacity building, contract training, student recruitment and applied research. Please visit our website for more information.