UP Skills for Work
UP Skills for Work helps learners develop key employability and life skills through free downloadable workbooks and online courses. The program focusses on key skills such as Motivation, Attitude, Accountability, Time Management, Reading, Numeracy, and Confidence. These skills help workers to be adaptable and motivated throughout their whole employment and as they move into new roles or careers. They lay the foundation for a strong and flexible workforce and for happy, fulfilled citizens.
Making a Difference
Hear from program facilitators and participants about the impact of UP Skills for Work.
Testimonials
Facts & Statistics
Six in 10 workers will require training before 2027, but only half of workers are seen to have access to adequate training opportunities today. The highest priority for skills training from 2023-2027 is analytical thinking, which is set to account for 10% of training initiatives, on average. The second priority for workforce development is to promote creative thinking, which will be the subject of 8% of upskilling initiatives.
The Future of Jobs Report – World Economic Forum, 2023
Post-pandemic, Canada has faced persistent labour and skills shortages across most regions, sectors and occupations: 80% of major employers are having trouble finding skilled workers. At the same time, employers play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of upskilling initiatives for their existing workforces. Further, it has been shown that technical-oriented training interventions are most successful when they are paired with non-technical skills training.
2023 State of Skills: Effective employer engagement in skills development – From rhetoric to solutions – Future Skills Centre, 2023
Skills—for individual workers, as well as the whole labour force—are a core component of human capital. In terms of earnings, the five most valuable skills are troubleshooting, operations monitoring, time management, reading comprehension, and monitoring. Developing and strengthening skills feeds into more valuable human capital, which then parlays into higher earnings.
Valuing Skills in Canada: A Statistical Approach – The Conference Board of Canada, 2022
Investment in workplace literacy also leads to cost savings from reduced errors and waste.
UPSKILL Health – Technical Report on worker and business outcomes – Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, 2016
According to the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, on average, a one-dollar investment in training returns a benefit to the employer of $1.38.
Apprenticeship – Building a Skilled Workforce for a Strong Bottom Line – R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd., Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, 2006
