Government investing $50 million as part of Women’s Employment Readiness (WER) program
Having announced the Women’s Employment Readiness (WER) program in the fall of 2020, Ottawa is now asking employers to submit proposals for funding.
The government is investing $50 million over two years to test new approaches for helping marginalized women by providing pre-employment and training supports, including wrap-around supports such as transportation and child care.
Canada’s Budget 2021 includes establishing a Canada-wide early learning and child care system, in partnership with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners.
The projects funded through the WER pilot will be required to:
- test and provide foundational and transferable skills training models (which may include literacy and essential skills) with wrap-around supports to access skills training
- test methods to improve workplace inclusivity for at least one of the target groups to improve their access to employment or retention in the workplace
- be national in scope (i.e. serve participants in two or more provinces/territories) and regional in scope if serving participants located in Official Language Minority Communities.
“Employment leads to independence, financial stability and inclusion. As we recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has never been more important to support women’s economic participation,” says Carla Qualtrough, minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion.
“This funding is about providing women with the tools that respond to their needs, and recognizing that a diverse workforce is a stronger and more resilient workforce. A successful and prosperous economic recovery is one in which all women can participate.”
The program is targeting racialized or Indigenous women, women with disabilities, women from the LGBTQ2 community and women who have been out of the labour market for an extended period.
Organizations can send their applications using this guide until June 30, 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of difficulties to everyone, but female workers are disproportionately affected compared with their male counterparts, according to a report. Also, female leadership is at a 20-year low, says another.
