ADaPT: Bringing New Grads to Canada’s Economic Recovery
As the global labour market faces huge waves of disruption parallel to the ongoing waves of the pandemic, the Diversity Institute’s ADaPT (Advanced Digital and Professional Training) continues to offer a steady talent and skills gap solution to Canadian employers and recent university graduate job seekers – in turn supporting economic recovery efforts.
Developed in 2014 in Ontario, ADaPT is a free work-integrated learning (WIL) and employer-centered skills development program that has helped transition more than 800 post-secondary graduates into meaningful careers while providing employers, particularly in the information and communications technologies (ICT) sector, with talent to fill the acute skills demand. Participants have included graduates from 27 post-secondary institutions with recent program expansions to Alberta and Nova Scotia. Job placement rates slightly exceed the most recent Ontario data for employment six months post-graduation of 89% with ADaPT ranging from 90% placement in 2014 to 94% in 2020 during the pandemic.
The ADaPT project emerged out of research that was conducted for the 2014 Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund (OHCRIF) which identified a disconnect between supply and demand[1]. The survey revealed a gap in perceived levels of competency.
“The program focuses on employer needs and builds on the skills graduates have. The majority of ADaPT participants are from arts and social sciences and the program has been very successful in helping them transition into good jobs. We have experimented with different versions of the program – face to face, online and blended. We have offered programs targeting specific populations such as internationally educated newcomers and taken deep dives into data analytics, specialized applications such as Salesforce and development platforms such as Pega Systems. We have shown impressive results with intensive training coupled with work placements to upskill and reskill. Innovative models like ADaPT are critical to rebuilding back a more resilient, innovative and inclusive future of work, post-pandemic,” said Wendy Cukier, Diversity Institute founder and creator of ADaPT.
While many university-based WIL programs target students in co-op, ADaPT provides opportunities for graduates as well as students across any discipline. By combining practical digital and technical skills with ‘soft’ or professional skills, as well as career coaching and placement, the program has created opportunities for youth facing barriers – fully 75% of AdaPT participants are from designated groups (women, racialized people, persons with disabilities and Indigenous people).
Samantha Cooper, who has a BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities, credits the ADaPT program with supporting her transition from student to professional.
“I started ADaPT with critical thinking, analytical and research skills, and graduated with a full-time job lined up. During the five weeks of skill development, I filled the learning gap between academics and applied knowledge. I participated in workshops that increased my hard skills like digital marketing, design thinking, coding and business. Through career coaching I was able to develop my professional interests and I grew my network through the tight-knit cohort and started expanding my employment. Since I started working I have been promoted twice and recruited for a senior marketing position working with Johnson & Johnson.”
Over the years, ADaPT has partnered with many of Canada’s top employers and industry associations such as TECHNATION (formerly the Information Technology Association of Canada). Initially funded by the Province of Ontario, more recent programs have been funded by the Government of Canada through the Future Skills Centre.
The start of ADaPT Atlantic in the Maritimes at Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre (SMUEC) will begin in February 2021 with nearly 40 participants, with more availability in the spring.
If you are an employer interested in learning how to get involved or a new grad looking for more information, visit https://www.torontomu.ca/adapt (opens in new window) and follow us on Twitter (external link, opens in new window) and Instagram (external link, opens in new window) @ADaPT_RU.
[1] OHCRIF. (2014). Understanding Employer Needs and the Skills of Social Sciences and Humanities Graduates.