This Project intends to provide meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities for individuals with multiple barriers to employment to enhance economic integration and foster social inclusion. This Project is derived from Work Based Learning models and may include employer activation as well as wraparound supports to maximize long-term employment outcomes. Services will be of interest to individuals in receipt of Income Supports (IS), Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) and Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) as well as other Albertans facing significant challenges and barriers to employment including, but not limited to, Albertans with disabilities. Specific challenges to be addressed through this Project include: •Lack of practical or recent work experience and/or long-term unemployment. •Skills gaps and labour shortages in the labour market. •Limited networking skills and opportunities. •Limited life management and pre-employment skills, such as low Skills for Success including financial and digital literacy. •Limited soft skills in the workplace, such as time management, working as a team, problem solving, etc. •Limited employer collaboration for skills training and employment maintenance. •Need for focused projects with heightened levels of wraparound client supports and experiential learning opportunities. •Reduction in high barrier financial support caseloads. To address these challenges, SCSS anticipates awarding multiple agreements in various communities throughout Alberta that align with WBL delivery principles: •Contribute to the development of a talented workforce, addressing skills gaps while providing Clients with the supports they need to address their barriers to employment. •Forge and strengthen local partnerships across local services, the voluntary and community sector, and employers to build strong cross-sector collaboration to design and implement an improved approach to connecting highly barriered Clients to the labour market. •Coordinate support and better integrate community services that support adults experiencing multiple barriers to enable a comprehensive approach and connect Clients to needed services that may be outside the traditional scope of employment services. •Include people with lived experience and utilize a trauma-informed approach in the design, delivery and evaluation of improved services and future decision making. •Continue to drive lasting system-change, with long-term sustainable improvements that benefit people experiencing multiple barriers.
