Tourism HR Canada will soon be launching a new skills development initiative, Destination Inclusion. Coordinated in conjunction with partners World Skills Employment Centre and the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO), this program will offer learning and mentorship opportunities to racialized individuals in communities across Eastern Ontario.
Destination Inclusion participants will have free access to specialized skills assessments and customized training to enhance their technical, essential, transferable, and cultural competencies. They will have the opportunity to:
- Enhance transferable skills and language competencies
- Achieve better employment outcomes by acquiring industry-needed skills
- Explore a variety of career opportunities and paths in the tourism sector
- Access a broad support network and mentorship opportunities
- Obtain greater confidence and self-esteem in workplace settings
- Gain understanding of the tourism sector and Canadian workplace culture
The program will focus on three tourism-related learning streams: cooking, front desk, and housekeeping. A skills assessment will provide guidance on a suitable stream for each participant, but they are welcome to choose any or all that are of interest. The programming will all be offered online, through flexible, self-directed e-learning modules and supplementary micro-learning assets.
Destination Inclusion will also offer participants mentorship support, connecting them directly with tourism professionals. This will foster discussions around employment pathways in the industry, provide networking opportunities, and build an understanding of the many prospects available as the sector recovers from the pandemic.
Participants meeting these criteria are eligible for the Destination Inclusion program:
- Self-identify as a member of a racialized group
- Reside in Eastern Ontario
For participants whose first language is not English, meeting of level 5 or higher on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is recommended.
Virtual information sessions will be held throughout the fall, with participant programming launching in early October.
For more information on the program and the link to register for an upcoming information session, please visit the Destination Inclusion webpage.
Tourism-focused skills training is also available in other regions of Ontario:
OTEC offers Tourism SkillsNet North, which identifies workforce labour gaps specific to northern Ontario, designs responsive customized training to meet these specific needs, trains employees, and matches them with available job opportunities within Northern Ontario’s tourism sector.
Destination Toronto has just launched Hospitality EDGE, which offers a highly curated suite of online courses at no cost for workers in the hospitality sector in the Toronto, Mississauga, and Brampton area.
This Employment Ontario program is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario
