Canada Funding Opportunity: Employer Practices

Background

Immigrants and refugees are key to Canada’s economic health today and to its future growth. Fully activating their economic potential has many benefits, both for individual lives and the Canadian economy as a whole.

Canadian employers, who have consistently reported labour shortages across a range of occupations, have a critical role to play in building more inclusive economies and supporting the success of immigrant and refugee workers.  

Immigrants and refugees face significant challenges in gaining access to the labour market, especially at levels commensurate with their skills. Many are overrepresented in low-paying occupations and sectors with poor working conditions and limited opportunities for economic mobility. There is a clear need to engage employers in the labour market integration of immigrants and refugees. 

To successfully match immigrant workers with jobs aligned with their skills, experience, and aspirations, and to help employers close labour shortages with qualified candidates, workforce development programs need to both center workers’ perspectives, as well as actively engage employers in their design and implementation. 

The Opportunity

This funding opportunity is now closed. Letters of intent (LOI) for this 2022 funding opportunity were accepted through November 15, 2021.

Following the review of LOIs, selected organizations will be invited to submit a full proposal. Awardees will receive grants that are up to two years in length and range from CAD150,000 to CAD200,000. Selected applicants will become grantee partners of the WES Mariam Assefa Fund as part of the Fund’s partner community and have access to peer-learning, capacity building, and other programming.

Please be sure to first read through the full details on this page and in our FAQs. Then, eligible organizations may submit LOIs through our online application portal, SurveyMonkey Apply. You will need to create an account there first.

All LOIs must be submitted through SurveyMonkey Apply. Paper applications and applications sent by email will not be accepted.

The WES Mariam Assefa Fund is looking to fund ideas from organizations that directly engage employers to do one or more of the following:

• Shift internal talent practices to reduce bias in recruitment and hiring, create more inclusive workplaces, and support the advancement of immigrant talent.
• Design and pilot demand-driven training and employment programs that connect immigrant and refugee jobseekers to quality jobs and help employers meet their talent needs, particularly in high-growth sectors.
• Analyze the issues faced by immigrant, racialized, and temporary workers in low-wage jobs and collaboratively improve labour practices that can lead to quality jobs.
• Pilot worker-centered approaches, working with employers to ensure the voices of jobseekers and employees are reflected in workplace culture, talent practices, and business practices.
• Build coalitions within or across sectors to advance commitments and action among employers.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and collective action among employers to advance successful immigrant integration and demand-led employment strategies.
• Assess the impact of existing employer initiatives focused on immigrant and refugee workers to identify the path forward for those solutions.