There is a chronic shortage of trades workers in Canada due to a lack of new entrants, a mismatch of skills to opportunities and increased retirement. While the industry faces these headwinds, completion rates for Red Seal trades are, on average, below 50 per cent nationally. Many trades students face educational barriers that lead to their decision to drop out. The Coast Capital Road to Red Seal Program officially launched in March of 2023 to help current and future skilled trades apprentices navigate barriers and successfully achieve their Red Seal endorsement. The program offers a suite of tools and one-on-one support directly to apprentices to ensure they continue to progress in their apprenticeship and complete their training. We committed one million dollars over five years to the Construction Foundation of BC in support of this highly specialized program, which in the last year has already supported 42 students to increase their career opportunities and income potential.
People with disabilities face barriers to entry in many places of employment. The BC Centre for Ability’s THRIVE program empowers young adults with disabilities to become self-sufficient, enter the workforce and gain access to meaningful employment. This innovative program offers one-to-one coaching, mentorship, advocacy, and direct connections to employers. BCCFA also assists employers in harnessing the diverse talent of these skilled individuals. Coast Capital continued its support of the THRIVE program in 2023 with a $160,000 investment. Our funding enabled BCCFA to expand the program through increased client impact and outreach initiatives. It also enabled BCCFA to hire a full-time Vocational Counsellor dedicated to providing individualized employment support and a part-time Job Developer focused on creating employment opportunities that match client skills and abilities.
Vulnerable youth who experience extreme adversity, such as homelessness, often resign themselves to the idea that minimum wage jobs are their only future option. Threshold Housing Society’s Foundations program opens doors to employment for vulnerable youth in the Greater Victoria area. The Society’s professional staff supports youth in identifying their goals and aspirations, then formally connects them to skills development and education needed for better employment opportunities. Coast Capital provided $50,000 to the Foundations program in 2023. This funding supported 50 youth aged 15 to 24 to build their thriving futures. It also enabled Threshold Housing Society to facilitate relevant group training for program participants to develop the necessary life skills needed for independent living in the Victoria area.
Non-profits deal with today’s most challenging issues, provide life-saving programs and are critical to supporting vulnerable Canadians, including those experiencing inequity. Since the pandemic, the need for non-profit programs has skyrocketed, while at the same time, traditional funding options are trending downward as competition continues to rise. Helping non-profits access financial knowledge, education, tools, and training to become financially resilient is critical for all Canadians to thrive. We continued our support of Scale Collaborative’s Thriving Non-Profits Program in 2023 with a $300,000 contribution over the next two years. This transformative program helps non-profit leaders integrate new entrepreneurial approaches for greater financial resilience and societal impact. Participating organizations develop a financial diversification strategy while learning about several revenue streams. They also gain vital knowledge about fee-for-service, social enterprise, partnerships, asset acquisition and contracts. Since Coast Capital first began supporting Thriving Non-Profits in 2019, 150 organizations have participated in the program.
Coast Capital is a founding champion of the Canadian Purpose Economy Project, which exists to accelerate the transition to the purpose economy. The project engages national ecosystem actors to create an enabling environment for social purpose businesses to start, transition, thrive and grow. It convenes, connects, curates, and collaborates to drive the social purpose business movement in Canada toward an economy where social purpose business is the norm, attracting capital, talent, and partners. In 2023, Coast Capital contributed $100,000 to support the project with funding supporting movement towards the organization’s vision which is to have 25 per cent of Canadian businesses adopting, disclosing, and authentically embedding a social purpose by 2030. This includes the development and launch of the CEO Call to Purpose, the creation of action groups to mobilize the ecosystem, and the delivery of tools and events to help companies implement social purpose.
Prosper Canada is a national charity working to ensure vulnerable Canadians have access to the financial programs, products, and advice they need to achieve greater financial security and resilience. In 2023, Coast Capital continued its commitment of $600,000 over two years (2022-2023) to support Prosper Canada’s Financial Empowerment Champion (FEC) program. The FEC program is a network of 14 leading non-profit organizations across the country providing financial help services to Canadians living on low and moderate incomes. From teaching how to create a budget, a plan for savings and debt management, and longer-term action plans to rebuild financial health. The impact of the program is tremendous. Between January 1 and June 20, 2023, the FEC program provided financial help to 229,748 people, enabling them to avoid financial crisis and begin rebuilding their financial stability.
Learn more about the Financial Empowerment Champions Program