Breaking Down Barriers to Skills for Success Training

Canada’s labour market is changing. AI, automation, demographic shifts, and the transition to a low-carbon economy are reshaping the skills workers need to succeed.

Foundational and transferable skills can help workers learn new tasks, adapt to changing job requirements, and navigate transitions between roles and occupations. The Government of Canada’s Skills for Success (S4S) framework identifies nine foundational and transferable skills that are important for work, learning, and daily life. Yet many adults face barriers to accessing opportunities to build these skills.

With funding from Employment and Social Development Canada, Blueprint is leading a multi-provincial research and service design project to better understand the skills development needs of mid-career workers, the barriers they face in accessing training, and how services can be designed to better meet those needs. Drawing on this research, the project will develop practical service model prototypes that provinces can use as a framework for designing S4S-related training pathways.

Working across British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and New Brunswick, Breaking Down Barriers is examining the skills development needs of mid-career workers and how existing systems can better support them. Through policy and program research, evidence reviews, labour market analysis, and primary research, we are exploring who could benefit most from training, what approaches work, what workers need and prefer, and how services can be designed to respond to different needs and contexts.

The project brings together governments, employers, training providers, employment service organizations, and workers themselves. Their perspectives will help us understand both the realities of existing systems and the experiences and needs of people navigating change in the labour market.

The goal is to identify barriers and design practical solutions. Drawing on evidence from across the project, Blueprint will develop and test a series of S4S service model prototypes. These models will outline who services are designed for, how people access them, what supports they receive, and how programs can be delivered effectively. Through workshops and validation activities, partners will help refine these models to ensure they are practical, evidence-informed, and responsive to provincial priorities.

Ultimately, the project will provide governments and workforce development partners with actionable tools to strengthen Canada’s adult learning ecosystem and improve access to skills development opportunities for mid-career workers.

Research findings, insights, and practical resources from the project will be shared here as they become available. These will include evidence and insights from across the research, as well as practical tools emerging from the development of the Skills for Success service model prototypes.