Success Streams
Entrepreneurship Stream
Creates an opportunity for students to start thinking like entrepreneurs and express their ideas about changing some aspect of their world. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers – no matter how big or small the problem is; they do this by identifying opportunities and creating solutions through a business. In this module, we hope to get everyone a bit more familiar with what entrepreneurship is all about and how we can be a bit more entrepreneurial in our own lives.
Whether in business, school or life, understanding yourself and your innate abilities can be the most powerful key to success and unlocking your happiness. People can communicate what they do or how they do it, but very few people and organizations know their why: their core purpose or belief. Before diving into what problem your students want to solve and how they are going to innovate its solution, we must tackle their ‘why’? This module is highly interactive and reflective as students ask themselves key questions to better understand their motivations so they can make decisions with more clarity and confidence.
This module will introduce students to the process of problem solving and utilizing the process as an essential part in projects, startups, and life. Here, we will use the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals to propel students into critically thinking about collective issues and global citizenship as a kickstart for exploring problems. Loaded with resources and activities that aim to incite a bit of worry for our political, social, and economic landscape, we hope to provide students with a platform to engage with and consider the plethora of problems the world faces and tools to start considering how to solve them.
In this module, students will be tasked to imagine (or reimagine) a business driven by purpose and impact, and defined by values. Focus on reflecting and utilizing their unique perspectives to create something that matters to them.
In this module, we will help students realize their creative potential through the process of generating ideas and solutions to issues they want to solve.
In order to build an effective solution, you first
need to identify your target audience- the people affected by your problem. Understanding the
needs of your customers will enable you to build and envision a brand that speaks and relates to the audience you want to reach. Your brand should not only represent your business, but also evoke emotion and be loved by customers. To accomplish this, we’ve put together this module to help students discover and understand customer needs and desires.
This module is curated to prepare students to present their big idea, themselves, and their ‘why’. And we don’t just mean spreading the story on Instagram – we mean getting up in front of all audiences and pitching their startup, concept, or organization.
This module focuses on the core elements of a business and taking key steps to building a startup. This is where all your previous work should come together and students work on crucial parts of their business including a clear value proposition and how they are going to generate revenue.
This module focuses on developing the students’ understanding of the facets of marketing and the role they play in business, customer and competitor influences and their effect on business operations, and developing both a strategy and a plan to market the brand, product/service, and the entrepreneur.
In this module students will attain a better sense of the funding process, what sources they might be able to tap into depending on where they are in their journey and how to better manage their finances along the way.
In this module, we’re going to talk about garnering and building a support system for yourself or your business. You have to be intentional in building the right team of advisors up front for the growth of your startup or your own career, and we’re here to help you determine what that means for you.
In this module, we turn our attention to the cultivation of these traits- what they are, why they matter, and how your students incorporate them into their everyday lives. Following this, we will cover the very important topic of mental health. A topic that is important to entrepreneurs as much as it is for students. We will explore how students can better manage their mental health and mitigate burn out. As emerging entrepreneurs and global citizens in our ever-changing landscape of power, change, and compassion, acknowledging the pressures of everyday life has become a necessity in cultivating a more sustainable approach to the way we thrive.
Career Development Stream
COVID -19, virtual offices and technology have dramatically changed even the most traditional of workplaces. This module explores this topic and provides the learner with a comprehensive overview of the new workplace(s) – workplace changes, expectations, and the landscape of the new world of work, and how to navigate it.
Planning is not just for business, and we apply a comprehensive career planning system for all participants to understand their lived experiences, education, and work aspirations. This module helps our students create a foundational understanding of their career options and opportunities in the new work environment and how to pursue them.
Communication is a critical component for work and life. This module takes a deep dive into communication skills and techniques through multimedia examples and hands-on exercises to ensure participants understand the skill sets and are able to apply them in any situation, from communication with co-workers, supervisors and teams, to presentations and meetings.
Whether working in a physical office, essential work environment or in the virtual world, collaboration and teamwork are an essential part of working effectively and efficiently. However, teamwork has significantly evolved over the past two decades. LOI provides students with a holistic approach to understanding and navigating diversity, inclusion, communication, and current approaches to teamwork.
It is critical for new or early entrants into the workforce to understand workplace dynamics. This module will educate students on professionalism, respect, and what are appropriate conversations in the workplace. With the normalization of social media, technology and slang in the lives of youth, it is important to understand how that fits (or doesn’t) into a work environment. We will cover appropriate etiquette, how to carry yourself in any workplace (be it virtually or physically), and how to navigate difficult situations.
Problem solving is one of the necessary skills in any possible career but first it is critical to grasp what problem solving actually entails. This Module takes all our participants through the problem-solving process, terminology, tools and effective strategies that can be implemented in careers.
Creativity and ideation are often equated with art but the reality is that anyone can hone in on the skills. As with any skill, they can be learned and refined through practice and implemented in many scenarios in work and life. This module focuses on bringing participants into the world of creativity, ideation, and innovation, and provides them the tools and the space for the practical application of these skills.
The workplaces we occupy in Canada – whether they are online or offline – are made up of a rich diversity of individuals. This module focuses on how to honor all the diverse cultures and experiences of individuals that make up a workforce, that includes ethnic, racial, age, gender, and regional diversities that we all experience. We explore the question ‘what does this mean for ensuring our workplaces are safe, effective, and empowering to all that are part of it’?
Indigenous history is essential to understanding the history of Canada, and its rich ecosystem. In this module participants will be led by Indigenous facilitators to explore the history and experiences of Indigenous people, Indigenous workplace customs and ceremonies and how modern workplaces can ensure that these are included as a core component of an organization. Participants will also learn how to do proper land acknowledgments and employ appropriate language and terminology that they can use in their work life.
Without digital skills, where would we be? Digital skills are essential skills to any employee in any work environment. Participants will learn the digital skills necessary to succeed in any workplace including navigating the most common digital platforms (Microsoft, Google Workplace, Project Management Tools, Social Media Tools), essential computer skills, digital etiquette, and digital personal brand sites (Linkedin, Medium, Blogs, Personal Websites) that any employee can build. Participants will walk away with a clear digital personal brand strategy that will highlight their skills and career objectives.
Individuals are presented with so many challenges – local to global – that often feel completely out of their control – think climate crisis, social unrest, political instability, recessions. However, adaptability and resilience start with the individual and begin with understanding your own strengths and weaknesses – from there one can begin to understand the threats and opportunities one cannot control but that one must navigate. In this module, participants will be provided with the essential resiliency tools they can utilize to adapt and navigate any situation.
Building a career or getting a job is no longer just about applying for work, it is about understanding and navigating an ever-changing and growing ecosystem that exists across regions, sectors, and digital realms. In this module we will provide participants a complete picture of the innovation ecosystem in Canada and provide them a roadmap of how to navigate it.
Creating impact and building purpose into business and many industries is a key focus for business and governments alike. But what does it all mean? What is social innovation? How do you tap into this field? And how can you bring social innovation and social impact to any career? These are just some of the fundamental questions that we will answer for our participants.
In the last module we will tie everything together. Over the course of the program we have provided participants with a comprehensive set of tools, skills, roadmaps, and understanding of ecosystems that exist in Canada (and beyond). This module will focus on supporting our participants in building out their career roadmap, and action items, so that they can confidently become part of the economic fabric of Canada.