Skills Connection Summit Canada

Summit Welcome Address
Jeremy Auger, D2L CSO and member of Federal Future Skills Council of Canada

Special Guest Keynote
Kevin Surace, Futurist and Disruptive Innovation, CEO/CTO, Appvance

Panel: Practical Solutions in Aligning Critical Skills and Desired Outcomes
Listen to a panel of industry representatives that will share stories as they pertain to employees’ skills, organizational outcomes, and how to leverage technology to solve unique challenges with practical solutions.

• Carolyn Watters, Chief Digital Research Officer, National Research Council of Canada
• Rob Belliveau, Training Officer, Halifax Regional Municipality – Fire and Emergency
• Lekan Olawoye, CEO & Founder, TALENT X
• Mary Butler, President and CEO, New Brunswick Community College
• Moderator: Erin Mills, VP Demand Gen, D2L

Break

Panel: Strategies for Addressing the Skills Gap through Micro-Experiential and Work Integrated Learning
The growing skills gap and changing nature of work have created an environment of rapid innovation. In-demand skills are evolving faster than traditional methods of training can adapt. In this panel we will discuss different approaches to addressing the skills gap through Work Integrated and Micro-Experiential Learning. Participants will offer strategies and best practices that education institutions and employers are applying to equip employees and students with the skills to be successful.

• Prieeyya Kaur Kesh, CEO and Founder, Our Wave Hub
• Andrew Wadsworth, VP Global, RED Academy
• Kristine Dawson, Career Services and Work-Integrated Learning President, CEWIL
• Dr. Neil Fassina, President, Athabasca University
• Moderator: Jeff Salin, Learning Solutions Consultant

Developing the future workforce with AWS Academy
As cloud technologies continue to help organizations transform their businesses at a rapid pace, employees with the necessary cloud skills are in high demand. AWS Academy enables diverse education institutions to deliver curriculum and hands on learning experiences to prepare students for employment in cloud roles.

• Fahd Gulzar, Senior Consultant, AWS

Lunch and Networking

Panel: Future of Work and Learning: Policy Responses
Public and private institutions are increasingly being pressured to respond to the technological disruption that is changing the we live, learn, and work. How should policies adapt or respond when jobs in nearly every pillar of our economy are being redesigned or eliminated, or when we see shortages in the highly-skilled workforce that industry will need in order to compete?

The panel will explore policy responses aimed at supporting the future of work and learning. There is reason to be optimistic as government and broader public sector leaders are responding with new approaches to education and training designed to make the workforce more adaptive in the context of rapid technological change.

• Sunil Johal, Fellow, Public Policy Forum
• Pedro Barata, Executive Director, Future Skills Centre
• Rachel Wernick, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, ESDC
• Moderator: Jeremy Auger, CSO, D2L

Best Practices in Creating a Skills Strategy for Your Organization
D2L’s Learning Strategy Team opens up about best practices, including how to plan, blueprint, and execute a Learning and Development strategy for your entire organization.

• Kiara Graham, Learning Strategy Consultant, D2L

Thank You and Wrap Up
Jeremy Auger, D2L CSO and member of Federal Future Skills Council of Canada

Break

Future of Skills Game-storming Workshop
During the Toronto Skills Summit, attendees and presenters will discuss the current state of skills, the growing gap, and what actions are needed for the future of work to be successful. This workshop will give participants the opportunity to collaborate and discuss, share, and negotiate what their top priorities are, what barriers they are facing, and what resources they can leverage to overcome them in a fun, interactive, game-storming format.

Participants will be asked three key questions pertaining to skills mapping and the future of work:

• Where is your organization trying to go?
• What is helping your organization get there today?
• What are the challenges facing your organization?

From there, each participant will share, and the discussion and debate will begin.
After the workshop is finished, each participant will be given a collection of tips, tricks, and goals that were collaboratively generated during the discussion. This will be sent after the event.

Lead facilitator: Steve Rogalsky, Senior Manager – Product Management, D2L