NEWS RELEASE
WorkForce Excellence Program Launches Job Seeker Platform
February 1, 2023 – Brantford, Bruce-Grey, Hamilton and Sudbury will be participating in a community challenge to show their enthusiasm and commitment to apprenticeship programs and skilled trades careers in Edge Factor’s WEP Factor Competition!
As of January, job seekers, apprentices, youth, their parents, educators, and others in the four communities can visit the WorkForce Excellence Program (“WEP”) online platform to explore local employment and training opportunities, earn their WEP Community Badge, and access inspiring stories and multimedia as they learn about apprenticeships and careers in the skilled trades. Participants will qualify to win awesome prizes in the WEP Factor Competition and earn the opportunity to lead their community to show they’ve got an edge when it comes to excellence in the skilled trades.
“Edge Factor delivers innovative workforce and career development solutions that inspire people to explore, prepare and connect on their Career Journey,” said Edge Factor Founder and President, Jeremy Bout. “WEP, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, is about opening the eyes of job seekers, youth, parents and community members to discover the power of apprenticeship programs, and connecting them to companies and opportunities in their own community. And what does it take to be excellent? The WEP Factor Competition celebrates and rewards inspiring people who are passionate and committed to excellence in apprenticeships and the trades.”
“When you have a job in the skilled trades, you have an in-demand job for life,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “That’s why our government is investing in Edge Factor’s new WorkForce Excellence Program, making it easier for job seekers to explore local training opportunities, start rewarding careers in the skilled trades, and earn bigger pay cheques.”
The first leg of the WEP Factor Competition will recognize individuals and organizations who have shown their WEP Factor through engagement in WEP and a passion for the skilled trades and apprenticeships. The 2023 individual award categories include:
Spirit of WEP Award: Celebrating an individual who has demonstrated an active commitment to pursuing a future of excellence in the skilled trades. All apprentices and job-seekers engaged in WEP may be nominated for this esteemed recognition by a mentor, supervisor, teacher or journeyman.
WEP Leadership Excellence Award: Celebrating an individual who has demonstrated a fierce commitment to mentoring and training apprentices and future skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen. All mentors may be nominated for this esteemed recognition by a mentee, student, apprentice or employee.
Reach for Excellence Award: All individual WEP users are eligible to win by earning a WEP Community Badge on edgefactor.com/wep.
The WEP Trailblazer: All companies in Brantford, Bruce-Grey, Hamilton and Sudbury are eligible to win this award by adding profiles on their company and/or apprenticeship programs to the WEP platform.
From February 1 to February 11, 2023, WEP participants can submit nominations for the Spirit of WEP and WEP Leadership Excellence awards, while continuing to build profiles and earn their Community Badges to qualify for prizes.
Individual winners will be announced at the end of February, launching the second leg of the competition where winners will lead their community in competing for the ultimate WEP Factor by using the hashtag #WEPfactor on social media. On March 30, 2023, Edge Factor will announce which community has the ultimate WEP Factor and the winner will be featured in an Edge Factor multimedia production.
Youth and job seekers are encouraged to go to edgefactor.com/wep now to choose excellence for their future through the skilled trades. Companies are invited to continue adding their Profiles, which will also be shared in Edge Factor’s Directory for thousands of schools and communities to discover.
This Employment Ontario project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.
About the WorkForce Excellence Program (WEP)
Edge Factor developed WEP with support from the Government of Ontario through the Skills Development Fund. The digital platform offers career exploration, apprenticeship opportunities, educational tools, best practices for employers and more. WEP’s objective is to enhance pathways into meaningful and gainful employment, while addressing challenges faced by those with higher barriers to entry such as Indigenous peoples, women and youth.
WEP officially launched in October, with companies in Brantford, Bruce County, Hamilton and Sudbury gaining access to all-new multimedia tools to learn best practices to build a successful apprenticeship program from real-life Ontario employers and apprentices. Employers have been building their Company and Apprenticeship Profiles to promote skilled work programs and opportunities in their communities.
About Edge Factor
Edge Factor’s smart platform and story-driven tools inspire people to explore, prepare, and connect on their career journey. Together with schools, companies, and service providers, we empower learners of all ages to discover careers and get connected to real-world opportunities. Since 2010, Edge Factor has been a leading developer in building interactive e-learning tools for schools, companies, families, and community, workforce and economic development organizations. To learn more about Edge Factor, please visit edgefactor.com.
For more information contact:
Emma Hunt
Director of Strategic & Business Communications, Sutherland Corporation Ltd.
emma@sutherlandcorp.ca
Larissa Hofman
Vice-President, Edge Factor
lhofman@edgefactor.com