The Government of Ontario taps LinkedIn to help people get back to work

Over the past year the global pandemic has disrupted the lives of workers and global economies. In Ontario, Canada specifically, it’s been devastating to see over 400,000 people lose their jobs, with the youth unemployment rate hovering around a staggering 17.2%. 

To help overcome this challenge, the Government of Ontario has selected LinkedIn to provide learning, labor market insights, and recruiting products to help Ontarians find and secure job opportunities. These resources will be made available across Ontario’s broader Employment Services network through close collaboration between LinkedIn and First Work. 

Funded by the Government of Ontario, together First Work and LinkedIn will provide:

• LinkedIn Talent Insights licenses to help employment service providers access real-time data and insights on talent pools and labor market information to create job pathways for their members 

• LinkedIn Recruiter licenses to help employment service providers pinpoint and connect with local organizations that may want to hire youth learners

• 100,000 LinkedIn Learning licenses to empower job seekers to build the in-demand skills they need to get hired 

First Work will equip its association of over 90 community-based agencies, such as JobStart, Achev, and ACCES Employment,  as well as the hundreds of other Ontario employment service providers and the people they serve with these resources. This access to helpful labor insights, job tools and resources, will help Ontarians  better identify job pathways and build the skills they need to land and keep a job.

“Initiatives like these, which accelerate upskilling for jobseekers while further digitizing the employment sector, are critical as Ontario faces a prolonged pandemic recovery,” said Akosua Alagaratnam, Executive Director of First Work. “Our collaboration with LinkedIn, in partnership with the government, will help  strengthen Ontario’s employment sector and economic recovery by making sure those furthest from the labour market receive the support they need to achieve and retain employment.

“Workers and their families have faced exceptional challenges due to COVID-19 and need a hand up to re-start their careers,” said Minister McNaughton of the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “Access to online training helps them gain the skills they need. Together, we will ensure nobody is left behind and prepare those eager to work for the in-demand jobs that will rebuild our province.”

Through this collaboration, we can continue to create more equal access to opportunity through learning and skills to help prepare Ontarians for the jobs of today and tomorrow. We’re excited to continue working with governments around the world to help to facilitate economic growth by taking a skills-based approach to opportunity.

Visit linkedin.firstwork.org to sign up and email programs@firstwork.org for inquiries.