young man in eyeglasses sitting on wheelchair and working on laptop at night office ia generated

SkillingUp

Supporting Canadians with disabilities with competitive digital skills training.

Project Overview

Updated January 28, 2025.

The Problem

In Canada today, over 6 million Canadians over the age of 15 live with a disability and 39% of unemployed people with disabilities have the potential to work. As demand for digital talent continues to grow and businesses continue to experience a digital skill gap in their workforce, it becomes imperative for the Canadian economy that individuals of all abilities be skilled and equipped with the digital skills that are increasingly in demand across many industries.

How We Are Solving It

Led by March of Dimes Canada, the SkillingUp program aims to support Canadians with disabilities to gain the digital skills needed to become confident digital citizens and remain competitively employable in a digital economy. The program offers training and continued support to learners in securing employment or continuing with ongoing education.   

Training pathways range from beginner digital literacy and advance to career essential and advanced digital skill certification. Learners also gain essential employability skills to support their job integration and job search activities, including network expansion through mentorships.

The Result

In 2023, DIGITAL’s co-investment in SkillingUp offered training to 945 participants, with 100% of participants being from underrepresented groups in the tech sector. SkillingUp additionally provided the momentum to incorporate technology considerations into almost all strategic conversations and future service offerings for March of Dimes Canada. Ongoing MODC program offerings are being designed with SkillingUp as an intervention tool to help ensure their clients become confident digital citizens – conversations that may not have been so relevant if SkillingUp was not developed. 

In 2025, we announced our continued co-investment in SkillingUp to train another 1,500 learners and support the inclusion of additional wraparound supports with learner support specialists. The program will aim to support 500 learners in securing employment or continuing with ongoing education following their program completion.

Project Lead

  • March of dimes png

Project Partners

  • EN Primary Stacked Logo
  • microsoftmedia
  • Funded in part by Canada Wordmark(SSP) EN ()
  • Govt of Canada SFS FR
  • lEN bAKER
    “We want to ensure that all people with disabilities in Canada are prepared for employment success. Living in a digital first world means that skilling, upskilling and re-skilling are essential to remaining competitively employable. SkillingUp ensures people with disabilities have access to sector-recognized training and certification to support them on their career journey."
    Leonard Baker President and Chief Executive Officer​, March of Dimes Canada
  • Syd G
    "Supporting equity and diversity within Canada’s technology sector is crucial to our country’s continued growth and prosperity. We’re proud to support the SkillingUp initiative and the work of March of Dimes Canada, Microsoft and the CIBC Foundation in helping to create a more inclusive and innovative Canada.
    Sydney Goodfellow Director, Digital Learning Lab, DIGITAL
  • Lisa E
    "As we embrace the transformative power of emerging technologies, Microsoft must ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive in a digital, AI-enabled economy. Digital fluency is becoming a crucial skillset within any role, and sector or industry. As such, through the Microsoft Skills for Jobs program we endeavour to make technology skills accessible to all. Our partnership with March of Dimes Canada reflects our commitment to expanding economic opportunities and empowering individuals of all abilities to reach their full potential.
    Lisa Everett Philanthropies Lead, Microsoft Canada
  • Sandy
    “At CIBC we’re creating a culture of inclusion, and accessibility plays a large role in this. We believe that everyone should have access to opportunities to help achieve their ambitions, which is why removing barriers that get in the way of progress is so important. We’re proud to support March of Dimes Canada and the SkillingUp initiative, which will help remove barriers for the next generation of leaders and changemakers.”
    Sandy Sharman Group Head, People, Culture and Brand, CIBC & Co-Chair, CIBC Foundation