Persistent financial, systemic and cultural barriers continue to limit career mobility for many newcomers and marginalized groups. Emerging models like the SCS Experiential Empowerment & Development (SEED) Initiative point to a broader rethinking of professional development that advances equity through a blend of skill building, localized collaboration and scalable support structures.
In this interview, Derek Tannis, Inna Popova-Roche and Carola Weil discuss how structural barriers restrict equitable access to professional development and how technology paired with community partnerships can scale personalized support for underserved learners.
The EvoLLLution (Evo): How does the SEED Initiative redefine access and equity in professional development for underrepresented communities, and what systemic challenges has it revealed or overcome?
Derek Tannis (DT), Inna Popova-Roche (IP) and Carola Weil (CW): The SEED Initiative has highlighted both the importance of durable skill sets like interpersonal communications, written communications and self-awareness in developing resilience and self-confidence among SEED fellows. However, the initiative also underscores the unfortunate persistence of structural barriers and bias.
Inequity in professional development is less about lack of skills and more about financial costs, time constraints and implicit bias. SEED fellows, who have been primarily permanent residents, refugees and Ukrainians with temporary work permits, must necessarily focus on generating income to sustain their families. They often have neither the funds nor the time to pursue additional professional development or networking. SEED fellows also cite underemployment as a barrier to accessing career advancement opportunities. They often bring substantial technical skill and knowledge to the Canadian labor market. Newcomers and individuals representing visible or invisible minority population groups may also experience more unconscious bias from employers. It is for this reason that the SEED Initiative strongly emphasizes coaching SEED fellows on how to present themselves in ways that communicate their skills and knowledge and mitigate potential biases or structural barriers.
Furthermore, we recognize that successful professional or career development extends well beyond initial access. 36% of SEED participants were already employed or partially employed, often not in their field of expertise. Through the SEED initiative, SEED fellows reported accelerating their career progression, either through promotions or increases in salary or wages.
Evo: As the SEED Initiative prepares for national scaling via online or hybrid delivery, how are you envisioning technology’s role in maintaining deep community engagement and personalized support at a distance?
DT, IP and CW: Technology will play a critical role in expanding the SEED initiative beyond Montreal. Formal and informal learning through McGill University will take place online and allow participants to experience consistent learning quality and format, regardless of their location. There are also opportunities to leverage technology solutions, particularly with the help of AI agents, to provide personalized advising and tutorial support to participants, as well as to conduct virtual internships or work-integrated learning projects. But given the nature of the program, we recognize that in-person human interaction and mentoring must complement technology. For this reason, it will be critical to identify and engage local community partners wherever SEED fellows are located.
Evo: What strategies or insights have emerged from your work with community partners that could inform how higher education institutions nationwide approach partnerships in workforce development?
DT, IP and CW: There are a substantial number of government-funded initiatives at both federal and provincial levels that community organizations and postsecondary institutions offer to support workforce integration. However, these initiatives are often disconnected from and in competition with one another. Some also perceive university-based initiatives like SEED to be in competition with the programs that community-based organizations run.
More clearly established pathways from community-based organization programs to university-based continuing education programs could benefit the employment assistance and workforce integration support ecosystem. Such pathways would allow participants to advance their professional development, build their professional networks and open doors to new career opportunities in a more seamless, coherent fashion. Universities gain access to population groups who would not otherwise consider university professional development or continuing education programs through strengthened ties with local community organizations.
Community organizations benefit in several ways. For example, university program participants contribute to implementing the community organization’s projects and initiatives through capstone projects and internships. Such collaboration also gives communities more direct access to university resources and opportunities to share first-hand input and insights with university stakeholders regarding community needs. As universities venture into this area, it is also important that they work together to collaborate with and serve the needs of community-based organizations and the communities they serve.
Evo: In what ways could institutions outside Montreal—or even outside Canada—adopt or adapt the SEED model to better support language acquisition, credential attainment and job placement for adult and underserved learners?
DT, IP and CW: As a cocreated, participatory relationship building model between universities and their surrounding communities, the SEED model can readily be adapted beyond Montreal. Indeed, at McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies, we are proposing to expand the project to better serve communities outside our own metropolitan area, notably to support more suburban and rural communities and to extend nationally by tapping into our network of university, employer and community partners and alumni across the country and beyond.
The key is to establish open and two-way communications between recipient communities and educational providers to ensure program design and content delivery are suitable to the local context—socioeconomic and language conditions, for instance—as well as the demographic composition of any given cohort. The SEED Initiative is intended to give a leg up to individuals who may have many of the requisite skills to succeed but for a variety of reasons find themselves in less stable economic circumstances.
Even when deploying technology to deliver online or distance learning, we believe that a hybrid model that combines online or virtual engagement with some form of local in-person experience is key. SEED participants benefit greatly from their own peer network and the bonds they form as part of a cohort. The biggest challenge will always be job placement or career advancement. Here it is important to set aside sufficient time and resources to build relationships with prospective employers and to provide adequate guidance to employers who may not have much experience with diverse adult interns.
Evo: Looking ahead, how do you foresee adult learners’ evolving needs reshaping professional education, and how should institutions prepare to meet these needs, especially in terms of curriculum flexibility and learner support?
DT, IP and CW: Continuing education institutions are creative when it comes to flexible schedules and multiple delivery modes, as well as recognition of prior learning and acquired competencies to accommodate adult learners’ needs. However, there are always opportunities to improve. Adult learners would greatly benefit from integrated AI-powered tools for tutoring outside the classroom, individual career coaching and mentorships in addition to more formal academic programming, industry collaborations to offer internships and apprenticeships, career placement services in specific fields of expertise, as well as on-site child or parent care support during evening hours for those with primary family care responsibilities. It is also important to recognize that some adult learners may lack the requisite technological knowledge or resources to perform well in a technologically enhanced learning environment.
Furthermore, like so-called traditional students, many adult learners in the SEED initiative bring past experiences and trauma that may contribute to mental health challenges or distract them from focused learning. Continuing education must take these nonacademic factors into account.
Continuing professional education is becoming increasingly more specialized and personalized to address adult learner needs. However, this evolution may not always benefit the learner. Universities offer an attractive option for professional education because they often seek to provide a broader, more holistic approach to knowledge and skill building, which can in turn benefit adults navigating unexpected or sudden career disruptions.
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