Steven Del Duca
Mayor, City of Vaughan
Raphael Costa
Director, Economic
Development,
City of Vaughan
Noor Din
Founder & CEO,
Human Endeavour
The City of Vaughan is an inclusive and purpose-driven destination for talent and business, as demonstrated through initiatives like Talent City Vaughan.
Last year, Canada welcomed a historic 437,180 new immigrants, and another record-high 460,000 are projected to arrive in 2023. These newcomers need places to set down roots — places where they can live, grow, and thrive.
One of those places is undoubtedly the city of Vaughan, one of Canada’s fastest-growing and most diverse communities. Vaughan is home to a rich mosaic of residents who speak 113 languages and have origins from countries around the world. And thanks to a variety of City-run programs and services, it’s an extremely welcoming destination for talent and businesses.
Empowering local talent
“The City of Vaughan is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that foster an inclusive and vibrant community,” says Mayor Steven Del Duca, City of Vaughan. “We believe that a prosperous city is one where there is equal access to opportunity, and that’s why the City’s Economic Development department provides programs and services to support local talent and entrepreneurs from all backgrounds and at all stages in a business’ life cycle.”
Talent City Vaughan aims to strengthen the city’s workforce by encouraging organizations and employers to invest in local talent.
One of these programs is Talent City Vaughan, a first-of-its-kind workforce development initiative to be implemented by a municipality. “Talent City Vaughan aims to strengthen the city’s workforce by encouraging organizations and employers to invest in local talent,” says Raphael Costa, Director, Economic Development for the City of Vaughan. “The program provides micro-grants of up to $10,000 to eligible non-profit organizations to host workforce development training for Vaughan residents or employees of Vaughan-based businesses.”
Creating career opportunities
The initiative was launched to address labour challenges faced by businesses, but also had Council directive to support those most marginalized in the workforce, including immigrants and racialized communities, women, workers in low-wage jobs, and youth. Participants have completed a variety of training programs building skills related to film production, elderly care, skilled trades, language interpretation, and general workplace skills training.
“Talent City Vaughan helps participants build new skills, learn about the Canadian work environment, improve confidence, and network,” says Noor Din, founder and CEO of Human Endeavour, a Vaughan-based charity.
Talent City Vaughan is building an ecosystem where the City, non-profit organizations, and the business community can come together, providing opportunities for newcomers and residents to develop new skills and unlock new career opportunities so that they can thrive in Vaughan.
Vaughan is Transformative, Ambitious, and Purpose-Driven. TAP into talent — learn more about Talent City Vaughan and other talent development initiatives at vaughanbusiness.ca.
