Skills Ontario and Indigenous Owned ORIGIN Introduce “Trade Up! Be Proud, Be Skilled” Virtual Reality Careers Campaign

EIN Skills Origin 400

May 5, 2021

Skills Ontario and Indigenous owned VR Production company, Origin, have teamed up to develop 25 virtual reality “career tour” experiences as part of Skills Ontario’s “Trade Up!” campaign. Designed to inspire youth to pursue rewarding careers in skilled trades and technologies, the videos will provide a 360 immersive look at a variety of careers.

“We originally developed our Immersivelink VR platform to give Indigenous job seekers the ability to discover opportunities that might not be available in their communities,” says Melissa Hardy-Giles, Owner of ORIGIN. “I want our people to be able to dream about and connect to careers that fit their own natural gifts and abilities. We are currently in approximately 1000 schools across Ontario and continuing to grow and are extremely proud to be working with such a great organization as Skills Ontario to expand our reach and revolutionize the way our future workforce connects to skilled trades and careers”.

“Skills Ontario is thrilled to be collaborating with Origin,” says Ian Howcroft, CEO of Skills Ontario. “We’ve been delivering our First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Initiatives for several years, and to partner with an Indigenous-owned organization to further enhance our impact in Indigenous communities is truly incredible.”

Working with various employers across Ontario, the initiative will support future workforce development and focus on attracting new talent to the skilled trades. The campaign will feature a variety of roles and industry settings focusing on increasing enrollment in the skilled trades with diversity at the forefront.

“Leveraging technology allows us to virtually place our future workforce into skilled trades roles so they can ultimately better understand the career opportunities and benefits that these professions have to offer,” says Howcroft. “Most importantly, we can introduce all individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures to these opportunities to increase participation and representation to strengthen our province’s future skilled workforce.”

Source

Related Articles


Latest Articles


Changing Scene

  • ABB Among TIME’s World’s Most Sustainable Companies

    ABB Among TIME’s World’s Most Sustainable Companies

    June 30, 2025 ABB has been ranked 14th in TIME’s “World’s Most Sustainable Companies 2025” and third in Switzerland across all industries. TIME and Statista assessed over 5,000 of the world’s largest and most influential companies, considering factors such as revenue, market capitalization, and public prominence. The top 500 companies from 35 countries and 21 industries were… Read More…

  • New Partnership to Deliver 1,000 Affordable Housing Units Across Quebec

    New Partnership to Deliver 1,000 Affordable Housing Units Across Quebec

    June 25, 2025 The governments of Canada and Quebec, together with Desjardins, have announced the construction of 1,000 new affordable housing units over the next three years. These housing units will be created as part of the Desjardins Affordable Housing Initiative, a partnership launched in 2022 that will now enable the delivery of over 3,000 affordable housing units… Read More…

  • CIB Closes $50M Loan with Dream Industrial REIT to Fund Large-Scale Commercial Building Upgrades

    CIB Closes $50M Loan with Dream Industrial REIT to Fund Large-Scale Commercial Building Upgrades

    June 30, 2025 The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and Dream Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust have finalized a $50 million loan to fund commercial property retrofits related to energy efficiency savings and emissions reductions at 34 warehouses in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. With buildings currently accounting for 18% of Canada’s total emissions, investments from the… Read More…

  • Province, BC Hydro Launch Pilot Program to Cut Energy Costs, Support Housing Density

    Province, BC Hydro Launch Pilot Program to Cut Energy Costs, Support Housing Density

    June 25, 2025 In a Canadian first, the Province and BC Hydro have launched a pioneering pilot project in Vancouver that has the potential to set new standards for supporting growing housing priorities and densification in Canada. Designed to support the transition from single-family homes to multi-unit residences, the initiative is exploring how full electrification –… Read More…