Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation appoints Executive Director

TORONTO, Aug. 24, 2016 /CNW/ - The Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation (OCWI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Trina Foster to the position of Executive Director. Dr. Foster will lead OCWI and its consortium of partners to create a leading-edge centre of research and innovation excellence that will help build a skilled, resilient and productive Ontario workforce.

Dr. Foster brings over a decade of experience as a leader in the creation, management, and translation of research across a wide range of areas. She has worked in a variety of environments and across sectors to demonstrate how research-based activities can inform and support stakeholder communities. Her past roles involved developing and leading multifaceted, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral teams that use research to address complex questions of importance to society. Most recently Dr. Foster was Director, Research & Global Academy at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) where she provided oversight and leadership to international research networks as well as led the strategic development and operationalization of CIFAR's activities to support tomorrow's research leaders.

"It was an exhaustive search and very competitive process to find a candidate with the knowledge and skills needed to enable the Centre to achieve its mandate," says Wendy Cukier, Chair, Steering Committee, Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation. "The hiring committee was very impressed with Dr. Foster's breadth of experience in research-based leadership, operations management and stakeholder engagement.  We are looking forward to working with her and know that she will hit the ground running."

OCWI was launched in February 2016 with funding by the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. The Steering Committee has been working hard to move forward initial activities that are important to ensuring a successful first year for the Centre - including laying the ground work for the four provincial hubs, launching a first call for proposals, and extensive stakeholder engagement.

"A key focus for me initially will be finalizing the operational side of things and getting a strong team in place that will build on these important first steps," says Dr. Foster.  "Equally important will be continued engagement with stakeholders across Ontario's workforce development system. Understanding their issues and priorities will play a critical role in ensuring the Centre's relevance and effectiveness for Ontario."      

OCWI brings together leading employment organizations, academia and business associations that are committed to building employment capacity using the latest evidence-based approaches. The partners include: the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the Workforce Planning Ontario Network, Magnet, Humber College, Collège Boréal, Ontario Disability Employment Network, Social Capital Partners, George Brown College, COFA (Coalition for Adult Training in Ontario), Ryerson University, Lakehead University and Brock University.

For more information, visit: www.ocwi-coie.ca

SOURCE Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation

Image with caption: "Dr. Trina Foster (CNW Group/Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160824_C1644_PHOTO_EN_758154.jpg

For further information: Dave Bennett, Xposure PR, [e-mail], 905 339 6668, @xposureprdave