The MINA Project challenges career and employment inequities and systemic barriers faced by racialized and low-income youth in the GTA through two programs: 1) Inspiring Futures – as a TDSB Educational Partnership provider with this program, The MINA Project helps to expose marginalized students, from elementary through to high school, to career and educational pathways that help to inspire, to challenge biases, to broaden horizons, to provide a link between education and employment thereby encouraging a positive outlook on school, and to better understand transferable skills already acquired, by curating career panels, field trips, and workshops (virtually or in-person); 2) Inspiring Work – is an after school program focused on STEM industries that provide racialized underserved high school students with monthly i) work-integrated experiential workshops (hybrid model of in-person and virtual sessions), ii) soft skills development/certification, and iii) access to apply to meaningful summer work experience.
An overall mandate of the project is to also ensure leadership and volunteers are representative of the communities we support. It is important that students can see themselves reflected not only in The MINA Project leadership but volunteer industry leaders, and the younger *NextGEN volunteers as well.
(*The MINA Project NextGEN Council is represented by young volunteers in post secondary, graduate studies, or those just starting their careers who guide the project through the lens of a younger generation and also mentor and coach student participants from a perspective of having just gone through the challenges the high school students are currently facing.)
