Literacy Link South Central (LLSC) is pleased to have led a project funded through the Royal Bank of Canada’s Future Launch initiative. Called “A Game Changer for Soft Skills Development,” this curriculum development project is intended to support youth aged 15-29 in developing the skills they need to succeed in work and life. 

LLSC launched this project in 2019 by working with community partners to identify the “soft skills” (such as communication, time management, and working with others) that are most critical to employers, yet remain difficult for young job seekers to develop. With those skills in mind, we worked with a 6-person Youth Advisory Committee and a group of young game designers to delve into these skills and investigate the types of activities and games that could help someone learn and demonstrate them. 

Using a lens of gamification and gaming psychology, LLSC then developed new curriculum that can help youth increase those skills in an engaging, motivating format. This 14-module curriculum can be run as a single course, or broken into smaller workshops focused on a single skill.

In 2020, LLSC was excited to work wiht Employment, Literacy, Settlement and Library staff from across the province of Ontario to pilot this curriculum with young job seekers. As a result of the pilot launching while the global COVID-19 pandemic impacted services, LLSC not only trained practitioners on gaming motivation and theory and how it can impact skills training, but worked with programs to explore online and distance delivery methods, ensuring that the pilot was successful.