Labor Market Integration of Black and Racialized Canadians through Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) in British Columbia.


Aaron Nartey, Mainland Community Services Society

Cross-sectional research has shown that Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs)can have a positive effect on building human capital (work skills) and social capital, but less so on their economic impact. Put differently, the participants in these enterprises develop in many ways, but their economic gains (income, jobs) appear to be modest (Mook, Maiorano, Ryan, Armstrong, and Quarter, 2015; Quarter, Ryan, and Chan,2015). However, none of this research has examined outcomes over time for WISEs that are designed to train Black and other racialized Canadians for the workforce. Hence, its imperative that we track their progress longitudinally to see whether the participants obtain and maintain jobs and an increased income, something that sponsoring non-profit organizations are unable to do comprehensively due to limited resources. Although these program outcomes may not be reached immediately, over time they should be if the program is achieving its objectives. The measures of value are not, however, limited to these economic benefits. Participants’ perceptions of their well-being and their sociocultural learning, that is, what they have learned from their experiences in the training program and in subsequent workforce integration are also important measures of program success over time. 

This paper will be presented at the following session: