Humber College
EN-9: Staff Professional Development and Training

Humber’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion (The Centre)

Humber’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion (The Centre) offers workshops and training thorough the year with a focus on human rights policies, equity, and inclusion. In 2019-2020, 711 faculty participated in our Pathways to Human Rights, Education, and Action workshop, 6547 staff participated in Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) training, 2602 employees completed the Sexual Violence Online Training. Our Equity and Inclusion dialogues (EID) saw 2126 participants.

Between 2021-March 2022, The Pathways to Human Rights, Education, and Action workshop had 299 employees, 4575 participants for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) training, and 2512 employees completed the Sexual Violence Online Training, and 2401 participants for our Equity and Inclusion Dialogues. Some EID topics included:
- Gender Diversity 201
- Developing an Anti-racist Lens and Effective Responses to Racism at Humber
- Raising Collective Consciousness on Islamophobia
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
- Advancing Inclusion: Addressing the Impact of Antisemitism on College Campuses

Humber Showcase

Showcase is an annual internal staff and faculty conference that draws 400+ attendees from the Humber community including non-academic support staff. At least one sustainability knowledge workshop is run annually during 'Showcase' where the workshop focused on connecting staff and faculty with the natural environment, how sustainability connects to varied topics, what they can do, etc.

For example, a workshop was presented that focused on incorporating a sustainable mindset when developing Humber’s academic curriculum in our 2022 Showcase. This workshop invited the Humber community as an opportunity to connect with others who have attempted to incorporate the HLO mindsets into their curriculum, and to share stories including successes, challenges, concerns, and best practices. A list of other events/workshops demonstrated in our 2022 Showcase can be found here: https://humber.ca/innovativelearning/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Showcase-2022_Conference-Program-V6.pdf

Connecting for Sustainable Futures

In Feb 2022, Humber’s Office of Sustainability, Community Outreach & Workforce Development, and International Development Institute collaborated to host the annual Connecting for Sustainable Futures event. The event was hosted in partnership with Youth Climate Lab (YCL), a Canada-based, global non-profit organization that accelerates youth-led climate policy, projects and business. Since 2017, YCL has worked with 30+ partners around the globe to design pilot projects that have reached thousands of young people in more than 77 countries. Humber’s Connecting for Sustainable futures event was hosted during International Development Week and was open to students, staff, faculty and community members. Two keynote speakers from YCL shared their stories of impact and discussed how young people can take climate action rooted in justice, from their campuses to the halls of international decision-making.

Indigenous Teaching & Learning Bundles

Starting January 23, 2023, Indigenous Engagement and Education is offering training to staff through the Indigenous Teaching & Learning Bundles. These bundles are micro credentials that provide a theoretical basis for faculty who are working to bring Indigenous voices, perspectives, teachings, histories, and experiences into the classroom.

The first bundle, All Our Relations, focuses on Indigenous education, worldviews, political realities, anti-racism, and cultural safety. Additional training bundles that focus on Indigenous treaties and legal rights, land-based pedagogy, activism, and a range of other topics from climate change to Indigenous science will be available in future.

This is not “click-through” training. We engage learners with presentations, in-depth readings, media content, and sharing circle discussions. Final assignments that assess and apply their knowledge are completed and assessed. Professors (full and partial load), librarians, counsellors, and administrative staff are all welcome to participate. The course is asynchronous and online, but learners are asked to keep up with course content on a weekly basis.

Individual staff can ask their manager for support through time or funding to do external training and professional development in sustainability (case by case basis).
All Humber staff can further their education through the "Tuition Assistance Program" (TAP). A maximum of $1000 per employee is available per fiscal year for tuition costs. This could be used for any certificate, diploma or degree.

Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education

In partnership with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), Humber College has joined 13 other institutions across North America to become a “Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum,” As a result, Humber staff, faculty and students have access to AASHE members-only information and resources related to campus sustainability. In Fall of 2022, the Office of Sustainability distributed the Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education in Humber’s inviting academic and non-academic staff to participate:
- How can higher education leaders inspire a greater sense of urgency to tackle climate change at their institutions?
- How do higher education sustainability leaders shift focus from incremental improvement to organizational transformation?
- How can higher education institutions partner with their communities to prepare for and respond to the consequences of climate change?
- How can higher education prepare students to effectively shape and contribute to efforts to address the climate crisis?

4 Seasons of Reconciliation Training

Launched in 2020, 4 Seasons of Reconciliation Training is a 3-hour, 10-module course that is intended to train all Humber employees in cultural awareness. It is designed to promote a renewed relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Canadian through transformative learning about truth and reconciliation. 4 Seasons of Reconciliation is also designed directly in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. Specifically, it responds to Call to Action #62, which focuses on the needs for institutions like Humber to implement curriculum and resources to help people learn about the historical and current context of Indigenous peoples. Learners participate in short online modules and then join two facilitated breakout sessions to support inquiry and reflection. They also receive a certificate of competition and a bonus video library for on-going learning. Since the launch of this training program in 2020, a total of 1125 Humber College employees have completed this training.