York University School of Continuing Studies - Female Executive of the Year

Company: York University School of Continuing Studies
Company Division/Group:York University
Company Description: The School of Continuing Studies at York University was founded in 2015 by Tracey Taylor-O'Reilly and has become the fastest growing and most successful start-up in the sector in North America in the last three decades. The School has 200 employees and has been the recipient of numerous US and Canadian awards for innovative programs and communications.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Female Executive of the Year – Government or Non-Profit –More Than 2,500 Employees

Nomination Title: Tracey Taylor-O'Reilly

Ms. Taylor-O’Reilly is a bold and visionary leader who is committed to removing barriers and ensuring that our workforce is prepared for the challenges of Industry 4.0.

In 2018, Tracey had the foresight to recognize that the career shifts and skills development required for the future of work would be complex for job seekers to see. So, she partnered with US and UK technology firms to co-develop an Artificial Intelligence-driven system to identifying existing and transferrable skills and then suggest new career options (with live job postings, salaries) that could be accessed with limited reskilling. The need for this kind of essential career support became even more critical when the COVID-19 pandemic caused mass lay-offs and closures of entire sectors in the spring of 2020.

While leading her university through a sudden transition to online learning and borders closed to foreign students, Tracey was determined to make a difference for Canadian students. The AI-driven career CareerBrain tool will be launching in August 2021 and represents the first of its kind in Canada.

Further examples of Tracey’s leadership in response to the pandemic include creating the Continuing Studies Emergency Benefit, Canada’s only financial relief program for re-skilling. She also offered an Emergency Bursary to those already in a York program who were experiencing adversity.Tracey also launched the award-winning #LetsContinYU social media campaign by leveraging her influence and appearing in videos sharing her expertise to help the community navigate the crisis. Her videos have been viewed over 180,000 times.

For clarity, the employer (York University) fits this category of 2,500+ employees. The nominee runs a School (a business-unit) within that employer with ~200 employees. We chose the category of the larger employer.

As the founder and leader of York University’s School of Continuing Studies at Canada’s third largest university, Tracey Taylor-O'Reilly has reimagined the role of universities in upskilling and reskilling adult learners to meet the evolving needs industry and the 21stcentury workforce.Tracey launched the School in 2015, guided by a bold vision and innovative model that is unique in North America, resulting in York’s emergence as a global leader in this space.

The spring of 2020 represented the fifth fiscal year of the School.The new continuing professional education programs had doubled their enrolment annually, leading to an unprecedented 10-fold growth at the end of five years. The School has quickly become a North American leader in business and emerging technology programming, with more than40 programsthat are attracting students from more than 50 countries, while earning praise with numerous Canadian and international awards.

This growth represents the largest and most successful start-up in the sector in North America.In 2020, construction began on a stunning 97,000-square-foot building, that Tracey has been planning for six years. The first of its kind in Canada, it is custom-designed to support the needs of adult and international students.

While most education start-ups in North America historically have failed within three years, Tracey’s unique vision and leadership led to the most successful start-up in North America and the highest annual enrolment growth rate in Canadian history. Typical annual growth is between 0-10%. At York, enrolment in professional programs has doubled annually.

Space for growth became critical. No other university in North America, to our knowledge, has required their school to build and pay for a building. At York, Tracey and her team designed and are self-funding a stunning $73 million LEED Gold building that has attracted global media attention and is destined to achieve architectural awards.

The School’s response to the pandemic was swift compared to competing universities. All courses were offered online within 2 days, whereas the two largest universities in Canada shut down for two weeks. As of July 2021, one competing school still only has65% of courses online. None have provided the career support, launched a public service campaign, or student financial support like York has.

Finally, Canada’s workforce cannot meet employment gaps with domestic workers alone. Ensuring economic competitiveness requires immigration and upskilling. Tracey was the first in Canada to create programs to recruit young internationally- educated professionals for full-time upskilling programs with pathways to employment and permanent residency.Thousands of students a year come through this path, providing a funnel of talent in the largest areas of need. Tracey is the only leader expanding programming across the country through partnerships.

Reference any attachments of supporting materials

Please find below a few concrete examples of Tracey Taylor-O’Reilly’s contributions over the last couple of years. (There are six hyperlinks - please advise if there are any issues accessing them.)

1.The Globe and Mailis Canada’s largest and most respected national newspaper. When York’s Continuing Studies program broke ground on the new building during the pandemic, the paper ran a 2/3 page article. The story was also picked up by media and architectural industry publications around the world. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/industry-news/property-report/article-york-university-puts-a-twist-on-its-newest-building/

2. Photos of building taking during construction July 24th(attached) demonstrate the emerging structure. The building will feature natural light for mental health, prayer rooms, breastfeeding spaces, social learning spaces, and safe drop-off access which is unique on big urban campuses.

3. The announcement of Canada’s only Emergency Continuing Education Benefitand a video of Ms. Taylor-O’Reillyexplaining why she felt compelled to act to support Canadians facing financial barriers to access short programs that would lead to high-paying jobs in high-demand fields within months. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/york-university-school-of-continuing-studies-launches-emergency-benefit-to-help-eligible-canadian-workers-impacted-by-covid-19-1029089005 https://youtu.be/rujJvI0pwRM

4. Moving toward gender equity in emerging technology programs is an important priority. In thisvideo,Ms. Taylor-O’Reilly speaks to the leadership she and her School are providing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hxGeZ5DKA4

5. The School’s fifth birthdaycelebrated the 10x growthin upskilling and reskilling programs just as the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos issued a bold global call to action for a “Reskilling Revolution.” https://continue.yorku.ca/school-of-continuing-studies-5-year-anniversary/ https://continue.yorku.ca/5-years-of-continuing-professional-education-at-york/