Bow Valley
Intercultural Competence
Facilitator Training Program
Next Session: February 6 - March 13, 2024
"I found it challenging, it made me question my assumptions and put me out of my comfort zone. I've recommended the program to my colleagues and friends."
- Winter 2023 Participant
“Provided by a skilled and knowledgeable facilitation team, this training was engaging and highly informative. Great effort was taken to ensure participants felt safe, valued, and heard.”
- Winter 2021 Participant
The Intercultural Competence Facilitator Training Program is a unique train-the-trainer program for the Bow Valley.
The program teaches:
Intercultural awareness and sensitivity
Intercultural knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviour, with emphasis on skills for intercultural communication
Skills for facilitating informal intercultural competence training in the workplace
The program includes 30-35 hours of online and self-directed learning.
Who is this training program for?
Bow Valley residents (all immigration statuses welcome) or individuals currently employed by a Bow Valley-based business
Human Resources professionals
Managers responsible for staff training and development
Developing leaders, especially people with diverse cultural backgrounds — experience of moving to Canada or working in another culture is an asset for this program. We encourage employers to enroll both an established leader and a developing leader in the program.
Members of workplace Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) or Employee Resource groups
Volunteers responsible for board or volunteer development
What is Intercultural Competence?
Intercultural competence is a range of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that help you work effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds than your own. This is an increasingly sought after and foundational skill for many work environments.
What Participants Are Saying:
"The Intercultural Facilitator Course was very engaging with relevant and important subject matter.
The facilitators are experts in their fields with a lot of real life experience to share.
The program provides a great framework for employers to address organization specific needs regarding intercultural workplaces.
You will finish this course inspired to make change with the tools to share these important lessons in your workplace!"
-Winter 2021 Participant
Is this program for you?
Register for this program if:
You are a resident of the Bow Valley (all immigration statuses welcome) or currently employed by a Bow Valley-based business
You would like to develop your own intercultural skill set
You are committed to helping your workplace become more inclusive and equitable
You can dedicate the time to complete the program and bring what you’ve learned back to your team
You have the support of your employer to lead workplace training on intercultural competence after you’ve completed the program
Your Investment
The Bow Valley Immigration Partnership (BVIP) is providing this training at no financial cost to participants. Our goal is to grow intercultural competence in all sectors throughout the community. In return for this free training, we ask and expect that participants who enroll in this program commit to around 35 hours of online and self-directed learning to complete the program.
Why join this program?
This is a unique opportunity to develop important intercultural skills to work effectively with the Bow Valley’s diverse community.
Benefits for organizations:
Overcome communication roadblocks, strengthen your team, and improve staff retention
Better meet the needs of diverse clientele
Reduce reliance on ad-hoc, external training by developing leaders who can offer in-house training
Complete a Workplace Inclusion Charter commitment — a big step towards being honoured as one of the Bow Valley’s most inclusive employers
Benefits for participants:
Develop a practical, increasingly sought after, and essential skill set to thrive in the global job market
Overcome communication roadblocks, strengthen your team, and improve staff retention
Receive a Certificate of Completion
Training Format & Schedule
Training Schedule
25 hours virtual workshops (10 x 2.5 hour sessions)
4-5.5 hours of reading, assignments, and journaling
1.5-3 hours of one on one coaching with the program instructors
Winter 2024 Program Schedule
Our next session of the ICFT program will be February 6- March 13, 2024. Virtual workshops are held live from 9:30am - 12:00pm Mountain Time on Tuesdays & Wednesdays:
Feb 6, 7
Feb 13, 14
(Family Week. No workshops.)
Feb 27, 28
Mar 5, 6
Mar 12, 13
To receive a certificate of completion, participants must attend at least 9 of the 10 workshops.
Your Commitment
The Bow Valley Immigration Partnership (BVIP) is providing this training at no cost to participants. Our goal is to grow intercultural competence in all sectors throughout the community. In return for this free training, we ask and expect that participants who enroll in this program commit to:
Attend all of the workshop sessions
Complete the assigned readings and activities, including preparing and presenting a final facilitation project
Do your best to schedule a training session or plan other actions to share what you’ve learned with your colleagues
“Great program to encourage reflection and growth so we can better come together as a diverse community.”
- Winter 2021 Participant
Ready to Sign Up?
Winter 2024 Program Update
Our next session of the ICFT program is February 6 - March 13, 2024.
Still have questions? If you’re interested in this program but not yet ready to sign up, please contact us for more information.
Sign Up
Intercultural Competence Facilitator Training Program
Sign up to receive information and join our waitlist for the next session.
Your Instructors
About The Intercultural Education Program Team
To host this program, we are bringing in the Intercultural Education Program Team at Catholic Social Services (CSS), one of Alberta’s largest immigrant serving agencies.
The CSS Team have more than 20 years of experience providing intercultural competence training across the province. They are one of the few immigrant-serving agencies in Alberta with a team specifically responsible for training both newcomer clients and staff on intercultural awareness and communication. CSS brings its training experience and frontline perspective to the project, making them the right fit for this training program.
What Participants Are Saying:
“I was hesitant about this training because of the big time commitment, but I am very glad I did it.
It has opened my eyes to learn about myself and my own biases and triggers, and at the same time helped me to understand differences with other cultures. No culture is better than any other, we are just different.
I now feel more equipped to communicate and work with people from different cultures, which is important in the Bow Valley now and in the future.”
- Winter 2021 Participant