Inspire Yukon supports participants to set their own career or entrepreneurship goals guided by their interests, culture and community, while connecting with like-minded individuals from across Yukon.
A program designed by and for young people in Yukon.
Led by Yukon instructors, and featuring community leaders and entrepreneurs, this 12-week program aims to connect entrepreneurship, education and culture through experiential workshops and real world activities.
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Weekly live sessions with instructors and coordinators who come from Yukon or have significant experience living in Yukon
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Group health and wellness sessions with local experts and community leaders who bring in cultural knowledge
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24/7 mental health and wellness phone-in supports and on-going one-on-one check-ins with program coordinators to help keep participants on track
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Weekly guest speaker sessions with local business owners who share their stories and knowledge of change, leadership and entrepreneurship
Inspire Program Features
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Skills to start a business, community project or explore your career goals
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Learn marketing, operations, finance, branding and communication skills
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Support from instructors, leaders & local business owners
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Weekly allowance and start up grants
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Access to a laptop and internet
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Earn a certificate of completion
“Inspire Yukon is so important because young people can combine their knowledge living in a digital world, with the tradition and culture that we're passing down to them. These different knowledge systems benefit their businesses that they work to set up through the program.”
— Dr. Alyce Johnson, Kluane First Nation,
Senior Advisor Inspire Yukon
Since September 2022, Inspire Yukon has reached more than 30 participants from 6 communities across Yukon over two cohorts.
The Inspire Yukon program continues to create a space for young people to feel empowered, develop and bring their innovative ideas to life. In a culturally responsible and locally adapted training program, participants explore their entrepreneurial, career and education goals. Click below to learn more about the curriculum, program structure and features.
Inspire Yukon Curriculum
The Inspire Yukon Program focuses on providing participants with the opportunity to develop skills that are key for the future. Innovation, creative thinking and a growth mindset are at the foundation of this program, which explores the concepts of entrepreneurial leadership and community development, and provides participants with the foundational skills needed to achieve their personal and professional goals.
The Inspire program has three distinct levels which helps participants grow and apply their knowledge and ideas as they move through the program – Inspire, Innovate and Initiate. Learn more about them here.
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Build confidence, self-awareness, and resilience to meet challenges in life and in community.
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Cultivate connections to culture and heritage. Develop leadership skills that facilitate being a positive influence in community.
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Engage with community members to investigate challenges, identify existing resources, and recognize opportunities for change.
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Use empathy to understand and identify problems, develop creative solutions, validate ideas, design and test solutions, and make fact-based decisions.
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Using storytelling techniques, develop brand identities to create messages that resonate with others.
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Identify, evaluate, and connect with the key activities, partners and resources needed to sustain projects and businesses.
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Identify channels and use techniques to create strong connections with people, from customers to future employers.
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Develop financial literacy to accurately plan, track, report and sustain personal and project finances.
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Develop professional skills - such as digital literacy, goal setting, and interpersonal communication - that can support the achievement of personal, employment or entrepreneurial goals.
Hear From Our Participants!
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Sahara James
Carcross
”In the last six weeks I tuned in on exactly what my business will be, created tags and a logo for my business, and made time for myself/not over-working myself. I want to keep creating my business. My biggest take away from the program is how much more clearer my knowledge of business development and community engagement is.”
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Olivia Cox
Whitehorse
“It's weird to reflect on this program because it feels like it's both been forever and only just started - in both scenarios it certainly doesn't feel like the program is over! In week one I said that I wanted to increase my digital and marketing skills, and I definitely feel like I've improved in those areas.”
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Maria Rose Sikyea
Whitehorse
“My biggest takeaway is the importance of connecting and building a routine within connections made. The beauty of diversity in both the mind and heart of people’s visions and what they want to bring to the human experience. I found it showed me what is possible and how important it is to lift one another up!”
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Abbey Gartner
Whitehorse
“The weekly workshops and final two portfolio projects have allowed me to dive deeper into what I want my business to look and feel like, and actions I can take to start pursuing it. The Inspire program has taught me a lot of useful knowledge and skills for taking an idea and growing it into something bigger.”
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Nikita Sawrenko-Bailey
Whitehorse
“I believe I had an idea before Inspire, of how to set up and take charge in my business idea, but actually hands-on developing my OWN business model really topped it off. Now I have the knowledge and understanding to go forward and teach others If need be. I really believe that Inspire gave me the outlook I needed and the drive to actually get my mission going.”
Meet Our Inspire Experts!
Our Inspire Yukon Experts are local experts who share their stories of entrepreneurship, acting as inspiration for participants, and helping link our curriculum to the real world.
Inspire Yukon Team
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Niroja Thirugnanasampanthar
Watch our film!
Participants, community leaders and the Inspire team share their aspirations from the program, their experience the impact it has caused in their lives.
FAQs
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While the program primarily recruits Indigenous youth from Yukon, if you are committed to working on your business, professional or education goals, and are aged 18-30 years, we welcome you to apply for the program.
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It’s a simple two-step application process. Learn more about it here. If you are interested to apply for the program, fill out our application form to express your interest. A member of the Inspire Nunavut team will be in touch with for a short interview and to chat with you about the program, and your goals.
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Participants are expected to be passionate about creating impact, learning about their community, and combining personal and cultural values with their business, education or career goals.
The program runs for 12-weeks, three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). Participants will be expected to participate in the classes and commit to the program for 12 to 15 hours per week.
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Through the 12 weeks of the program, participants will explore their communities, entrepreneurship, design solutions, identify opportunities and plan actions while learning about branding and marketing, operations, finances, and how to operate a business.
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Definitely, yes. The program is designed as a space to not only explore entrepreneurship, but also professional and educational goals.
Many of our successful participants have joined the program with just a conviction for change, and explored their goals and themselves through the 12 weeks of the program.
Our Partners
The Inspire Yukon program has been made possible through collaboration between diverse individuals – youth, Elders, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, community leaders – and organizations focused on innovation on locally driven responses to community challenges.
Contact us.
We’re always looking to meet and work with knowledgeable people from across Yukon to deliver the program or join us as guest speakers, instructors, business mentors and career coaches. Their insight and expertise ensure that we deliver the highest quality content-always from a Yukon perspective.
If you’d like to get involved, learn more about us, connect with a staff, use the contact form to drop us a message, and we’ll be in touch.