RBC is committed to supporting young people through these challenging times. For example, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, RBC quickly mobilized to virtually onboard more than 1,400 summer students globally.
Until institutions can safely reopen, using online resources available for free may provide helpful alternatives for youth looking to continue their education and upgrade job skills. RBC Future Launch at Home is an online resource hub featuring a combination of signature programs, brand new opportunities, and various tools and resources developed specifically for young people.
From coding lessons, to networking opportunities, to skills challenges, this page curates links to workshops, online learning modules and support services from a wide range of topics.
Ready to learn? Here are a few program highlights.
Brush up on Money Matters
This free course can help give youth the knowledge and confidence to make a lifetime of smart financial decisions: introducing The McGill Personal Finance Essentials course, created in collaboration with RBC Future Launch and The Globe and Mail.
Explore the McGill Personal Finance Essentials Course.
Enhance Your Job Search Skills
- Check out CivicAction’s Youth Connect program. The program was created in partnership with LinkedIn Canada and others to create a roadmap for the skills young people need to succeed — including helpful guides on LinkedIn profile best practices, networking skills, mock interview exercises, career exploration tools, and interactive events.
- Prepped, from RBC Ventures, delivers personalized learning modules for job seekers to help them get hired faster. The program combines skill-based learning modules, videos, and short exercises with actionable advice from HR professionals.
Upgrade Your Tech Knowledge
- Access learning sessions from The Knowledge Society. These free sessions, created for high school age students, cover the basics of artificial intelligence, genomics, nanotechnology, self-driving cars, and more. While the sessions were completed in March, you can still view them all on YouTube.
- BONUS: The Knowledge Society is offering new learning modules on topics such as Brain Computer Interfaces, space technologies and viruses. You can explore these topics here.
- Explore Coders North — a national education charity providing online resources to teach kids how to code, create and communicate.
Keep Learning
- Visit TVO in the Classroom for more than 10,000 videos, articles and games that are readily available, and can be segmented by grade level.
- Looking for extra support with math? Check out TVO’s Mathify which offers free one-on-one math tutoring for Ontario public school students grades 6-10.
Feed Your Creative Side
Visit Downie Wenjack Fund on Facebook. The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund is hosting live sessions with artist ambassadors (like Leela Gilday, Adam Sturgeon and Theland Kicknosway) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2 p.m. EDT. Artists share their songs and stories to entertain and engage the community.
Take Care of Your Mental Health
- If headlines have you feeling overwhelmed, and you’d like help or ideas on how to deal with unsettling circumstances, visit Kids Help Phone. The e-mental health service created a dedicated resource page for COVID-19.
- Additionally, WE has created a COVID-19 well-being toolkit, and the University Of Toronto has launched a free, online course called Mind Control: Managing your mental health during COVID-19.
The list of programs will continue to update the page with additional online learning opportunities as they are made available.
To learn more, and for a complete list of available resources, please visit: rbc.com/futurelaunchathome.
This article is intended as general information only and is not to be relied upon as constituting legal, financial or other professional advice. A professional advisor should be consulted regarding your specific situation. Information presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the authors as of the date of publication and are subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or any of its affiliates.
