Intercultural Competence

Training Program

Next Session: June 2025

2025 Training Dates

June 3rd and 4th, 2025

9AM - 4PM each day

Banff

Sign up by May 16th

November 4th and 5th, 2025

9AM - 4PM each day

Canmore

Sign up by October 17th

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.

Program Focus

  1. Intercultural awareness and sensitivity

  2. Intercultural knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviour

  3. Emphasis on skills for intercultural communication

Who is this training program for?

  • Bow Valley Workplace Inclusion Charter participants

  • 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

  • Bow Valley residents (all immigration statuses welcome) or individuals currently employed by a Bow Valley-based business

Sign up for this program if:

  • You are 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 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:

  1. Attend the full 2-day training session (9AM-4PM)

  2. Prepare and deliver your own training session, or plan other actions to share what you have learned with your colleagues.

Benefits for organizations:

  • Overcome communication roadblocks, strengthen your team, and improve staff retention

  • Better meet the needs of diverse community members

  • 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

Sign Up

Intercultural Competence Training Program

Protecting Your Information: We are collecting this personal information under the authority of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act, section 33(c). This information will be used for the purposes of the Bow Valley Immigration Partnership (BVIP). If you have any questions about how we collect or use this information, read our Privacy Policy or contact Natasha Lay at bvip@banff.ca or on (403) 431-0705.

Your Instructors: Settlement Services in the Bow Valley

Settlement Services is funded by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and provided through the Town of Banff, in partnership with the Town of Canmore and local Bow Valley schools. We provide free and confidential services for Permanent Residents of Canada and Refugees in the Bow Valley (Banff, Lake Louise, Canmore, and Kananaskis).