SPRE National Accelerator Spotlight:
Fusion Rise Inc.

Fusion Rise Inc. is a CRA-registered charity based in Victoria, BC, with a mission to expand opportunity for people who have been underserved by traditional education and employment systems. Founded in 2024, the organization operates across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, offering hands-on trades training, paid employment pathways with continued learning on the job, and affordable housing development opportunities. Fusion Rise’s programs are designed for people facing barriers to education, income stability, and safe housing, including newcomers, Indigenous community members, people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and those seeking a second chance at meaningful work. To date, over 20 participants have passed through their training program.

The challenge Fusion Rise addresses is both systemic and cyclical. Across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and nationally, labour shortages in the skilled trades are growing at the same time that many residents struggle to access stable employment and affordable housing. For people facing multiple barriers, this creates a reinforcing loop: without income, there is no housing; without housing, there is no stability; and without stability, there is little access to the training required to secure long-term employment. Communities feel the strain as employers lack skilled workers and the housing shortage intensifies.

Fusion Rise approaches this challenge with an integrated model that links training, income, and housing into a single pathway. Their programs begin with hands-on trades training rooted in confidence-building, practical skill development, and wraparound support. Participants then transition into paid construction work on real community projects—often the very affordable homes that Fusion Rise helps build. These earnings support access to stable housing, and that stability creates space for apprenticeships, continued training, and long-term economic mobility. The model goes beyond teaching trades and helps participants build a sense of belonging, capability, and possibility.

Fusion Rise Inc. faces and is attempting to tackle numerous systemic issues. Despite the housing crisis, it is challenging to build relationships with builders, permitting poses a serious issue on Vancouver Island, and there is a skilled labour shortage. Many newcomers and Indigenous communities in the region are eager to contribute to a growing housing supply through gainful employment, but discrimination and a lack of recognition of foreign credentials and local training opportunities can be roadblocks to joining the workforce. Fusion Rise has an ambitious five-part plan to address these barriers, spanning a training program, contracting enterprise, union, and community fund, all of which lead to the development of affordable housing by and for the people most impacted by the housing crisis.

Their current priority is the Skilled Trades Explorer Training Program, an immersive, 12-week hands-on pathway introducing learners to the fundamentals of construction and skilled trades. Participants gain practical experience across multiple areas (including flooring, framing, plumbing, electrical, drywall, painting, concrete, siding, insulation, and window and door installation) while completing essential safety training in First Aid, WHMIS, fall protection, and workplace harassment prevention. The program combines in-person workshops, hybrid theory modules, and capstone assessments to build foundational trade skills, workplace professionalism, and career readiness, preparing learners for entry-level employment or further apprenticeship opportunities. Since launching in 2024, they’ve trained 50 people and anticipate the program expanding upon receiving their SkilledTradesBC designation.

Partnerships are essential for this work to succeed. Fusion Rise is one of the few Black-led organizations offering training and development in the region and has experienced how a lack of representation across funders, unions, and partners impacts capacity and support. Fusion Rise is investing time in developing meaningful relationships with Indigenous community partners and local municipalities to identify alignment and develop an asset-based partnership approach while growing their own capacity.

Looking ahead, Fusion Rise stands out as a uniquely integrated and community-driven model in both the Vancouver Island region and the broader housing and workforce development sector. By connecting construction, training, income, and housing in one continuum, Fusion Rise is demonstrating what is possible when development is done with communities rather than for them. Their work is helping shift who gets to build, who gets to belong in the trades, and who gets to benefit from the homes rising across the Island and beyond, creating a future where opportunity and stability are built from the ground up.