Agency and wellbeing
LifeWorks
Build the confidence, adaptability and sense of possibility young people need to navigate change and participate in shaping it.
Corporate and community partnerships
Invest in the people who will build the green economy.
Shift Ground Axis helps young people move from climate awareness to participation, agency and meaningful pathways into green work—while helping communities build the capacity to adapt.
Nkyinkyim · n-cheen-cheem
Changing course without losing direction.
About the symbol
Akan · Ghana · Adinkra
Nkyinkyim means “Twisting”. It speaks to life’s twists and turns, and to the initiative, dynamism and versatility needed to move through them.
Changing course without losing direction.
n-cheen-cheem · approximate Twi pronunciation
Explore our philosophy →- Agency
- Build the capacity to act.
- Futures
- Make new possibilities visible.
- Place
- Turn learning into local contribution.
Paid placementsPaid work-integrated learning for emerging talent.
Applied experienceContributing to research and community-based projects.
Skills for green workBuilding capabilities relevant to a changing green economy.
Connections to opportunityBringing young people, mentors and collaborators together.
The opportunity
The green transition has a missing middle.
Climate learning, STEM exposure, career development and community action are often delivered as separate experiences. Young people can understand the challenge without seeing where they belong in the response.
Shift Ground connects those pieces. We create a practical bridge from awareness to participation, from participation to agency, and from agency to a credible pathway.
One connected model
Three ways to help people enter—and shape—the green economy.
Learning through place
GroundWorks
Turn climate and sustainability learning into practical experience through food systems, land, stewardship and community projects.
Skills and green careers
FutureWorks
Connect emerging talent to applied research, digital tools, employers and first experiences in the green economy.
Evidence with a purpose
Learn what works.
Use it to move systems.
Our work includes young people navigating periods outside employment, education or training, as well as youth, racialized communities, newcomers and women whose talent is too often missed by conventional pathways.
We are examining how agency, paid experience and place-based opportunity influence participation and young people’s decisions about where they can build a future—including the forces behind youth outmigration.
We test the model, measure outcomes and translate learning into practice notes, policy briefs, recommendations and working papers that can inform educators, employers, funders and public systems.
Why now
At a moment when Manitoba’s direction, Canada’s research and innovation priorities, and community climate action are converging, investment in people is infrastructure.
Amid economic turbulence, climate conversations require a fundamental shift: from preparing people to observe change to equipping them to participate in it.
Ways to partner
Fund something tangible.
Build something lasting.
These starting points can stand alone or be combined into a deeper partnership shaped around shared goals.
A learning activation
Equip a focused workshop, field experience or educator-facing learning activity.
A LifeWorks Lab
Support the human capacities—agency, wellbeing and adaptability—that make learning and work possible.
A first green job
Help fund a paid placement, mentorship and meaningful entry point into green work.
A FutureWorks pathway
Connect learners with future-facing skills, climate intelligence and career exposure.
A GroundWorks project
Back a place-based project where learning becomes visible community action.
Shared capacity
Strengthen the infrastructure, evaluation and partnerships that allow the model to grow responsibly.
Looking for partnership levels, recognition details and our complete approach?
The full prospectus has the complete picture.
How we partner
Ambitious in purpose.
Responsible in practice.
- Clear scope, budget and intended outcomes
- Consent and dignity in every youth story
- Recognition proportionate to the partnership
- No inflated claims or mission drift
- Transparent stewardship and shared learning
Begin with a conversation
Bring your goals.
We’ll find the point of shared possibility.
A strong partnership begins with what your organization cares about and what communities say is needed.