Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency

Marjorie Davison, CEO, NSAA

Marjorie Davison is the CEO of the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency, and has been working in the Public Service since 1989 - the International Year of Literacy, and a very formative time to build and create an infrastructure to support adult learners. Marjorie grew up in North Carolina in a very diverse community. She has been a proud Canadian since 2007, and believes that diversity affects all of us. Over the span of her career, Marjorie has learned a lot about the need to be flexible for people who are facing barriers, and has gained an appreciation and understanding about the diverse and complex issues that the Department of Labour and Advanced Education faces. Marjorie is committed to diversity because she believes in respecting one another; in giving each other equitable opportunities; and that we're better together. She has been a senior champion for the Diversity Team since 2009, and continues to look for avenues to make her workplace more inclusive.

Marjorie was first hired by the Province of Nova Scotia as a member of the team that created the Workplace Education Initiative that is still in use today. As part of that team, she built the foundation for the partnership model that she currently uses in her work. Marjorie also worked on a number of projects including Family Literacy, the Read to Me program at the IWK and different aspects of adult learning before becoming a Manager, and then a Director, of Apprenticeship Training and Workplace Skills Development.

As part of the Leadership Continuity Program, Marjorie also had an opportunity to jump into the corporate world, and worked with Treasury and Policy Board on renewing policy excellence in the Public Service. That experience informed how she thinks about what policy means and how it must be a part of the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency’s operational work. When the Department of Labour and Workforce Development was created (now the Department of Labour and Advanced Education), Marjorie was asked to help set up the corporate policy shop, and she took on the challenge. A lot of that work was about putting structures in place that ensured the Minister and Deputy Minister were well-supported from across the department to make evidence-based decisions.

As Executive Director of Corporate Policy and Services, Marjorie was asked to be a member of the Minister’s Advisory Panel on Apprenticeship: the system was not delivering the outcomes it should, and employers were disengaging from it. Out of this panel, industry made a recommendation to create a new model of governance for a united trades training and certification system, one that would redefine the relationship with industry and the Nova Scotia Community College, and build an understanding about the value of training and certification at large. Hence, the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency was born. As CEO of the Agency, Marjorie is looking for ways to advance common goals and streamline work to make it easier for employers, young people and members of under-represented groups to access and experience success through apprenticeship.

Marjorie has loved every job she has ever had, and promotes working for the Public Service every chance she gets. She loves coming to work every day, working alongside a tremendously-skilled team, and always learning and being challenged. And she encourages all to be a part of the change we want to see with diversity.