Themes of youth wellbeing: employment and entrepreneurship

Outcomes 10, 11, 12

Ontario wants youth to:

• Have opportunities for meaningful employment experiences
• Have the skills and resources needed to develop a successful career or business
• Be safe and supported at work

Making sure that youth have the skills they need to enter the workforce, get good jobs and contribute to the economy helps build a stronger Ontario for all.

Ontario continued to make investments in strategies that support youth employment and entrepreneurship, including:

• Youth Jobs Strategy
• Highly Skilled Workforce Strategy
• Aboriginal Economic Development Fund
• Social Enterprise Strategy
• Growth Plan for Northern Ontario
• Ontario’s Mineral Development Strategy
• Strengthening Rural Communities
• Safe At Work Ontario
• Enforcing employment standards and enacting or amending related legislation

Strategies and Programs Supporting Outcomes

Youth Jobs Strategy

Leads: Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development, Ministry of Economic Development and Growth, and Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science

Introduced in 2013, the Youth Jobs Strategy was renewed in 2015 with an investment of $250 million over two years to provide up to 150,000 youth with the tools, experiences and entrepreneurial support they need to start meaningful careers.

New in this report:

• The Entrepreneurship Learning Stream prepares young people to start and run their own businesses.
• The Youth Job Link program, launched in April 2016, helps youth access employment resources and information to develop career management skills and make connections with employers.
• The Youth Job Connection program provides intensive support and training to young people with multiple barriers to employment.
  • A year-round component, launched in fall 2015, helps youth aged 15 to 29 who are not working, in school or in training. It provides support, such as paid pre-employment training, job opportunities, and mentorship.
  • The summer component of the Youth Job Connection program, launched in April 2016, helps high school students aged 15 to 18 who face challenging life circumstances to get a summer job. Part-time job placements are also provided during the school year to help students make positive educational and career choices.

Related:

• Employment Ontario is available to clients of all ages, including youth who may face barriers to employment and may benefit from assisted supports.
  • Employment Ontario live chat was launched to help youth with a broad range of employment needs and to ensure resources are targeted to those who need them most.

Highly Skilled Workforce Strategy

Lead: Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development

New! Ontario’s Highly Skilled Workforce Strategy will help the province keep the competitive advantage of having one of the best‐educated talent pools in the world, and prepare more people for success in an inclusive new economy.

• The province is working with employers, educators, labour and other partners on implementing this strategy. It is also addressing recommendations in Building the Workforce of Tomorrow: A Shared Responsibility (2016), the final report of the Premier’s Highly Skilled Workforce Expert Panel.
  • Priorities include increasing opportunities for learning by experience, improving career education, and helping learners develop 21st-century skills.

Related:

• The Labour Market Information Strategy positions Ontario among leaders in the field by providing more relevant, timely and easy-to-understand career and labour market information. It is geared to students, families, employers and organizations.
• The Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation at Ryerson University was launched in February 2016. The centre is a single window for employment and training research, innovation, and capacity-building. Ryerson University operates the centre with a consortium of partners.

Aboriginal Economic Development Fund

Lead: Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation

Introduced as part of Ontario’s Jobs and Prosperity Fund, the Aboriginal Economic Development Fund:

• Helps Indigenous communities develop long-term strategies to diversify their economies
• Improves community capacity for economic development
• Provides access to financing to start and expand Indigenous businesses
• Enables communities to collaborate on region-wide employment and skills training projects

New in this report:

• This year, Aboriginal Economic Development Fund invested in:
• Peetabeck Youth Employment Diversification Project, delivered by the Fort Albany First Nation
• Mushkegowuk Council, to implement an educational program to help give First Nations students the tools they need to participate in resource development opportunities
• Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training, to develop programming that will increase participation, training and employment opportunities for Indigenous people
• Kagita Mikam Aboriginal Employment and Training, to implement a strategy to attract, hire, train and keep Indigenous apprentices in Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area

Social Enterprise Strategy

Lead: Ministry of Economic Development and Growth

Ontario’s Social Enterprise Strategy (2016–2021) is supporting social enterprises that use business strategies to achieve a social or environmental impact. Across the provinces, social enterprises are reducing poverty and building stronger communities. At the same time, they are creating jobs, growing revenues and attracting investment capital.

New in this report:

• The province continues to develop Social Impact Bond pilot projects that will improve social outcomes. One of the two frontrunner ideas, proposed by the RAFT (Niagara), targets over 900 at-risk young people, primarily in underserved rural areas, to increase high school graduation rates and improve housing stability.

Growth Plan for Northern Ontario

Lead: Ministry of Northern Development and Mines

The Growth Plan for Northern Ontario, released in 2011, outlines government priorities for Northern Ontario for a 25-year period. The plan includes policies that focus on building on the strengths and potential of today’s northerners by providing them with more education, training and career opportunities.

New in this report:

• Ontario is helping young northerners gain essential work experience through internship placements across Northern Ontario. With an investment of $14.5 million through the province’s Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, announced in November 2015, 552 young people will acquire valuable training and experience.

Ontario’s Mineral Development Strategy

Lead: Ministry of Northern Development and Mines

Ontario’s Mineral Development Strategy was created with input from representatives of First Nations, Métis and northern communities as well as environmental non-governmental organizations, exploration and mining companies, and prospectors.

New in this report:

• At the 2016 Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop, students had the opportunity to experience first-hand the many aspects of the mineral exploration industry. Activities included field work and underground mine mapping.

Strengthening Rural Communities

Lead: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Strong rural communities are the key to a strong, healthy province. The province is working with rural communities to support the growth and retention of good jobs, attract investment, promote new economic opportunities, and create opportunities for youth to develop skills and find meaningful work in their communities.

New in this report:

• The province hosted “Building the Future,” the second Rural Ontario Summit, in 2016. The summit featured a mix of informative and engaging speakers and interactive sessions. More than 235 people participated from over 50 communities (in person or online). Participants included youth, First Nations and Métis people, municipal leaders, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and community organizations. They focused on the following areas of concern for youth in rural Ontario:
  • Opportunities for education and training
  • Creating jobs and supporting entrepreneurship
  • Building strong social infrastructure
  • Engaging youth in civic leadership
• The Newcomer and Youth Community Indicators tool was released. The tool has over 50 indicators in eight categories that help communities identify their attractiveness to newcomers and youth.
• An updated Rural Roadmap: The Path Forward for Ontario was released in 2015. The report outlines progress to date and additional initiatives that impact rural Ontario. These areas include investing in the talents and skills of rural youth and others to help create jobs.

Related:

• 4-H Ontario emphasizes the importance of looking at the big picture and encourages youth to focus their actions on their relationships, community, environment and society as a whole.
  • This year, 4-H programming expanded to reach students in elementary, high school and postsecondary campuses. As part of its activities, it focused on preparing and empowering more young people, including First Nations youth, to find successful employment.
• The Perth, St. Mary’s & Stratford Youth Attraction Strategy Project focuses on youth participation and grassroots community involvement. It also trains youth leaders to facilitate strategic planning exercises with local youth committees. The project is a model that other communities can adopt to build community capacity and develop strategic plans by youth for youth.
• The Youth Civic Leadership Pilot, Perth4Youth, in the Municipality of North Perth, is partnering with secondary school students on a new civic engagement initiative model for youth. The pilot guides students through a community engagement exercise that connects them with their peers and guides them in presenting their findings and recommendations to the municipal council.
• The Rural Ontario Institute Youth Engagement Showcase profiles compelling stories of youth engagement that highlight the impact youth can have in their local communities. Examples of youth civic engagement include volunteering, fundraising, recreational event planning, advocacy, debate, participating in a committee and/or formal political involvement.

Safe At Work Ontario

Lead: Ministry of Labour

Safe At Work Ontario is the Ministry of Labour’s strategy for enforcing the Occupational Health and Safety Act to protect worker (including young worker) health and safety.

New in this report:

• Between July and September 2016, Ministry of Labour inspectors conducted an enforcement blitz in the industrial sector. They focused on young workers aged 14 to 24 and new workers who were on the job for less than six months or assigned to a new job. The goals of the blitz included:
  • Ensuring that employers advise new and young workers of hazards in the workplace
  • Enhancing health and safety partnerships
  • Promoting improved health and safety for new and young workers
• The Occupational Health and Safety Prevention and Innovation program supports innovative projects and collaborative partnerships that lead to improvements in occupational health and safety in Ontario. This year, funding was focused on projects that improve the occupational health and safety of young workers, among others.

Related:

• Bring Safety Home is a Workplace Safety & Prevention Services campaign targeting parents and other support networks of young people. It seeks to make work safer for Ontario’s youth.
• #safe4life is a youth-driven digital media campaign by Parachute Canada. Its focus is preventing injuries and saving lives.

Enforcing Employment Standards and Enacting or Amending Related Laws

Lead: Ministry of Labour

The Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) sets out the rights and responsibilities of both employees and employers in Ontario workplaces. The Ministry of Labour enforces and promotes awareness of employment standards (e.g., minimum wage, hours of work, and public holidays) that are in place to protect workers including youth, and new and vulnerable workers.

New in this report:

• Ontario’s Protecting Child Performers Act, 2015 came into force on February 5, 2016. The law promotes the best interests, protection and well-being of paid child performers working in the live and recorded entertainment industries.
• Ontario’s Protecting Employees’ Tips Act, 2015 came into force on June 10, 2016. It amends the ESA to protect employees’ tips and other gratuities.
• The province increased the minimum wage rate effective October 1, 2016. The general minimum wage was increased to $11.40 per hour. The student minimum wage was increased to $10.70 per hour. Annual adjustments to the minimum wage are tied to changes to the Ontario Consumer Price Index. (Ministry of Finance)
• From May to June 2016, the Ministry of Labour conducted an employment standards blitz, focusing on young workers under age 25. During this blitz, the ministry recovered over $276,000 in wages owed.
• From September to October 2016, the Ministry of Labour conducted a repeat violators blitz, taking a zero tolerance approach. This blitz included sectors that often employ young workers, including amusement and recreation industries.
• The government appointed two independent special advisors to lead the Changing Workplaces Review. The special advisors were asked to consider how to amend the ESA and the Labour Relations Act, 1995 to meet the needs of the changing workplace.
  • The Changing Workplaces Review Special Advisors’ Interim Report was released in July 2016. It includes a range of recommendations on how to better protect youth and other vulnerable workers while supporting business.

What the Data Says

• Employment Ontario’s Employment Service helps 70,000 youth per year. It provides information, job search assistance, funding for job opportunities and other supports^{footnote 11[11]}.
• Ontario accounts for about 25% of mining jobs in Canada. Mining is the largest private employer of Indigenous people in Ontario^{footnote 12[12]}.
• Ontario is one of only a few places in the world to require occupational health and safety education in schools^{footnote 13[13]}.
• Injuries are more likely to happen among new workers of any age in their first month on the job^{footnote 14[14]}. Frequent job changes mean that young people are “new on the job” for a longer period of time than older workers^{footnote 15[15]}.

Data from the Profile of Youth Wellbeing

• 11.6% of students are enrolled in co-op placements.
• 89.1% of youth who are employed full-time are in work related to their field.

Case Study

Silver Linings Family Circle Tuck Shop

The tuck shop gives real-life employment experience to youth.

The Silver Linings Family Circle is a group of young adults with mild intellectual disabilities and their parents. Formed in 2013, and supported by the Youth Opportunities Fund, Community Living York South, the Toronto Hong Kong Lions Club, and the March of Dimes Canada, the group operates the Silver Linings Family Circle Tuck Shop in a long-term care facility in Richmond Hill.

These parents knew that after high school, many youth with mild intellectual disabilities do not have structured options for education or employment. They came together and started the tuck shop to provide a supportive, real-life pre-employment training program for its young adult participants.

The tuck shop helps youth to identify and develop life skills that will increase their independence and self-confidence. The shop gives them a structured program to attend on a regular basis, and helps them build skills important in the shop and in other areas of their lives. Those skills include budgeting, activities of daily living and social skill development. Open seven days a week, the tuck shop gives each participant ample opportunity to work under the guidance of either a job coach or parent volunteer.

I would rather spend my day in the shop than on vacation!

JM, Tuck Shop Helper

I couldn’t understand money—now I can even give correct change.

JCS, Tuck Shop Helper