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Since the COVID-19 pandemic – and even before – it has been widely reported that young people in Canada have been struggling against a number of headwinds as they enter the workforce. While there’s been considerable focus on mental health – and rightfully so – other barriers such as housing and food insecurity, racism, caregiving responsibilities and physical health challenges have been found to impact young people’s chances of finding work, growing their careers and effectively navigating workplace relationships. Indigenous youth in Canada face additional barriers, including the enduring effects of generational trauma and ongoing discrimination.
With economic and social climates proving more challenging than ever for young people, what can be done to support them during key transition points, and beyond?
One way is to grow and support community initiatives that are helping prepare young people for the future of work. In 2017, RBC and RBC Foundation committed $500 million over 10 years to support such initiatives and programs – since then, nearly seven million Canadian youth have participated in RBC-funded programs.
The key question is, are they helping?
Knowing how young Canadians are faring today is crucial to learning how they will build skills, networks, careers – and, ultimately, secure, fulfilling futures. To gain some of this understanding, RBC Foundation partnered with the Youth & Innovation Project at the University of Waterloo to launch the RBC Young People & Economic Inclusion Longitudinal Study. With over 20,000 young people responding to date, the study gives insight into the mindsets and obstacles facing Canadian youth, with a focus on employment.
What did we want to learn?
While the study is focused on participants of RBC-funded programs, the cross-section of survey respondents is fairly representative of the Canadian population and provides both broad insights and specific learnings about young Canadians’ realities. The study was also designed to uncover insights into the future of work from young Canadians’ perspectives, including their levels of confidence, optimism and perceived opportunity. Trends and patterns can further inform youth employment in Canada, young people’s socioeconomic reality, their relationships in their workplaces and their overall well-being.
While understanding current youth experiences is important, it is equally crucial to map out the path forward. In other words, what can be done to improve the outlooks and experiences of young Canadians? The study sought out recommendations from those who work to support young people on their career journeys, based on the findings.
What did we find?
While some of the findings reflect long-standing disparities in pay and opportunity, new learnings emerged related to attitudes surrounding in-person versus hybrid work, the availability and impact of informal training and general resilience across demographic groups.
Here are some key findings and the opportunities they uncover:
- Finding: Transition youth (20-24) and young adults (25-34) in the study have higher education levels compared to the Canadian population overall.
- Opportunity: What can be done to ensure that less educated young people are also reached by and able to participate in youth programs?
- Finding: Young people today have less access to work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities, when compared to the Canadian graduates from 2020 and 2015.
- Opportunities: How can we ensure that opportunities to take part inwork-integrated learning increase in a post-pandemic context? How can we ensure young people have equal access to these opportunities?
- Finding: Female participants participate in fewer hours of professional development per year thanmale participants.
- Opportunity: How can we increase the number of hours of professional development that young women take part in?
- Finding: Female participants are paid less than their male counterparts. The biggest disparities occur at the lower end of the earnings range.
- Opportunity: How can we address persistent, gender-based income discrepancies in younger generations?
- Finding: A higher proportion of adolescents (aged 15-19) would prefer to work entirely in person (37%) compared with any other age group (21% or less).Transition youth (20-24) have a higher preference for hybrid work (70%) than older and younger participants (58% or less).
- Opportunities: How can employers leverage this interest demonstrated by some younger employees to work in person or in a hybrid work arrangement? How can we ensure that both employers and employees benefit from this trend by ensuring that time spent in-person is meaningful?
- Finding; Transition youth and young adults are less likely to have developed reliable ways to relax under pressure than adolescents and adults (35+).
- Opportunity: How could we ensure they receive the support they need to thrive in both life and work?
- Finding: Young immigrants are less likely to be thriving at work compared to those born in Canada.
- Opportunity: How can employers offer opportunities to and develop relationships with immigrant workers so they can fully contribute to the country’s growth, while thriving at work?
- Finding: Young participants are very optimistic about collaborating with decision makers in the workplace; however, they have few opportunities to do so.
- Opportunity: In the context of an aging population, how can employers create more opportunities for intergenerational collaboration?
The path forward: Recommendations and next steps
The study provides considerable insight and food for thought, and the hope is that funders, policymakers and employers will take note of both the current gaps and future opportunities to enhance the outlook for young Canadians as it relates to employment.
On September 23, 2024, tune into our webinar, where we will present the key findings and review recommendations that can be put forward to those in a position to make a difference. Register today.
