Abstract
Regardless of overall economic conditions, Canada’s youth employment rate has been consistently above that of the adult population. This trend is especially pronounced during times of economic crisis and for young people with low levels of formal education. In response, federal and provincial governments have introduced various schemes aimed at helping young people make the transition from school to post-school life. Most of these schemes are rooted in the perception that Canada is transforming into a knowledge economy and that at-risk students require extra support to equip themselves with the skills necessary to succeed in a knowledge-intensive labour market.
At the same time, Canada is also experiencing shortages in certain labour market segments. Although some of these shortages concern highly skilled, professional occupations (e.g., in engineering or rural medicine), the most pressing need has been expressed for skilled labour in the trades. In addition to targeting at-risk youth, policy programs in all Canadian provinces have therefore also tried to increase the number of young people entering training and careers in the skilled trades. Finally, transition programs in Canada have also been concerned with issues of equity and fairness in access to higher education opportunities. Universities and colleges have therefore introduced programs and bursaries to attract, for instance, more working-class and Aboriginal students. In this chapter, I outline a number of different programs and schemes and their educational and labour market contexts. I argue that most of these transition schemes and programs are concerned with the development of human capital, but tend to neglect the creation of employment opportunities and the removal of barriers that restrict access to training, education, and employment opportunities. Furthermore, I argue that Canada’s federal structure and largely decentralised policy environment lead to a lack of cohesion in the development and delivery of these programs, which limits the achievement of the stated goals.
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Notes
- 1.
Statistics Canada defines “youth” as young people between the ages of 15 and 24.
- 2.
Information regarding all programs in the Youth Employment Strategy can be found at the following website: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/epb/yi/yep/newprog/yesprograms.shtml
- 3.
Information regarding the Specialist High Skills Major can be found at the following website: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/morestudentsuccess/SHSM.asp
- 4.
For a more detailed description of RAP, see Lehmann (2007a).
- 5.
In Canada, the term “first-generation” is preferred over “working-class” or “low-income” student, presumably because it avoids a form of labelling that might be considered negative. First-generation student refers to students who are the first in their family to attend university. Most first-generation students do come from working-class or low-income backgrounds.
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Lehmann, W. (2012). Making the Transition to Post-school Life: The Canadian Situation. In: Billett, S., Johnson, G., Thomas, S., Sim, C., Hay, S., Ryan, J. (eds) Experience of School Transitions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4198-0_6
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