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GREATER TORONTO EDITION, OCTOBER 26–NOVEMBER 2, 2013
The 20-something’s guide
to job searching in Toronto
BY KATHERINE O’BRIEN,
Poss.ca
IF YOU’RE out of work and just starting out,
you can be forgiven for feeling dazed and confused when it comes to moving forward on your
career path. With a soaring youth unemployment rate (21 per cent in Toronto, according
to the Toronto Community Foundation’s 2013
Vital Signs report), getting support and guidance can be crucial to get your career wheels
turning.
Luckily, if you’re young, jobless and living in
Toronto, you’re in the right place to find job inspiration.
EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS FOR
YOUTH
Sometimes, nothing can beat a little faceto-face help. Head down to an Employment
Ontario oﬃce where you can get your resumé
reviewed, find a job placement, or access the
Youth Employment Fund (YEF), which subsidizes jobs for 15- to 29-year-olds (up to $6,800
per placement).
In addition to YEF, there’s a multitude of
other youth-centred programs to consider. One
agency that provides a whole host of youth programs is the aptly named Youth Employment
Services (YES). For instance, its Keele and Eglinton oﬃce oﬀers Job Central, a program that
gives youth with employment barriers employability skills training and a work placement.
Downtown at the Rotary Centre for Youth Empowerment, YES delivers Job Camp, a full-time
two-week program for 16- to 30-year-olds.
The YMCA is another agency that runs a
number of programs catering to youth. For
instance, Youth Careers in Pickering matches
individuals to employers in their field of interest. The 14-week KickStart program in North
York combines paid training with interactive
life skills and employability workshops. As
well, the Rexdale Youth Resource Centre (also
known as the Etobicoke Albion Road YMCA
Centre) oﬀers general career and employment
services for youth (adults can use the facility
too). And all YMCAs operate the Youth Leadership Program, a mix of leadership training,
teamwork, self-government, and volunteer
placement to help young participants build
confidence and connections.
Another local employment agency, JVS, has a
roster of youth-focused programs that include
R.E.A.D.Y. (Real Experience & Access Designed
for Youth), a pre-employment and life skills
group for youth in Lawrence Heights who have
employment barriers.
In Etobicoke, along the Lakeshore, JobStart
oﬀers Youth in Demand, a paid on-the-job
training program (including a program completion bonus of $500) for those who want to
work in automotive repair and maintanence,
construction or retail.
In Scarborough, AYCE oﬀers employment
services for youth as well as an autobody repairer pre-apprenticeship program. The West
Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre (WSNCC) delivers the Malvern Youth Community Employment Program: four to six weeks
of paid pre-employment training, job placements and life skills workshops. In addition,
the WSNCC operates the Gateway Cafe and the
Greystone Pre Employment Centre – these programs require a referral by an Ontario Works
caseworker or another agency serving youth.
Back in the city, on the Danforth, Neighbourhood Link Support Services runs Youth
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JOBCLASSIFIED.CA
Works, a 12-week program that oﬀers an hourly
wage during its four-week pre-employment
training (includes WHIMIS, CPR and first aid)
and eight-week work placement.
Closer to downtown, Opportunity Knocks is
St. Stephen’s Employment & Training Centre’s
oﬀering: a 15-week training program for youth
with employment barriers such as no high
school diploma.
Similarly, the City of Toronto has partnered
with private sector employers to deliver the
Partnership to Advance Youth Employment
(PAYE) program, which guarantees participants
interviews with employers in the financial, corporate or retail customer service sectors.
YOUTH WITH SIGNIFICANT
BARRIERS
The City of Toronto runs Youth Employment
Toronto (YET), where outreach workers meet
youth throughout Toronto in community centres, malls, youth hostels and drop-in centres
and provide them with employment assessments, counselling support and referrals.
Another City-funded program, the 21-week
Toronto Youth Job Corps (TYJC) program for
youth facing diﬃcult situations, is delivered
by St. Christopher House, West Scarborough
Neighbourhood Community Centre and JVS
Toronto. In phase one of TYJC, participants
receive supportive counselling as well as employment readiness and career planning workshops. In phase two, participants work in a subsided placement for 16 to 24 weeks.
At its Eglinton-Keele oﬃce, YES also works
with homeless youth or young people at risk
of becoming homeless. The Streets to Jobs
program oﬀers pre-employment and life skills
training, job search assistance, financial incentives, subsidized work placement and supportive referrals.
JVS Toronto delivers two programs for youth
who have been in conflict with the law: YouthReach Toronto (Jane-Finch and Scarborough
locations) and YouthReach II York Region.
Operation Springboard’s Scarborough location operates Youth at Work, an intensive preemployment program for youth who face significant barriers to employment.
Youth Employment Link, a project of the Toronto District School Board, provide youth with
multiple barriers a stipend to attend an intensive three-week pre-employment workshop.
A satellite program of Horizons for Youth
emergency shelter, Career Horizons is a fourweek pre-employment program for youth living in shelters, transitional housing and other
unstable conditions.
YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES
There are a few employment options for
young people with disabilities. For example,
in North York the Workplace Essential Skills
Partnership (WESP) delivers one-week workshops for professionals under 30 who have disabilities. At its west end oﬃce (near the Dundas West subway station), YES runs YESAbility,
an employment program for students or recent
graduates with disabilities.
Finally, the YMCA’s Heads UP program in
Newmarket provides skill-building workshops,
individual counselling, job shadowing and
volunteer opportunities to youth and young
adults with an identified disability.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS
Workshops geared to would-be entrepreneurs are on the rise in this city, and a number of them cater specifically to youth. For instance, the Rise Youth Small Business Program
helps young people who have a mental health
or addiction challenge and would like to run
their own business but don’t know how. Sessions based on Rotman School of Management
curriculum are taught by alumni and industry experts, and participants receive coaching
from Rotman MBA alumni.
The aforementioned YES is also in the selfemployment game. Its BizStart Entrepreneurship, oﬀered downtown, is an 11-month program that gives training in marketing, business
planning, web design and other business-related topics as well as mentoring. As well, YES (in
partnership with the Toronto Fashion Incubator) has developed an entrepreneurial program
specifically geared to aspiring fashionistas.
Passion For Fashion oﬀers youth six workshops
on such topics as setting up a fashion business,
developing a line, marketing, and pricing.
— Possibilities Toronto’s Online
Employment Resource Centre www.poss.ca is
an Employment Ontario project is funded in
part by the Government of Canada.
Source: Possibilities Toronto
YOUR NEXT JOB IS HERE!
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