Toronto’s Youth Cabinet is asking the city to create 10,000 summer jobs for young people by 2025 that will provide “meaningful and gainful employment opportunities.”
On Aug. 9, the youth advocacy body held an employment summit at City Hall, where it called upon municipal officials to create a summer youth employment program in an attempt to combat a rise in youth violence and unemployment.
Over 150 youth and stakeholders were present including non-profits, private sector partners and Black, Indigenous and newcomer youth from every ward in the city. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow also attended and spoke at the meeting.
Stephen Mensah, executive director of the Youth Cabinet, told Now Toronto that research continues to prove that employing young people has broad-ranging benefits including the betterment of academic outcomes and skills development opportunities.
“Providing economic opportunity through jobs and workforce development is vital to public safety, it strengthens our city’s economy by cultivating a skilled and motivated workforce and it increases mentorship, job readiness and knowledge of career options for young people,” Menash told Now Toronto in a statement on Tuesday.
“It will also help bridge the gap between youth and the labour market, offering valuable paid work experience, skills development, and a pathway to future employment,” he continued.
The Youth Cabinet engages thousands of young people annually, many of whom tell the organization that employment helps them to feel as though they are contributing meaningfully to their communities, and would provide a necessary stepping stone in achieving their broader career goals.
The proposed scheme will help to “bridge the gap between youth and the labour market,” Menash said, by exposing young people to mentors, networking opportunities, valuable paid work experience and opening doors to future job roles.
Although Chow attended the summit, Mensah says “no commitments have been made yet” by the city to provide more jobs.
The city is already a large youth employer and told Now Toronto that it is “committed to continuing to work with youth organizations and stakeholders to determine what programs and supports are necessary.”
“The City recognizes how important it is to facilitate career exploration and development, not just short-term jobs or lower wage opportunities,” it concluded.
On the same day as the summit, Mayor Chow announced the city’s winter job openings.
“It’s still hot out, but we’re already getting ready for winter! The City is looking to fill employment opportunities in ski, skate, snowboard, indoor swim, fitness, sports, arts and after-school programs this winter,” she tweeted.
Meanwhile, the Youth Cabinet is working on presenting a motion about creating more jobs to Mayor Chow’s Executive Committee on October 1, and are encouraging youth and all Torontonians to come converse with the committee in support of its calls.
