Escalator: Companies and Youth Moving Up
Escalator brings together private, public and community sectors and uses innovative solutions to tackle unemployment for opportunity youth across Ontario. Escalator aims to unlock our full business and talent potential.
Problem Addressed
Canada has 779,000 young people aged 15 to 29 who are not in employment, education or training. At the same time, 70% of employers said their biggest challenge to filling entry-level roles was finding applicants. Despite both a supply of, and demand for, young talent, youth and employers aren’t always finding each other, especially when it comes to opportunity youth who may face additional barriers to employment.
Solutions Implemented
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Escalator recognizes that more can be done to connect supply and demand and to unlock currently untapped young talent. Since launching in 2014, CivicAction has developed action-oriented strategies to help close the skills gap, make the job market more transparent, and give new networks to youth – all of which has helped connect thousands of youth to new opportunities (see results below).
Key Results
netWORKS
Thousands of youth enrolled in netWORKS, a career-oriented networking and mentoring program, led by United Way of Toronto & York Region. Since 2015, dozens of employers have hosted networking sessions and provided various supports to youth. Plus, hundreds of youth connected with industry leaders at one or more group networking sessions, gaining fresh perspectives and building key professional connections. Find out more.
YouthConnect
850+ front-line youth workers with the capacity to reach approximately 35,000 youth, as well as 1,500 youth have been trained on pre-employment skills in partnership with LinkedIn Canada. 95% of youth workers felt better prepared to support their youth in articulating their transferable skills to employers. Find out more.
NPower Canada
Thousands of students have graduated from NPower Canada, which trains young people facing barriers and matches them with paid internships in the technology sector. A majority of graduates enter full-time employment or pursue post-secondary education within 6 months of graduating. Find out more here.