Changing World Building Careers Its My Future 2 Student Voices Across Ontario PDF

CHANGING WORLD,
BUILDING CAREERS
It’s My Future 2: Student Voices Across Ontario
Copyright © 2016 The Learning Partnership. All rights reserved

The Learning Partnership
The Learning Partnership (TLP) is a national charity dedicated to building stakeholder partnerships
to support, promote and advance publicly funded education in Canada. We do this through five
key deliverables — innovative student programs, executive leadership for educators, knowledge
mobilization and policy, tribute celebrations of excellence and ongoing collaborations across Canada.
Since 1993, more than 6.5 million students have participated in TLP’s programs.
Through its Policy & Knowledge Mobilization team TLP undertakes pan-Canadian research on current
education issues such as emerging technologies, maintaining an active healthy lifestyle, and education
to employment. Through our research, we fuel new thinking that supports and advances progressive
education policies and practices.
TLP has a long-standing interest in the role public education plays in supporting students’ school-to-
work transition, in particular its reciprocal influence on the labour market and, in turn, the future of
learning in Canada.
The Learning Partnership Report | 3

Table of Contents
Introduction
Part 1
The Ontario case study.........................................................................................6
Methodology.......................................................................................................7
Part 2
2.1: Students’ aspirations for the future...............................................................9
2.2: Students’ understanding themselves.............................................................10
2.3: Who influences students’ career planning?....................................................12
2.4: The role and impact of school.......................................................................15
Part 3:
Changing employment landscape........................................................................17
3.1: Access to Labour Market Information (LMI)..................................................18
3.2: Access to Work-Integrated Learning (WIL).....................................................20
Part 4:
Recommendations...............................................................................................22
Appendix:............................................................................................................24
Bibliography:........................................................................................................26
Links to Media Publications:.................................................................................29
Endnotes..............................................................................................................29
4 | Changing World, Building Careers

Introduction
T alking about university or college or anything in the future doesn’t begin until you get to Grade 12, so for
my first three years of high school, I was almost clueless as to what was going on after high school. I think
what should happen is that it should start earlier. You should start getting students thinking about their
future, thinking about university, thinking about college or trade school, so that it gets the mind working,
as opposed to rushing it at the end of their schooling in high school.
—Cole Gordon Nicholson, Grade 12, Regina, Saskatchewan: It’s My Future, 2014
The world of work is changing. A quarter century ago, early morning commuters formed a sea of charcoal-grey
business suits and freshly printed newspapers. Fast forward to 2016 and things look very different. The charcoal-grey
sea is replaced by a more individualized, trendy-but-professional look, replete with the latest in mobile technology.
Workplaces still contain hierarchies but they are much less noticeable — the hierarchical ladder increasingly replaced by
a technologically empowered lattice of collaborative production, structural flexibility and organizational responsiveness.
The significance once placed on acquiring exclusive information and knowledge is now superseded by that derived
through inventiveness, collaboration, and a genuine willingness to share.
While these changes are promising in some ways, they also pose key challenges for the education sector, mainly in
how to prepare youth for their entry and integration into the modern world of work. Several research studies in recent
years have elaborated on these challenges, including a perceived skills mismatch, under and unemployment among
youth, and a lack of relevant and current career education for students at both the secondary and post-secondary
levels.1
These issues have significant consequences on national and global levels. That said, uniquely among Canadian
jurisdictions, Ontario has taken an assertive stance in addressing these challenges with the Ontario Premier’s Highly
Skilled Workforce Strategy, which has offered a variety of recommendations for all three levels of government, as well
as businesses and educational institutions. Included are recommendations for how secondary education can address
challenges in career education, such as ensuring that every student has at least one experiential learning opportunity
by the end of secondary school.
Although access to experiential learning is key for student success in the labour force, by itself it is not sufficient to
address student knowledge and competency gaps.
The perspectives of students themselves are important to consider in any strategy to identify and bridge these gaps.
To that end, It’s My Future 2 delves deeper into the experiences of secondary school students to learn about different
aspects of their career education. This report examines the diverse issues acting upon students’ choices in relation
to their careers and provides key recommendations to enhance the education-to-employment learning process for
Ontario’s secondary school students.

Part 1
The Ontario Case Study
In 2013, It’s My Future 1 (IMF1) provided The Learning Partnership (TLP) with an exceptional opportunity to study
a range of factors that decisively impact students’ transition from school to work: decision-making processes,
expectations about the current job market, and levels of optimism about future career outcomes. In 2015, TLP decided
to investigate these issues further by conducting an Ontario case study. Our mission was straightforward: to develop
and complete a more detailed and compelling examination of students’ impressions, views and conclusions about
their career education and the means through which they access and interpret information about the world of work.
As one of two Canadian jurisdictions with a mandatory, self-contained career studies course alongside a relatively
restrictive secondary school streaming scheme, Ontario is unique among Canadian provinces as a context for this case
study.2 This makes the need for early career-related information and education that will guide and inform secondary
school course selection all the more important.
It’s My Future 2 (IMF2) was an extensive survey conducted over the course of the 2014–15 school year, composed
of input from 14,712 secondary students from 55 schools across Ontario. With such far-reaching and long-term
implications, IMF2 has been successful in engaging a diverse representative population sample, clearly illustrated in
the figure below. With the results of the IMF2 survey as this report’s main body of evidence, TLP is confident in having
increased understanding of what informs students’ decision-making processes and affects their career readiness.
This will inspire new TLP programs and collaborations, and help to promote youth participation and engagement in
fostering a highly talented workforce of tomorrow.
Immigration Status Aboriginal Status Grade
6.3% 9.6%
19.8% 25.7% 26.4%
80.2% 84.2% 21.8% 26.1%
Born in Canada Aboriginal I choose not to 9 11

answer
Born outside Canada Non-Aboriginal 10 12
Figure 1

Methodology
The design and planning of It’s My Future 2 (IMF2) began as a joint initiative between The Learning Partnership (TLP)
and The Learning Bar Inc. to develop a questionnaire module that could be easily disseminated through The Learning
Bar’s well-known Tell Them From ME (TTFM) school survey platform. Used in more than 200 school districts across
Canada to collect data on factors known to affect student outcomes, TTFM synthesizes any information collected for
schools in a manner that is comprehensive and actionable for schools. Individual schools and their districts can then
use the data to mobilize support for school improvement planning and long-term projects.
Crafted as an in-school survey, IMF2 included a number of questions intended for delivery through the TTFM platform.
Following the development of the survey, it was successfully piloted in a selection of Ontario schools and subsequently
administered across the province.
In the development of measures for this survey, The Learning Partnership and The Learning Bar research teams focused
on understanding how students make critical decisions that will impact their future. The approach taken maintains
that today’s youth make these critical decisions based on five factors:
1. Their interests, aptitudes, skills and life experiences;
2. The influence of parents, family members, school staff, peers and community members;
3. Knowledge about various jobs and careers;
4. Their school experiences; and
5. Their socioeconomic backgrounds, which includes having access to the financial and knowledge resources
necessary to pursue a job or career.
In terms of authorship and survey design, IMF2 consists of two parts: 75 original Survey questions on career education
and aspirations that were co-constructed by TLP and The Learning Bar and 130 survey questions derived from pre-
existing examples on the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) platform. The questionnaire covers a broadly defined spectrum of
influences on students and seeks to foreground students’ own perceptions on the value of existing career education
programs and the job-related resources available to students. Significantly, the questions ask students to think critically
about the future value of their education and perceptions about career-related learning, as well as their development
of “soft skills,” such as “communications, project management and team work, attributes that are often acquired
through experience”.3
This study is intended to contribute to our understanding of students’ relative knowledge about employer expectations
and calls attention to the absence of an engaging program for career preparation as part of secondary students’
school experiences, despite the existence of a mandatory Grade 10 career course in Ontario. In addition, IMF2 delves
into students’ opinions about their own career education and job readiness and explores assumptions about a direct
link between skills, knowledge categories, and overall employability. It goes further still by boldly asking questions
about influences acting upon students’ aspirations and understanding. Rather than normalizing the career education
experience in Ontario, it explores a diverse range of influences.
Certain groups within Canada’s population have faced, and continue to face, significant barriers to success, including
poorly integrated new entrants and at-risk youth populations.4 Some of the questions in this study, particularly those
targeting student engagement in work-integrated learning, show potential for being applied to future studies on
education-to-employment and transitions among secondary student populations. Indeed, this case study examines
broadly the state of students’ challenges and needs in order to determine the best way to support those decisions that
decisively shape their career interests and employment future. This includes developing the skills and dispositions to
become productive and successful participants within Ontario’s highly skilled workforce.

In accordance with the data collected, this report sets out to:
• Provide an analysis of secondary school students’ career preparation experiences and the factors that influence
their post-secondary decisions.
• Examine students’ perceptions of challenges and needs, specifically issues of labour market information and
work-integrated learning and, where appropriate, connect the analysis to Canadian and global research.
• Explore how students’ access to labour market information and work-integrated experience can be enhanced
and expanded so that Ontario’s young people are prepared for the changing employment landscape.

Part 2
2.1: Students’ Aspirations for the Future
The issue of career readiness has recently taken on increasing
prominence as Canada’s graduates face an increasingly competitive Education is a key factor in both skill
and globalized job market. In that light, this analysis provides an
accumulation and, more broadly,
overview of students’ plans for post-secondary education, career
training and future work. This particular section of the report
economic development. Economists have
focuses on conveying important information about student long noted that educational skills drive
aspirations and the challenges they will face while transitioning economic growth and development.
from education to employment. — Martin Prosperity Institute, 2015
The case study began by asking students about their aspirations

for their future careers. When asked about plans after graduating
from high school (as shown in Figure 2):
• 58.3% planned to go to university What do you plan to do after you graduate
• 21.8% planned to go to college from high school? (% of Respondents)
• 5.5% planned to pursue a trade or apprenticeship 5.5% I plan to pursue a

11.8% trade or apprenticeship
program 21.8%
program
2.6%
• 2.6% planned to enter the workforce I plan to go to college
• 11.8% do not know (although it should be noted that I plan to go to

university
this group of students is mostly concentrated in Grades
58.3% I plan to enter the
9 and 10) workforce
When asked whether they know the career or job that they want I do not know
to pursue (as shown in Figure 3):
Figure 2
• 40.7% know what job or career they want to pursue
• 43.3% responded with “maybe, but it could change” Do you currently know what job or career
• 16% responded with “have not yet decided” you want to pursue? (% of Respondents)
When asked whether they will be able to obtain a job they like, 16%
students were optimistic:
• 90.4% said they are somewhat likely or very likely to
obtain a job they like 40.7%
• 67.5% said they are somewhat likely or very likely to be

able to obtain their desired job in their community 43.3%
The above data on the future plans of Ontario students is in

keeping with the sentiments expressed by students in other Yes I know what job or career I want to pursue
provinces as well as by those from cohorts before them, one Maybe, but it could change
example being a relatively low degree of interest in trade or No, I have not yet decided what job or career to pursue
apprenticeship programs.5 The next section will address students’
career preparation experiences, moving from informal to formal Figure 3
methods of learning about their future options, keeping focused
on the key question on their minds: Will the students’ aspirations
be met as they transition to post-secondary or enter the workforce?

2.2: Students’ Understanding Themselves
The world does not pay you for what you know, but for what you do with what you know.
— Andreas Schleicher, 2013
In addition to understanding students’ aspirations, it is just

as important to know how they rate themselves on four key Do you feel the courses you
career-related dimensions: course selections, interests, skills have selected meet the needs 83.1% 16.9%
development and grades achieved in meeting their career plans. of your job or career plans?
As shown in Figure 4:
Do you know what job or
• 8
3.1% of students feel the courses they have selected career plans align with your 79.0% 21.0%
meet their job or career plan needs current interests?

Do you think you are acquiring
• 7
9% of students say they know what job or career plan the skills and abilities you will
aligns with their current interests need to pursue your job or 78.0% 22.0%
career plans?
• 7
8% of students believe they are acquiring the skills
and abilities needed in their future career Do you feel your current
grades meet the needs of your 69.6% 30.4%
• 6
9.6% of students think their current grades meet the job or career plans?
needs of their job or career plans Yes No
Figure 4
To more deeply understand their own perceptions about skills How would you rate your abilities in the
development, they were asked to rate themselves on a number following areas? (% of Respondents)
of skills (see Figure 5).
Overall, Ontario secondary students rated themselves positively Thinking creatively
for skills development. But, it is important to note the following:
Thinking critically
• 40% of students rated themselves as poor or fair in
managing finances Problem-solving skills
• 36% of students rated themselves as poor or fair in Working as part

mathematics of a team
Communicating
• 38% of students rated themselves as poor or fair with others
in science
Technology skills
More than a third of the youth population surveyed rated
themselves as poor or, at best, fair in mathematics, science Managing finances
and financial literacy. If this is the case, what are the potential
Math
consequences for the economic health of youth and youth
employment? What implications does this have for Ontario’s Reading
continued economic competitiveness?
Writing
Science
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Poor Fair Good Excellent
Figure 5

The issue of skills development was further investigated by How would you rate the importance of
asking the students to rate the importance of specific skills on the following skills for your job or career
their future careers (see Figure 6). Students prioritized thinking plans? (% of Respondents)
creatively, thinking critically, problem solving, working as a team
and communicating with others as the five most important Thinking creatively
transferable skills. This confirms the correlation between what
students know and understand to be important skills with Thinking critically
the core set of skills employers consistently state they seek in

Problem-Solving skills
employees.
Working as part
Figure 7 shows a higher percentage of students rated transferable of a team
skills as very important in comparison to knowledge-based skills. Communicating
This means that a large proportion of students have internalized with others
and understood the importance these skills have for their jobs or Technology skills
career plans. Conversely, more students rated skills in reading,
writing, managing finances and technology as important, rather Managing finances
than very important. Math and science skills were, however,
Math
accorded very high importance among students, which is
consistent with their value as building blocks in developing the Reading
next generations of highly skilled workers in Ontario.
Writing
Science
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Not at all important Important

Somewhat important Very Important
Figure 6
Knowledge-Based Skills Transferable Skills

50.0% 80.0%
40.0%
60.0%
30.0%
40.0%
20.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0% 0.0%
Science Reading Math Managing Technology Writing Thinking Thinking Problem-solving Communicating Working as
finances skills critically creatively skills with others part of a team
Not at all important Somewhat important Not at all important Somewhat important
Important Very important Important Very important
Figure 7

2.3: Who Influences Students’ Career Planning?
Certain groups within the youth population face serious barriers, even when they have post-secondary
qualifications. Visible minorities fare less well in our education-to-employment system, even if they have
educational levels on par with, or exceeding, those of their peers who are born in Canada.
— McKinsey & Company, 2015
This section examines questions related to the key influences If you wanted advice about your job or
on student career planning and decision-making: Who do career plans after high school, who would you
students talk to? What is the role and impact of schools? To most likely turn to? (% of Respondents)
start, students were asked, “If you wanted advice about your
job or career plans for after high school, who would you most 7.0% 52.4% My parent(s)
likely turn to?” Students’ responses to this question are shown 2.9% My sibling(s)
in Figure 8. 4.7% Other family member
Significantly, the majority (62.8%) of students would seek 16.5% A teacher at school
advice from family members: parents (52.4%); other family A guidance counsellor
member (4.7%); and siblings (5.7%). 6.1%
One of my peers
Strikingly though, 7% of students responded that they would 4.7% Community member
5.7%
not seek anyone’s advice, while 4.7% opted to rely on the No one
advice of their peers. More worrisome, not seeking advice
Figure 8
from anyone is common among immigrant students (8.3%
vs. an overall average of 5.9%), Aboriginal-identified students
(11.9% vs. 5.3%), as well as students without clear plans
for pursuing post-secondary school education (16.6%) or
employment (11.7%) after high school.
The overwhelming reliance among students on their parents for career advice highlights the pressing need to provide
parents with accessible, engaging career information for several reasons. First, a considerable number of parents still
hold traditional notions about what career path they believe their children should pursue when entering the labour
market. Frequently, it is the belief that the university career pathway is the exclusive means to a successful future for
their children. Beyond this, parents may lack familiarity with the requirements of the labour market, other than what
they know from their own careers. Similarly, they may lack critical information about the changing nature of the labour
market their children will be entering.
Organizations such as Colleges Ontario have capitalized on this knowledge gap by launching awareness campaigns
to promote college as a training ground for jobs that do not yet exist. Additionally, in light of recent results from the
Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies that show that a large proportion of adults in the
Greater Toronto Area and Central Ontario have low levels of numeracy, literacy and/or information-processing skills,
it is worth noting that many parents may have trouble accessing and interpreting available labour market information
and sharing it with their children accurately.6
It is concerning to note that educators and professionals have only a relatively small degree of influence (22.6%) on
students with respect to their career decision-making process.
Among the 22.6% students who indicated that they will turn to someone at school for career-related advice, that
person was identified as either a guidance counsellor (16.5%) or a teacher (6.1%).
Without a doubt, schools play a vital role in providing students with reliable career education, helping them make
informed career decisions and preparing them for the changing world of work. A school’s role is critical in balancing,
supplementing or compensating for an absence of family support and influence. To provide a better picture of the

effectiveness of schools in career preparation, students were asked about availability and utilization of career education
resources and counselling in their school.7 The data suggest that high school career education resources, including
access to guidance counsellors, are available for the majority of students, however results indicate that these resources
are consistently under-utilized in high schools across Ontario.8
As shown in Figure 9, 73.7% of students reported that there is an adult at their school whom they can turn to for
advice about jobs or career plans for after high school, however only 28% of all students surveyed actually discussed
their plans with a guidance counsellor. Among those students who did, however, the satisfaction rate was high:
91.6% reported their needs as partially or fully met.
Is there an adult at Have you discussed To what extent were your

your school that you your job or career needs met?
can turn to for advice plans with a guidance
about your career? counsellor?
8.4%
Not at all met
Yes: No: Partially met 28.5%
No: Yes: 28% 45.7% 63.1%
26.3% 73.7% Fully met
Figure 9
The main point of concern arising from this set of questions is that 72% of students do not engage in career planning
discussions with a guidance counsellor. What is the reason behind this under-utilization of guidance counsellors for
career education? A tentative explanation can be found in a study by People for Education on the amount of time
guidance counsellors allocate to performing different tasks within their mandate. The report found that Ontario
secondary schools recorded an average of 381 students for every guidance counsellor, with the bottom 10% of
schools having a ratio close to 595:1. Given that guidance counsellors have a significant and strategic role in students’
career and life planning, such ratios are not sufficient to serve young students who require career planning support
throughout their secondary school years.
Likewise, the People for Education data point to a mismatch between the official expectations of secondary school
guidance counsellors to advise and support students with respect to career planning, and the actual breakdown of
time allocated towards performing various official duties in Ontario’s schools. School principals reported that guidance
counsellors devote 36% of their time to academic achievement and 25% on mental health, while transition planning
takes only 15% of the counsellors’ time.9 Considering the limited number of guidance counsellors available for
students and the complexity and extent of their duties, it is not surprising that only 28% of students reported talking
to them about career-related decision-making. This situation is in stark contrast to the cogent argument made by
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in a 2014 report about how ensuring quality
career guidance requires early action in lower secondary education, highly qualified guidance personnel and timely
and relevant data on local labour market needs.
Following up on OECD’s data that examines when career preparation should begin has led the It’s My Future 2 study
to ask what grade students thought would be ideal in which to start receiving focused career education in order to
make informed decisions about their future. The results suggest that:
• 34.2% of students preferred Grades 7 and 8
• 51.8 % of students preferred Grades 9 and 10
• 13.2% of students preferred Grades 11 and 12

In general, students are of the opinion that the critical period for focused career education should be between Grades
8 and 10 (72.1%), while Grade 12 (3.3%) is thought to be too late by almost all students.
Grade 12
3.3%
Grade 11
10.7%
Grade 10
24.4%
Grade 9
27.4%
Grade 8
20.3%
Grade 7
13.9%
Figure 10

2.4: The Role and Impact of School
Today, schools need to prepare students for more rapid social change than ever before, for future and
emerging jobs that emphasize different competencies and to use technologies that have not yet been
invented to solve social problems that we do not yet know will arise.
— Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2015
Going beyond identifying who influences students and whom they talk to about their future plans, it is just as
important to understand which of their school experiences contribute most toward their attitudes and understanding
regarding career readiness. Student career readiness, or the lack thereof, comes not only through the formal or
informal interactions with adults and peers, but through a variety of curriculum and program initiatives developed
specifically to support secondary school students, particularly in Ontario. Beyond the mandatory Grade 10 Career
Studies course, today’s Ontario secondary school students use tools such as Career Cruising and MyBlueprint, as well
as a range of optional business and entrepreneurship courses, to help guide them into post-secondary education and
the world of work.
The It’s My Future 2 survey also explored students’
Components of Career % of respondents
perceptions of their more formal, direct career
Preparation Provided by Schools who said ‘Yes”
education experiences. Overall, almost three-
quarters (72%) of respondents reported that their
Do you feel your school has prepared
schools provide some access to career information.
you for the transition from high 55.5%
That being said, this data point does not reflect school to work or further education?
the richness and diversity of career education
components that students may receive from their Does your school help you decide
schools. In order to explore this further, students what job or career plans would be a 53.6%
were asked questions about the availability of five good fit based on your interests?
key career preparation components (see Table 1).
These are: Do your teachers discuss with you
• Transition preparations to post-secondary the roles that grades will play in your 47.8%
destinations job or career plans?
• Role of interests in career planning
Has your school discussed the costs
• Role of academic achievement (grades) in associated with pursuing your job or 37.6%
career planning career plans?
• Consideration of costs in pursuing career
plans Does your school discuss the
importance of considering labour
• Consideration of labour market information 36.0%
market trends when making job or
in career planning career related decisions?
Interestingly, upon further analysis the preceding Table 1
table shows that, in spite of the diverse range of
career education options available to Ontario
secondary school students, only slightly over half
of students (55.5 %) feel that their schools have
prepared them for the transition beyond high
school, while exposure rates for the remaining four
components of career education are considerably
lower.

The data also suggests that the comprehensiveness of career education in Ontario schools is highly variable. With
slightly more than half (53.6%) of students receiving information on how to match their interests to a potential career
path, Ontario’s career education strategies do not appear to assign sufficient significance to direct, personalized career
solutions, in particular for students who are vulnerable and/or in challenging circumstances.
A remarkable 62.4% of respondents indicate that any consideration of costs when pursuing a career had not been
part of the career support they received. This is despite the understanding that the personal costs— particularly those
of a financial nature— required to invest in a career is itself a crucial part of career planning. Ontario students are not
alone in their inattentiveness to costs; similar trends are revealed in a 2015 study of Grade 12 students conducted by
the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC). For this to take place it is imperative that impactful
decisions made by students today are informed by sound, accessible, and relevant career education and labour market
information (LMI).
LMI represents a critically important source of information for parents, career educators and students. Not only do
they need to keep up-to-date on occupational information, but also sector-specific competencies must be considered
when weighing different types of employment opportunities in order to make informed career pathway choices. These
trends are echoed across the country, including recent research on Grade 12 students in the Maritimes.10
Ideally, all students would receive, as part of their
Number of Components of Career % of
schooling, most of these five career information
Information received Respondents
components. In reality, our results (see Table 2) suggest
that: None 19.1%
1 19.2%
• Slightly more than one in nine respondents
received career information that covers all five 2 19.7%
facets inquired about in the It’s My Future 2 3 17.7%
survey. 4 12.5%
• Approximately one in five received none of the All 5 11.8%
components of career information asked. Table 2
• Respondents received an average of 2.2 out
of the 5 constituent components of career
information, with a slightly higher median (2.4) among Grade 10 students, likely owing to their participation
in the half-credit career studies course, which is mandatory in Ontario.
This case-study also sets out to understand what students see as the most pressing challenges and needs of their
future and what assumptions they might make about the changing world of work. Indeed, there is limited Canadian
research on how informed students are about the future job market. The following section will examine this in greater
detail.

Part 3
Changing Employment Landscape
The way Canadians live and work is about to change profoundly. Advanced technologies are driving the
disruptive innovations that will bring significant and permanent change to Canada’s business landscape.
The impact will be felt across the country. — Deloitte, 2015
What is current research saying about the changing world of work that has implications for the career readiness of
students and youth employment? There is strong evidence to suggest that Canada’s labour market is being transformed
by disruptive changes caused by new technologies, globalization and aging demographics. The question becomes
whether the composition of the labour supply is keeping pace with the changing times and whether the education
system is well informed about changes in demand for skilled workers within the Canadian labour market.
A recent Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) report examining Canada’s talent strategy
within the new global digital economy makes some bold predictions about the increasingly inter-connected economic
relationships for new generations of workers.
The enhanced connectivity between billions of devices made possible by IoT [Internet of Things] is driving the
transformation of the digital economy into an intelligence economy. By 2020, there will be more than 50
billion devices connected online worldwide. As this rapid connectivity shapes up, the demand has intensified
for a skilled workforce that offers a fusion of technology, business, computational thinking, entrepreneurial,
creative and interpersonal skills. — Information and Communications Technology Council, 2016
This shift in demands have profound implications for students in terms of what is expected from them— even for
entry level employment—in a competitive, digitized and connected world economy. Changes from job displacement
to the creation of significantly different and new job categories will require employers and employees to anticipate and
prepare for future skills requirements, challenging as it may be to do so.
In his introduction to the 2014 report, A Battle We Can’t Afford to Lose, Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of The
Canadian Chamber of Commerce remarks:
If Canada is to successfully tackle its skills gap and ensure its economic growth, we have to give special
attention to the largest cohort of labour force entrants each year: young people. The skills issue facing youth
is the focus of great concern. Canada’s results in international education surveys have been mixed. Our highly-
educated youth may still be falling short of the skills needed for our economy to succeed. Without action,
this shortage is likely to increase in future as labour market needs continue to evolve. — The Canadian Chamber of
Commerce, 2014
In an earlier section of this report, 72% of students rated themselves as ready to enter the workforce. Given the level
of uncertainty about the pace and nature of employment changes, however, the students also identified two major
challenges they will face in their transition from school to their future careers:
• Access to labour market information (LMI) in order to make informed career pathway and planning decisions.
• Access to opportunities for work-integrated learning (WIL) while in secondary schools.
To further investigate these two challenges, students were asked specific questions regarding their use of LMI as well
as experience with WIL while in secondary schools.

3.1: Access to Labour Market Information (LMI)
Some degree of skills mismatches and shortages is inevitable in advanced economies. However the costs
of persistent mismatches and shortages are substantial. They constrain the ability for firms to innovate.
Individuals are also affected as skills mismatches can bring a higher risk of unemployment, lower wages,
lower job satisfaction, and poorer career prospects. — Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2016
Labour market information (LMI) has a very important role both in young people’s career planning and employers’
recruitment and training, as underscored by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in
2016: “Increased globalization and rapid technological change, but also demographic, migration and labour market
developments have drastically altered the structure of employment and skill requirements of occupations in most
countries in recent decades— and these trends are expected to continue in the foreseeable future.”11
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce (2014) reported that “the lack of labour market information collection,
presentation and dissemination, in particular, the absence of data on skills shortages at the local and global levels
impede political action by government and business. Such absence and poor presentation and dissemination of
available data also result in uninformed career guidance and decision-making among educators and students.”
In order for LMI to be constructively used for student career preparation, two key factors must be considered. The first
issue relates to the accessibility and orientation of LMI itself— there is a discernable lack of viable access interfaces
for LMI directly targeted toward students and their parents. This problem is multiplied by the fact that most LMI
collected in Canada is not done with students as the intended end users. What is preferable is a forward-looking
data collection and representation process that is flexible, competency- or skill-based, cross-sectoral and adaptable to
career education purposes. While this report previously touched on the occupational shortages identified within the
Canadian Occupational Projection System, these types of broad analyses can obscure the ways in which sector-specific
changes can trigger necessary shifts in skill development of young people entering the labour market. For instance,
the Information and Communications Technology Council’s (ICTC) Digital Talent: Road To 2020 And Beyond outlines
an array of “emerging high-demand areas,” such as CleanTech and intelligent retail, that will create shifts in the skills
profile needed in the future Canadian labour force.
Second, in order to alleviate the skills gap, it is critical to recognize the role of both soft skills and sector-specific
skills within the economy. Research by some organizations, such as that of the C.D. Howe Institute (2016), suggests
that the skills gap is in part a function of too many students pursuing credentials in programs with relatively low
employment rates. That being said, the proportion of employers (of those who participated in the Business Council of
Canada’s 2013 survey on skill needs), who indicated they have
difficulties recruiting entry-level employees with sufficient hard
skills is similar in number to those who faced difficulty finding
Does your school discuss the
workers with the necessary soft skills. This demonstrates that importance of considering 36% 64%
preparing young people for today’s labour market is more than labour market trends when
making job or career related
a matter of choosing the “right” field of study. Accessible and decisions?
relatable LMI should be a key part of students’ career education. Have labour market trends
This is what The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has argued influenced your job or career 40.2% 59.8%
for since making the case in 2014 that “career education lacks related decisions?
consistency and varies across educational institutions in terms
of approach, training, resources and positioning of career Do you know the average
guidance.” income of various jobs or 57.2% 42.8%
careers?
This point is substantiated in the IMF2 data (see Figure 11). Sixty- Yes No
four per cent of students reported that their career preparation
experiences did not include any consideration of labour market Figure 11

trends, and the majority had no knowledge about or access to
sources of such information. Without a clear idea of what LMI Education requirements 84.3%
is or where it can be found, it is not surprising that 59.8% of
students replied “No” when asked if “labour market trends” Skill requirements 81.7%
had influenced their job or career-related decisions.
Salary/Wages 72.0%
Students were asked to indicate the importance of various
LMI components that will help them make decisions about Job trends
(e.g. available jobs, 66.9%
future career plans. Figure 12 shows that, for them, knowing sectors that are growing)
the education and skills requirements of occupations rank Working conditions 65.3%
the highest— 84.3% and 81.7% respectively. Today’s youth
clearly recognize that having a good balance of both technical Job security 50.7%
knowledge and “soft skills” is essential when seeking
employment in different sectors of the economy. Figure 12
In response to post-secondary education program options (see

Figure 13), 67.8% of students rank information on university
programs higher than information on college programs (46%), Information on university
67.8%
while only 32.4% show an interest in non-university career programs
options. This data confirms that there is an overall tendency Information on college
46.0%
programs
toward universities as the preferred pathway to a career,
reflecting a shift in thinking in advanced economies that Information on
32.4%
non‑university career options
accords a university degree as the new standard for a “basic
education”. It remains a commonly held belief that a university Figure 13
degree provides economic and social mobility, particularly given
current employment realities and the feedback students receive
from those among their peers that have been competing for
entry level employment.
The data below reveals that students rate “competing with other job applicants” (32.5%) and “having the right
qualifications” (21.6%) as the two main challenges they will face when applying for employment.
21.6% 12.4% 17.1% 32.5% 16.3%

Having Being ready Knowing how to Competing Having limited
the right to do the look for a job with other job jobs available
qualifications actual job applicants
Another reason for the tendency to choose the university pathway is because “students are constrained in their career
decision-making by cultural stigmas associated with skilled trades and vocational education”.12 This problem can be
further compounded when schools lack up-to-date LMI that can be related to, used and learned from. With the proper
resources both students and their families can move beyond such preconceptions and view skilled trades as lucrative,
engaging and empowering careers.

3.2: Access to Work-Integrated Learning (WIL)
pprenticeships and workplace training are key to addressing high youth unemployment rates, which
A
are in part due to young graduates’ lack of work experience as they enter the labour market. Workplace
training including internship can provide youth with the experience that they need to find other
opportunities. — World Economic Forum, 2014
Having information— even the best information—is not always sufficient to plan a career path. In addition to accessible
and useful labour market information, students indicated the pressing need for more work-integrated learning (WIL)
opportunities while attending secondary school. WIL, or experiential learning, provides an excellent source of immersive
training. It helps to facilitate an understanding and familiarity with the workplace above and beyond operational
procedures. It extends to workplace practicalities and culture, the details of which are almost impossible to learn in
schools. This allows students to become more successful at discerning and evaluating their different career options
and to proactively acquire the skills necessary for entry into employment.
In 2013, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (2013) described WIL as “the process whereby students
come to learn from experiences in educational and practice settings,” and listed seven types of WIL:
Training that combines learning on the job with classroom

Apprenticeships
instruction, leading to a certificate of apprenticeship
Field Placements Practical experience in a real work setting
Academic study that alternates with paid work experience

Co-op
developed and/or approved by the shool/college/university
Internships Program-related experience in a professional work environment
Student projects to address identified community needs or

Service Learning
global issues
Applied Research Student projects that address specific business or industry-related

Projects problems
Work hours needed to obtain a licence to practise, professional

Mandatory
designation, or to register with a regulatory college/professional
Professional Practice association
Table 3

Of urgent concern, when the 14,712 students in It’s My Future 2 During the school year, did you participate in
study were asked if they participated in any experiential learning any experiential learning opportunities?
opportunities (see Figure 14), 6.6%
Only 26.3% of student respondents had participated in 26.3%
such learning during the school year. Yes
No
61.9% of those who had participated said that the
opportunity had a definitive impact upon their career It’s not available
at our school
choice.
Those stating that they had not participated in WIL accounted 67.1%
for 67.1%, with a further 6.6% replying that such opportunities

were not available where they attended school. The survey looked Figure 14
more closely at the 26.3% who had participated in WIL and asked
about the kind of experience they had.
Figure 15 shows that, among different WIL experiences, 43.3% of What was the experiential learning
opportunity you participated in?
students were co-op, 12.2% were youth apprenticeships, while
only 8% had been in internships. 8% Volunteer work
9.8%
Instead, the most frequent type of experiential learning experience 10% 47.2% Co-op placements
was volunteering (47.2%). The mandatory nature of community 12.2% Workshops
service for secondary school graduation in Ontario since 1999, J ob shadowing (e.g.
along with its widespread availability, might help explain the 31.4%
Take Our Kids to Work
Day)
prevalence of volunteering as a form of experiential learning.
Youth apprenticeship
That said, a student’s volunteer experiences may not constitute a 43.3% programs
structured form of WIL.13
34.2% Mentorships
Despite the high rate of participation in community service among Exchange programs
Ontario’s secondary students, issues remain related to the quality Internships
of volunteer experiences. In fact, this can vary widely, representing
an area of potential improvement for educational administrators, Figure 15
educators and organizations seeking volunteers. Linking a
community service with a WIL-oriented placement is a potential
area for exploration and growth as the two do not need to be mutually exclusive. Community volunteer work not only
can have a significant local impact but can be approached as an opportunity for young adults to gain a wide range of
skills that have applicability in both commercial and non-commercial contexts. On the other hand, the smaller number
of students participating in youth apprenticeships and internships is an indication that more work is necessary to
promote collaboration between education and businesses, including small- and medium-sized enterprises.
When the most immersive forms of WIL (co-op, apprenticeship programs and internships) taken to constitute the
whole, the result is not positive. Only 12% of all respondents have participated in the aforementioned kinds of
WIL, with this percentage increasing to just over a fifth (21.8%) by Grade 12 when the data is analyzed by grade.
Predictive analysis that connects WIL experience to post-secondary education choices reveals that participation in
co-op, apprenticeship programs and internships appears to predispose students toward choosing more applied post-
secondary options than those without a similar WIL experience. The 48% of students who have participated in these
programs consider attending a trade, apprenticeship or college program after secondary school, compared to roughly
a quarter (24.4%) of those who did not participate in a co-op, internship, or apprenticeship experience.
While this difference is significant, it may be reflective of secondary school co-op options being disproportionately
designed to support technical and trades education, something that can be seen, for example, in the Ontario Youth
Apprenticeship Program. Another plausible explanation is that the way schools organize academic course schedules may
pose a structural obstacle to allowing more students to benefit from a co-op, apprenticeship or internship experience.
This points to the urgent and compelling need for improvements in school conditions that enable increased student
participation in co-op, apprenticeships and internships in a variety of industries and sectors, while being informed by
accessible, accurate and relatable labour market information.14

Part 4
Recommendations
According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, since 2008 youth unemployment numbers in Ontario have
fluctuated between 16 and 17.1%. Labour market trends toward more frequent career changes means that more
workers are in periods of transition than they were several decades ago. When combined with the problem of a skills
mismatch, this makes Canadian young people much more likely to be precariously employed. This means that youth
are either more likely to be unemployed, working in jobs that are of poor quality or earn incomes that are insufficient
to cover their costs of living.
More troubling, however, is the prospect that the already-difficult process of transitioning from education to
employment will become even more so. Careful attention must be paid to ensuring that the trend toward a substantial
subset of the youth population classified as Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET), as documented by the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, does not continue in the long-term. Even young workers
with university degrees are not exempt from the possibility of precarious unemployment; for example, more than one
in five people in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area who hold a university degree are precariously employed. In
order to avoid the possibility of this long-term “scarring” due to negative work experiences, including the persistent
difficulty in finding a job, every possible effort must be explored to adequately prepare secondary school students for
a successful and personally satisfying career.
The following key themes and recommendations are a call for action with respect to the formative school experiences
that contribute positively or negatively to students’ careers and their future.
Key Themes:
• Effective career education of students requires government leadership and initiative with respect to changes
in policy, resource allocation and, where necessary, identification of organizational or procedural inefficiencies.
This must be done while ensuring that students have access to the knowledge and experiential resources
necessary to enter and thrive in an intelligence economy.
• Schools are not only central to developing students’ knowledge and career acumen, but also create conditions
of formal and informal opportunities that construct the foundation and approach upon which students build
their occupational resource networks for entry into the workforce. This is especially true for students who lack
significant support from their families and/or communities, for a variety of reasons.
• Just as it takes a village to raise a child, tomorrow’s highly skilled and talented workforce will require investment
from the community as well. It is therefore crucial that businesses, charities and not-for-profit organizations
all invest to work in partnership with education and government towards the provision of career-related
opportunities (such as work-integrated learning), for students. By working together to address employment
and career challenges facing Canadian youth, government, schools, businesses and community organizations
can foster a highly skilled and competitive Canadian workforce, a strong economy, and social and political
stability for years to come.
Recommendations for Actions:

• Rethinking and reinventing career education: The inconsistency and variance reported in how career
resources and programs are implemented hinders progress in career education in Ontario. There are, for
example, three issues that challenge the education system:
◊ the gap between policy and practice on the strategic role of guidance in students career planning;
◊ the relevance of Ontario’s mandatory Grade 10 career studies course;

◊ and the way secondary school schedules and/or bundling of courses predisposes students to pursue particular
career streams or presents barriers to different student populations, who then miss out on co-op, apprenticeship
and internship opportunities.
The issues raised by Ontario secondary students in this study should be considered in the re-tooling of career
preparation in secondary schools.
• Nurturing a strong career education resource network: While businesses tend to believe that the
responsibility for producing a young and career-ready workforce lies with the education system and/or the
government, the reality is far more complex. To reap the benefits of a talented and highly skilled workforce,
businesses will need to invest and participate in programs that enable students to experience work-integrated
learning (WIL). The participation of employers of all types, from large corporations and medium-size enterprises
to independent and non-profits is essential for providing a range of WIL opportunities to students. There are
already several promising examples that could be replicated and customized in Ontario and elsewhere to meet
unique local and regional needs. (See Appendix: Promising Models of WIL and LMI)
• Strategic support to parents and communities: Families and communities are an important part of
students’ lives, as revealed in It’s My Future 2 data, and influence students’ career decisions. With increasing
attention to the importance of LMI in informing students’ career choices, work must be undertaken to provide
accessible and relatable LMI to families and communities, especially those that may face barriers of access to
data and resources. This includes developing alternatives, such as TLP’s Real Talk app, which is now utilizing
narrative models to great effect (See Appendix: Promising Models of WIL and LMI).
• Directions for research: As improvements and innovations in career programming and curriculum delivery
are made, it is crucial to invest in measuring their impact, in particular on measures of success for vulnerable
populations such as indigenous students or students with special needs—one size does not fit all. A system of
career education must therefore be one that is flexible and has the latitude to be responsive to unique local
needs and the diverse student population that schools across Ontario serve. To be proactive and responsive,
those studies designed to measure the capacity of the career education system’s programs and resources
should serve to identify and correct any inefficiencies and gaps in meeting student needs. There should be a
careful investigation into the accessibility and relatability of customizable career information and resources,
for students and their parents.
Thanks to the 14,712 secondary students from across Ontario who participated in this study, IMF2 has enabled The
Learning Partnership to engage in a focused analysis of issues that influence the career planning of and pathways
taken by Ontario’s secondary students, a key stakeholder group of the Premier’s Highly Skilled Workforce (HSW)
strategy.

Appendix
Promising Models of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) and Labour Market

Information (LMI)
• The Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) is a school-to-work program that opens the door
for students to explore and work in apprenticeships starting in Grade 11 or Grade 12. Students have an
opportunity to become registered apprentices and work toward becoming certified in skilled trades while
completing their secondary school diplomas.
• Ontario Youth Jobs Strategy is investing $295 million over two years to help connect 30,000 youth with the
tools, experiences and entrepreneurial support they need to find employment or start their own businesses.
The strategy is helping youth reach their potential in four ways: creating job opportunities for youth across
Ontario (Youth Employment Fund); helping youth build career skills and secure industry jobs (Youth Skills
Connections); tapping into post-secondary talent to drive industry research and development and business
growth, while building students’ career skills (Youth Innovation Fund); and preparing young people to start
and run their own businesses (Youth Entrepreneurship Fund).
• Dual Credit Programs, Ontario through which students have more opportunities to earn credits that count
towards both their high school diploma and a college diploma or apprenticeship certification.
• Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM), Ontario let students focus on a career path that matches their skills
and interests while meeting the requirements of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Students receive
the SHSM red seal on their diplomas when they complete a specific bundle of eight to10 courses in the
student’s selected field, earn valuable industry certifications, including first aid and CPR qualifications, and
gain important skills on the job with employers.
• Co-Op Diploma Apprenticeship Program, Ontario combines a college diploma program and apprenticeship
training, leading to a Certificate of Qualification. Participants pursue both diploma courses and apprenticeship
in-school training in a related skilled trade.
• Experience Ontario is a two-year, $20-million pilot program that will give students across the province
valuable work experience, career coaching and mentorship in its first year. The program will encourage
graduating high school students to choose the appropriate post-secondary educational path, and help them
succeed once they enroll. Each participant will have access to a career coach to guide him or her throughout
the nine-month program. Participants attend a three-day career exploration conference, visit a post-secondary
education institution or training facility, have their college or university application fees paid for and take part
in up to three paid work placements in sectors related to their interests.
• Take Our Kids to Work (TOKW), National, The Learning Partnership is an annual program in which
Grade 9 (or equivalent) students are hosted by parents, friends, relatives, and volunteers at workplaces across
the country on the first Wednesday of November each year. The program supports career development by
helping students connect school, the world of work, and their own futures. Students explore career options
in a practical way and gain a better understanding of just how many career choices are open to them from
learning and observing first-hand industry professionals. Through the day’s experience, students understand
the importance of staying in school from learning what skills are required at the workplace.
• Real Talk, The Learning Partnership is a mobile and Web app for high school students that crowdsources
the best advice, tips and resources from young people who have just transitioned from school to work. More
than 600 individuals provide honest and unfiltered stories about their career journeys after high school. Users
can browse through hundreds of diverse career profiles, all of which include a list of resources curated by the
authors. Students can bookmark what they find useful, and connect via social media to share information
about careers that interest them, while building a digital “to-do list” of resources to help plan life after high

school. The app is available on Apple and Android platforms at no cost to students. It has been profiled as a
best new app by Apple (November 2015) and continues to be featured as “Perfect for Every Classroom” in
Apple’s education section.
• Options and Opportunities (O2), Nova Scotia is a high school program that offers students more hands-on
learning experiences with a career focus. It is designed to prepare students for successful transitions from high
school to work, to plan a career path and choose a post-secondary program. The program focuses on students
who may not be fully engaged with their learning and with school, but are prepared to commit to a new
approach to their learning. O2 provides multiple opportunities for co-operative education, where students
learn in community and workplace settings, link their in-school learning to the workplace and enhance their
employability skills.
• Partners Assisting Local Schools (PALS), New Brunswick is a program that establishes beneficial
partnerships between a school and a local business, service agencies and/or community group. Companies
in the Saint John area are paired with schools and provide support in the form of volunteers or financial
assistance. Examples of what PALS can do for schools are: providing opportunities for children to access
events, activities or field trip experiences associated with going to school; or assisting school-parent groups
to provide extras to schools, such as library books, team uniforms or playground resources beyond what the
school budget accommodates.
• CEGEP College, Quebec is a publicly funded pre-university college. A Diploma of College Studies (or Diplôme
d’études collégiales, DEC) is required for university admission in Quebec. Quebec students complete one
grade fewer than all other North American students, completing high school at Grade 11. College prepares
students for university or to enter a technical profession. These centres provide the opportunity for students
to learn applied skills and to gain more knowledge about the world of work. Most of the colleges offer two
types of programs: two-year pre-university and three-year technical. Graduates from the technical program
can also attend university if they wish after graduation.
• Career Internship Program (CIP), Windsor Park Collegiate, Winnipeg offers students the opportunity
to complete a university/college entrance program of study, build transferable soft skills, network with
professionals in a variety of fields, and develop focus and confidence for successful post-high school transitions.
CIP’s “3-R Mandates” are to: create relevant curricula that moves beyond traditional job paradigms and
skill sets; offer real experiences that expose personal passions and possibilities for future life potential; and
shape responsible attitudes that reflect positive choices and powerful impacts with people and organizations.
• Work Experience (WEX) 12, British Columbia, are work experience electives. They are work-based training
courses that function as a way for students to explore one or more career pathways, while still in secondary
school. The program is particularly useful for those students interested in a career in the trades or further
trades-based training, though the program is available across career focus areas. Students who complete
this program over the course of Grades 11 and 12 receive four credits toward their graduation. There is a
minimum 100-hour requirement, however up to 50 of those hours can be claimed through a pre‑existing
volunteer position if that position is consistent with the student’s chosen focus area. The program allows
students to apply skills they have developed in the classroom and learn new soft skills that employers look for,
including resilience, communication and showing initiative.

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The Canadian Chamber of Commerce. (2012). Canada’s Skills Crisis: What we heard. Retrieved from:
http://www.chamber.ca/download.aspx?t=0&pid=f1c0b24c-9bae-e211-8bd8-000c291b8abf
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce. (2014). A Battle We Can’t Afford to Lose: Getting Young Canadians from
education to Employment. Retrieved from:
http://www.chamber.ca/download.aspx?t=0&pid=b8baccde-be50-e411-b0ed-000c29c04ade
The Learning Partnership. (2014). Report on the Partnership Summit. Retrieved from:
http://www.thelearningpartnership.ca/what-we-do/knowledge-mobilization/research-and-insight-reports

The Learning Partnership. (2014). It’s My Future Phase 1. Retrieved from:
http://www.thelearningpartnership.ca/what-we-do/knowledge-mobilization/research-and-insight-reports
The Premier’s Highly Skilled Workforce Expert Panel. (2016). Building the Workforce of Tomorrow: A Shared Responsibility.
Retrieved from: https://files.ontario.ca/hsw_rev_engaoda_webfinal_july6.pdf
Versnel, Joan and DeLuca, Christopher and Hutchinson, Nancy L. and Hill, Alison and Chin, Peter. (2011). International
and National Factors Affecting School-To-Work Transition for At-Risk Youth in Canada: An Integrative Review. Canadian
Journal of Career Development Vol. 10, No. 1. Retrieved from:
http://cjcdonline.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/International-and-National-Factors-Affecting.pdf
World Economic Forum. (2014). Matching Skills and Labour Market Needs: Building Social Partnerships for Better Skills
and Better Jobs. Retrieved from:
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_Employment_MatchingSkillsLabourMarket_Report_2014.pdf
World Economic Forum. (2015). New Vision for Education: Unlocking the Potential of Technology. Retrieved from:
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEFUSA_NewVisionforEducation_Report2015.pdf
World Economic Forum. (2016). The Future of Jobs: Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial
Revolution. Retrieved from: http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2016/

Links to Media Publications
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/09/youth-unemployment-long-term-effects
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/sunday-review/the-world-has-a-problem-too-many-young-people.html?_r=0;
https://www.csis.org/analysis/underlying-causes-stability-and-unrest-middle-east-and-north-africa-analytic-survey-0;
http://www.post2015hlp.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Assaad-Levison-Global-Youth-Employment-Challenge-Edited-
June-5.pdf
Endnotes
1
.D. Howe Institute. (2016). Job One is Jobs: Workers Need Better Policy Support and Stronger Skills. Retrieved from:
C
https://www.cdhowe.org/sites/default/files/attachments/research_papers/mixed/e-brief_227_0.pdf; Manpower Group.
(2015). Talent Shortage Survey. Retrieved from: http://manpowergroup.ca/campaigns/talent-shortage-2015/; McKinsey
& Company. (2015). Youth in Transition: Bridging Canada’s Path from Education to Employment. McKinsey & Company
Publishing; OECD. (2014). Same but Different: School-to-work Transitions in Emerging and Advanced Economies, OECD
Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 154, OECD Publishing, Paris. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.
org/10.1787/5jzbb2t1rcwc-en
2
rahn, H., & Taylor, A. (2007). ‘Streaming’ in the 10th grade in four Canadian provinces in 2000. Ottawa, Canada:
K
Statistics Canada. Retrieved from: http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/81-004-XIE/2007002/stream.htm
3
ntario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development Website. Retrieved from: http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/
O
labourmarket/ojf/skillsNecessary.html
4
J oan Versnel, Christopher DeLuca, Nancy L. Hutchinson, Allison Hill, Peter Chin, International and National Factors
Affecting School-To-Work Transition for At-Risk Youth in Canada: An Integrative Review Vol. 10, No. 1 (Canadian Journal
of Career Development, 2011). Retrieved from:
http://cjcdonline.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/International-and-National-Factors-Affecting.pdf
5
Berger et al. (2009)
6
E ssential Skills Ontario, PIAAC in Ontario: An Analysis of Cognitive Skills in the Province (Toronto: Queen’s Printer for
Ontario), 4-7.
7
F or further information on this topic please consult, Ontario Ministry of Education. (2006). The Ontario Curriculum
Grades 9 and 10: Guidance and Career Education Toronto: Queen’s Printer for Ontario, esp. pp.5 on “Roles and
Responsibilities in Guidance and Career Education”; pp.7-10 (for an overview of curriculum expectations); pp.12-18
(for templates and standards used in evaluating students);, and pp.19-20 (for information on pedagogical approaches
to experiential learning, cooperative education and program development leading to a “Specialist High-Skills Major”).
For further information on Grades 11 and 12 please see, Ontario Ministry of Education. (2006). The Ontario Curriculum
Grades 11 and 12: Guidance and Career Education. Toronto: Queen’s Printer for Ontario, esp. pp. 7-11 (covering
the Designing Your Future (GWL3O) career-planning course in Grade 11); Navigating the Workplace (GLN4O) and
Advanced Learning Strategies (GLS4O), both in Grade 12. Emphasis is given to providing career education guidance
that, the curriculum argues, is particularly well suited to programs that develop pathways to apprenticeships or
workplace destinations, including the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) or programs leading to a Specialist
High‑Skills Major.
8
F or a contemporary Canadian perspective see, Canadian Career Development Foundation. (2015). Career Education
in Atlantic Canada: Research & Recommendations. Ottawa: CCDF, esp. p.4 (Career development education); pp. 55-
59 (Describing a step-by-step implementation of a plan to replace the older model); For a cross-border comparison,

useful for demonstrating the longevity of this issue please see, Sheehy, Kelsey. (2012). Report: High School Guidance
Counselors Underutilized. USNews.com, 2012-11-30. Retrieved from: http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/
articles/2012/11/30/report-high-school-guidance-counselors-underutilized
9
P eople for Education, Ontario’s guidance counsellors: Spread thinly in an environment of growing expectations (Toronto:
People for Education, 2016), 4.
10
Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission, Higher Education Expectations: The View from Grade 12
11
ECD, Getting Skills Right: Assessing and Anticipating Changing Skill Needs (Paris: Organisation for Economic
O
Co‑operation and Development, 2016), 26.
12
T he Canadian Chamber of Commerce. (2014). A Battle We Can’t Afford to Lose: Getting Young Canadians from
education to Employment, 13.
13
It should be noted here that “volunteer work” is not a reference to the mandated community service programs
instituted by the Ontario government in 1999. Indeed, early studies on the impact of this program, such as the one
published at the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy (LISPOP) in 2007, can argue very little except
that the experience of volunteering during high school makes students somewhat more likely to do so again after high
school but otherwise had almost no impact upon predicting their subsequent levels of either political engagement or
participation in community-based groups or activities. See, Mark S. Pancer et al. (2007). The Impact of High School
Mandatory Community Service Programs on Subsequent Volunteering and Civic Engagement. Laurier Institute for the
Study of Public Opinion and Policy (LISPOP) Wilfrid Laurier University (2007). Retrieved from:
http://sectorsource.ca/sites/default/files/resources/files/WLU_MandatoryVolunteering_Feb07_2007.pdf
14
F or more information on established work-integrated learning structures and indicators currently in use please see;
Canadian Association for Co-operative Education. (2012). Formative and Summative Assessment for Work Term and
Performance. CAFCE. Retrieved from: http://www.cafce.ca/cgi/page.cgi/_article.html/_Coop_Best_Practices/Formative_
and_Summative_Assessment_for_Work_Term_and_Performance. For a list of best practices and an online Co-op
Program Directory see: http://www.cafce.ca/tips-techniques.html and http://www.cafce.ca/coop-program-directory.html

For questions regarding this report, survey and methodology please contact:
Policy & Knowledge Mobilization Department, The Learning Partnership
45 Sheppard Ave. East, Suite 400, Toronto, Ontario, M2N 5W9
Tel: 416.440.5100 1.800.790.9113
Email: PKM@thelearningpartnership.ca
The following people at The Learning Partnership contributed to this report:

Gen-Ling Chang, Director, Research & Equity
Negin Vatandoost, Policy & Research Analyst, Equity & Education
James Wallace, Policy & Research Analyst, Socioeconomics & Education
Jacqueline Lambert, Policy & Research Analyst, Knowledge Economy & Education
Todd Julie, Policy & Research Analyst, Innovation & Education
Acknowledgment
Gerry Connelly, Special Advisor, Education Policy for contributions to the design of the study
The Learning Bar for its partnership in the data collection
Please cite this report in the following manner:

The Learning Partnership (2016). It’s My Future 2: Changing World Building Careers. Toronto.
Published November 2016

CHANGING WORLD,
BUILDING CAREERS
It’s My Future 2: Student Voices Across Ontario
Copyright © 2016 The Learning Partnership. All rights reserved
The Learning Partnership

National office: Toronto
45 Sheppard Ave. East, Suite 400
Toronto, ON, M2N 5W9
Tel.: 416 440 5100 1 800 790 9113
Fax: 416 482 5311
Email: info@thelearningpartnership.ca
Website: thelearningpartnership.ca
Charitable Registration # 140756107RR0001

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The Learning Partnership Report | 3

The Ontario case study.........................................................................................6

2.1: Students’ aspirations for the future...............................................................9

2.2: Students’ understanding themselves.............................................................10

2.3: Who influences students’ career planning?....................................................12

2.4: The role and impact of school.......................................................................15

Changing employment landscape........................................................................17

3.1: Access to Labour Market Information (LMI)..................................................18

3.2: Access to Work-Integrated Learning (WIL).....................................................20

Links to Media Publications:.................................................................................29

4 | Changing World, Building Careers

The Learning Partnership Report | 5

Immigration Status Aboriginal Status Grade

19.8% 25.7% 26.4%

80.2% 84.2% 21.8% 26.1%

Born in Canada Aboriginal I choose not to 9 11

6 | Changing World, Building Careers

The Learning Partnership Report | 7

8 | Changing World, Building Careers

The case study began by asking students about their aspirations

• 5.5% planned to pursue a trade or apprenticeship 5.5% I plan to pursue a

• 11.8% do not know (although it should be noted that I plan to go to

• 67.5% said they are somewhat likely or very likely to be

The above data on the future plans of Ontario students is in

The Learning Partnership Report | 9

In addition to understanding students’ aspirations, it is just

meet their job or career plan needs current interests?

• 36% of students rated themselves as poor or fair in Working as part

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Poor Fair Good Excellent

10 | Changing World, Building Careers

the core set of skills employers consistently state they seek in

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Not at all important Important

Knowledge-Based Skills Transferable Skills

The Learning Partnership Report | 11

12 | Changing World, Building Careers

Is there an adult at Have you discussed To what extent were your

The Learning Partnership Report | 13

14 | Changing World, Building Careers

The Learning Partnership Report | 15

16 | Changing World, Building Careers

The Learning Partnership Report | 17

18 | Changing World, Building Careers

In response to post-secondary education program options (see

21.6% 12.4% 17.1% 32.5% 16.3%

The Learning Partnership Report | 19

Training that combines learning on the job with classroom

Field Placements Practical experience in a real work setting

Academic study that alternates with paid work experience

Internships Program-related experience in a professional work environment

Student projects to address identified community needs or

Applied Research Student projects that address specific business or industry-related

Work hours needed to obtain a licence to practise, professional

20 | Changing World, Building Careers

such learning during the school year. Yes

for 67.1%, with a further 6.6% replying that such opportunities

The Learning Partnership Report | 21

Recommendations for Actions:

22 | Changing World, Building Careers

The Learning Partnership Report | 23

Born in Canada Aboriginal I choose not to 9 11

• 5.5% planned to pursue a trade or apprenticeship 5.5% I plan to pursue a

• 11.8% do not know (although it should be noted that I plan to go to

Poor Fair Good Excellent

Not at all important Important

such learning during the school year. Yes