Youth Job Connection: General Qs and As for Staff and Service Providers

Program Overview

What is Youth Job Connection?

Youth Job Connection is a new youth employment program that launched in October, 2015 to serve youth aged 15 to 29 who experience multiple and/or complex barriers to employment by providing more intensive supports beyond traditional job search and placement opportunities. These include:

    • Paid pre-employment training to promote job-readiness;
    • Job matching and paid job placements, with placement supports for participants and hiring incentives for employers;
    • Mentorship services;
    • Education and work transitions supports.

Youth Job Connection consists of two components:

  • A year-round component, which provides intensive employment supports for youth aged 15 to 29 who are not in employment, education or training and who experience multiple barriers to employment.
  • A summer component, which provides summer, part-time and after-school job opportunities for high school students, aged 15 to 18, who are facing challenging life circumstances and may need support transitioning between school and work.

Youth Job Connection is one program in a new, more comprehensive and targeted suite of employment programs and services the Ontario government has implemented to more effectively help young people across a broader spectrum of needs improve their skills and find work. This includes Youth Job Connection, Youth Job Connection: Summer, Youth Job Link and the existing Employment Service.

The launch of this new mix of programs is part of the Ontario government’s major reinvestment in the Youth Jobs Strategy, as well as our initiative to modernize and transform our employment and training programs and services to make them evidence-based, better coordinated, more targeted and more effective for people across the province, including young people.

How much funding has the Ontario government allocated to Youth Job Connection?

The Ontario government is investing over $160 million in the first two years to help more than 27,000 youth access the program.

This funding is part of our ongoing commitment to the renewed Youth Jobs Strategy, announced in Budget 2015 and reaffirmed in Budget 2016, which is investing an additional $250 million over two years to provide employment and skills development opportunities for up to 150,000 youth.

What are the responsibilities of employers participating in Youth Job Connection?

Employers are responsible for paying participants at a rate of minimum wage or higher for the duration of the placement, and providing adequate supervision and training during the placement period.

Is there a risk that Youth Job Connection could incentivize youth to drop out of high school for employment?

No, the design of Youth Job Connection is not intended to incentivize youth to leave school. The program has two components:

  • The year-round component provides intensive employment supports for youth aged 15 to 29 who are not in employment, education or training and who experience multiple barriers to employment. Youth aged 15 to 18, who would normally be in high school, must have been legally excused from attending in order to be eligible to participate in this component.
  • Youth Job Connection: Summer provides summer, part-time and after school job placements during the school year for high school students, aged 15 to 18, who face challenging life situations, and who, in the case of summer job placements, intend to return or access postsecondary education after their participation in the program. An important focus of this component is to keep students in school.

Year-Round Component

What supports does the year-round component of Youth Job Connection provide for Ontario’s multi-barriered youth?

The year-round component serves youth aged 15 to 29 who are not in employment, education or training and who experience multiple and/or complex barriers to employment.

It provides intensive employment supports beyond traditional job search and placement opportunities, tailored to meet individual needs.

Supports include: 

  • Assessment of client needs: Youth meet with a service provider to clarify their employment goals and develop employment service plans, with activities and services designed to meet those goals.
  • Pre-employment services: Youth participate in a minimum of 60 hours of paid pre-employment workshops designed to improve job readiness and life skills.
  • Job matching, placements and employer hiring incentives: Youth participate in paid job placements up to six months in duration. Throughout the placement, they have access to one-on-one job coaching support from the service provider, as well as networking and mentorship from members of the community, employers and past program participants.
  • Education and work transitions support: Youth have access to one-on-one ongoing career coaching, leadership and networking opportunities, including the option of returning to the program as a youth mentor.

What sort of youth can apply to participate in the year-round component of Youth Job Connection? What are some of the eligibility criteria? 

The year-round component is intended to help youth facing multiple and/or complex barriers to employment resulting from some combination of challenging life circumstances.

This includes, for example, youth who may be living in poverty, have limited or lack of labour market experience, have low levels of education or literacy, be in conflict with the law, or have low motivation. It also includes youth who may be socially marginalized, Aboriginal, living with disabilities or mental health issues, or recent immigrants.

Youth aged 15 to 29 can apply to participate if they are unemployed, not in full-time training or education, an Ontario resident, and eligible to work in Canada. Youth aged 15 to 18 who would normally be in school must also have been legally excused from attending high school to be eligible to participate in daytime work placements.

To ensure participation of and access for youth who are most in need of support, the service provider is required to assess potential participants using a defined set of suitability criteria.

What financial supports are available to participants and employers participating in the year-round component of Youth Job Connection?

Up to $7,500 per client is available for a combination of pre-employment stipends, youth job placement supports, training/skills enhancement supports, and employer placement incentives. The amount provided for each type of support is determined by the service provider on a case-by-case basis, according to defined requirements and depending on the needs of the youth participant and employer.

Financial incentives for employers may be negotiated between the service providers and the employer to encourage employers to provide placements and offset expenses incurred by the employer during the placement.

The need for and amount of the incentive will be negotiated based on the skill level and complexity required for the placement, as well as the length of any on-the-job training required.

Summer Component

How does Youth Job Connection: Summer differ from the year-round component?

Like the year-round component, Youth Job Connection: Summer (YJCS) offers intensive supports beyond traditional job search and placement opportunities, tailored to meet individual needs.

However, it is designed specifically to support high school students, aged 15 to 18, who are facing challenging life circumstances and may need support transitioning between school and work.

While YJCS placements are expected to take place during the summer months, service providers can help eligible youth with part-time placements outside of school hours during the school year.

What supports does Youth Job Connection: Summer provide for Ontario’s multi-barriered youth?

Youth Job Connection: Summer offers more intensive supports, beyond traditional job search and placement opportunities, tailored to meet individual needs.

Supports include: 

  • Assessment of client needs: Youth meet with a service provider to clarify their summer and long-term education, employment and career goals and develop employment service plans, with activities and services designed to meet those goals.
  • Pre-employment services: Youth participate in a minimum of 20 hours of paid pre-employment workshops designed to improve job readiness and life skills.
  • Job matching, placements and employer hiring incentives: Youth participate in a paid job placement during the summer, or part-time after school or on weekends during the school year. Throughout the placement, participants have access to one-on-one job coaching support from the service provider.
  • Education and work transitions support: Youth have access to transitions support after completing a placement, including advice on part-time or seasonal job opportunities during the school year, and career exploration activities focused on the longer term or future employment.

Can Youth Job Connection: Summer participants continue their summer placement into the school year?

There is flexibility for the service provider to extend a job placement past the summer on a part-time basis. The maximum allowable period for a summer job placement is eight weeks; however, placements can extend into the school year as long as they do not exceed 10 hours per week, overlap with school hours, or take more than six months to complete.

What supports can Youth Job Connection: Summer participants access during the school year?

While placements are expected to take place during the summer months, with a maximum allowable placement period of eight weeks, eligible youth participants can access all program components throughout the school year as well, including participating in a part-time job placement during the evenings and/or on weekends.

Placements extending into the school year must not exceed 10 hours per week, overlap with school hours, or take more than six months to complete.

What sort of youth can apply to participate in Youth Job Connection: Summer? What are some of the eligibility criteria?

The summer component of Youth Job Connection is intended to help youth aged 15 to 18 who have a lower likelihood of finding summer or part-time work on their own due to challenging life circumstances that place them at higher risk of poor education and work transitions compared to other groups of youth.

Youth aged 15 to 18 are eligible to participate in the program if they are high school students or, in the case of summer job placements, intend to return to high school or access postsecondary education after their placement. Participants must also be Ontario residents and eligible to work in Canada.

To ensure participation and access for youth who are most in need of support, the service provider is required to assess potential participants using a defined set of suitability criteria.

What financial supports are available to Youth Job Connection: Summer participants and employers?

Up to $2,500 per client is available for a combination of pre-employment stipends, youth summer job placement supports, and employer placement incentives. The amount allocated to each type of support is determined by the service provider on a case-by-case basis, according to defined requirements and depending on the needs of the youth participant and employer.

Financial incentives for employers may be negotiated between the service providers and the employer to encourage employers to provide placements and offset expenses incurred by the employer during the placement.

The need for and amount of the incentive will be negotiated based on the skill level and complexity required for the placement, as well as the length of any on-the-job training required.

Program Access

How can potential participants and employers find out about Youth Job Connection and how to access the program in their community?

Using their highly developed networks, service providers are responsible for recruiting eligible youth and employers to participate in the program.

Brochures are also available on the Employment Ontario Partners’ Gateway to help service providers promote Youth Job Connection.

Program information, including where to access the program, is also available to the general public through the Employment Ontario website.

In addition, the Employment Ontario Contact Centre, available at 1-800-387-5656, offers up-to-date information on employment and training services in Ontario.

How can I find out which service providers deliver Youth Job Connection?

Service provider contact information is available through the Employment Ontario website.

How can employers apply to participate in Youth Job Connection? What are some of the criteria?

Using their highly developed networks, service providers are responsible for recruiting eligible employers to participate in the program.

Service providers must select appropriate employers using a defined set of eligibility and suitability criteria that includes factors such as whether the employer offers a placement that is consistent with the client’s goals, and/or has demonstrated positive employment outcomes for youth who have participated in previous job placements.

How is the government ensuring that Youth Job Connection is accessible to all youth across Ontario, given that there are a reduced number of service providers delivering this program as compared to the former Youth Employment Fund?

The government is committed to ensuring youth employment programs are accessible to all Ontario youth, while also ensuring public funds are spent effectively and services are targeted to where they are needed.

The program is delivered by qualified service providers within all Consolidated Municipal Service Manager (CMSM) and District Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB) areas across Ontario.

Where greater distances exist between service providers, organizations have been contracted to deliver itinerant (visiting) services to ensure all eligible youth can access Youth Job Connection within a reasonable distance.

The ministry will continue to evaluate the needs of clients and communities across the province and adjust funding allocations and client targets where appropriate. This will ensure service providers can continue to meet evolving needs in the communities they serve.

How is the government ensuring the needs of Francophone and Aboriginal communities are met through the Youth Job Connection program?

The government is committed to ensuring new youth programs are accessible to all Ontario youth, including Francophone and Aboriginal youth.

To meet this commitment, the ministry conducted a comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of geography, labour market information, service provider capacity and demographic characteristics to ensure community needs are met.

Where need has been identified, the service delivery network includes service providers with French language capacity and experience and expertise serving Aboriginal clients.

In addition, in winter 2015 the ministry engaged extensively with key stakeholders in the employment and training system on youth employment programming. We obtained feedback from employers, municipalities, service providers, umbrella groups and Aboriginal partners to ensure Youth Job Connection would meet the needs of a range of client populations.

Service Provider Selection

How did the government decide which organizations would deliver Youth Job Connection?

The ministry used a targeted approach to selecting service providers to deliver Youth Job Connection. Service providers were chosen from among organizations with existing contracts with the Ontario government to deliver employment services for youth, including organizations who delivered the Youth Employment Fund and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services’ Jobs for Youth program.

To determine the most effective service delivery network and ensure adequate service coverage across Ontario, the ministry conducted a comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of geography, labour market information, demographic characteristics and service provider capacity (including demonstrated ability to effectively manage program funds in compliance with their agreement(s)).

Service providers were also selected based on a proven track record of achieving positive outcomes for youth and a strong history of participation in outreach to key partners such as employers, schools and other community service providers.

Where need has been identified, the service delivery network also includes service providers with French language capacity and experience and expertise serving Aboriginal clients.

Why didn’t the government use a competitive process to select service providers to deliver Youth Job Connection?

Employment Ontario Service providers are required to report extensively on their performance to the ministry. This allowed the ministry to use relevant criteria to choose the service providers that would best meet client needs for this targeted program, without requiring service providers to go through a lengthy administrative process to access funding.

To determine the most effective service delivery network, the ministry conducted a comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of geography, labour market information, demographic characteristics and service provider capacity (including demonstrated ability to effectively manage program funds in compliance with their agreement(s)).

Service providers were also selected based on a proven track record of achieving positive outcomes for youth and a strong history of participation in outreach to key partners such as employers, schools and other community service providers.

Where need has been identified, the service delivery network also includes service providers with French language capacity and experience and expertise serving Aboriginal clients.

Why weren’t all existing Employment Service providers invited to deliver Youth Job Connection?

The government is committed to ensuring all young people across Ontario obtain the highest quality of service to meet their career and educational goals, while also ensuring public funds are spent effectively and services are targeted to where they are needed.

In order to meet this commitment and determine the most effective service delivery network, the ministry conducted a comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of geography, labour market information, demographic characteristics and service provider capacity (including demonstrated ability to effectively manage program funds in compliance with their agreement(s)).

Service providers were also selected based on a proven track record of achieving positive outcomes for youth and a strong history of participation in outreach to key partners such as employers, schools and other community service providers.

Does a targeted approach to service provider selection mean some regions get more support than others? I’ve heard a smaller percentage of service providers are delivering the program in Central Ontario.

The ministry considered geographic distribution in selecting service providers to ensure young people can access Youth Job Connection close to home.

In some more densely populated areas of the province, where service providers are closer together, a smaller percentage of service providers was selected to deliver the program. However, each region was given overall funding to address the needs of its local youth population’s size, rate of unemployment and local distribution.

Where greater distances exist between selected service providers, organizations have been contracted to deliver itinerant (visiting) services, to ensure all eligible youth can access Youth Job Connection within a reasonable distance.

The ministry will continue to evaluate the needs of clients and communities across the province and adjust funding allocations and client targets where appropriate. This will ensure service providers can continue to meet evolving needs in the communities they serve.

Policy Direction

Why is the government shifting its focus to serving different groups of youth with different services?

The shift in focus invests the government’s resources where they are most needed, ensures all youth who need employability supports get the appropriate level of intervention based on their needs, and helps support the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Through a series of consultations to inform the design of new programs, we heard from many stakeholders that our youth employment and training services should target young people across a broader spectrum of needs.

Research shows that youth facing significant barriers to employment require more intensive and longer-term supports, such as pre-employment and job readiness supports, job placements and ongoing coaching. Youth with fewer barriers may only require lower intensity employment supports such as job search assistance and access to targeted labour market information to support their choice of career path. 

Why has the government made this type of youth employment programming a priority?

Research shows that youth facing multiple barriers to employment need more intensive and longer-term employment supports, such as pre-employment and job readiness supports, job placements and ongoing coaching, to achieve success in today’s competitive job market.

Building on the best practices of the Youth Employment Fund, Jobs for Youth and other employment programs for young people, Youth Job Connection will ensure youth facing multiple and/or complex barriers to employment have more opportunities to build the skills they need to get ahead.

In addition, this program supports the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy and meets the government’s commitment focus resources on those who need them most.

What is the government doing to support youth who are not facing significant barriers to employment but still need assistance transitioning to the labour market?

The Ontario government launched Youth Job Link (YJL) in spring 2016, which is designed to help youth, including students, aged 15 to 29, who do not face significant barriers to employment but could benefit from some extra help to plan their careers and transition to the labour market.

YJL is integrated into the Resource and Information component of the Employment Service, but features expanded, youth-focused offerings including career exploration and career management workshops as well as job search, readiness and matching assistance.

Youth may also access the Employment Service, which already helps 70,000 youth per year on average and will continue to provide services and supports to youth who may be facing some barriers to employment and may benefit from assisted supports.

In addition, in 2015-16, the government invested an additional $25 million in the Employment Service to ensure a high level of service to youth with all levels of need. This funding will help more youth as we transition to the new suite of youth employment programming.