WorkShoppers Online: Youth

Youth

2007.06.16

School's community-linked trades training gives youth a leg up to better-paying jobs.

Fort St. John, a city in an area with a huge need for qualified tradespeople, is dead serious about solving the problem. And the solution starts right at its local high school. Source.

2007.06.16 in Demographics, Education, Skills shortages, Trades, Trends, Youth | Permalink

2007.05.26

Safety precautions part of the job, say young workers

Even as WorkSafeBC prepares to launch a campaign to quell what it sees as a startling increase in construction industry injuries, concrete rigger Nigel Carter is happy to be working on his particular jobsite. Source.

2007.05.26 in Health, Trades, Workplace, Youth | Permalink

2007.05.24

Drawing youth to farming

The B.C. government has invested $300,000 in a student program it hopes will attract youth to the business of farming, give them on-the-job experience and bridge the gap between city and country. The Agriculture and Lands Ministry has placed 16 post-secondary students from B.C. in the Summer Extension Assistant Program, where they will participate in agricultural projects and community outreach activities in various areas of the province, with home bases in Prince George, Williams Lake, Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Kamloops, Kelowna, Smithers and Duncan. Source.

2007.05.24 in Youth | Permalink

2007.03.17

ITA's Training Trailer

In an effort to alleviate the shortage of skilled trades workers in the province, the Industry Training Authority (ITA) Friday showcased its new Trade Routes unit, a large-scale trailer that doubles as a classroom. The fully equipped trailer will travel to remote areas of the province to give welders, electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, steam-fitters and millwrights the mandatory classroom time they need to get their ticket. The 16-metre truck-trailer, purchased for $1.5 million by the Ministry of Economic Development, folds out width-wise in six minutes to make a large classroom that can accommodate 12 students and their equipment. The self-contained unit runs on diesel generators, and travels with a supply trailer which carries the tools and equipment the tradespeople require.

"The north [of B.C.] is sparsely populated and they have a huge amount of economic activity with the mines, the oil, the gas, the potential pipelines, the potential refurbishment of Alcan," said Clewes. "They're going to need to pull from local labour, or bring people in from other parts of the province and the country.

Demand is high for the travelling classroom. For the next two months, it will visit high schools and communities in the northern part of the province. After the demonstration period, the unit has been booked solid for technical training for 18 months, beginning in the Nass Valley region of northwestern B.C. Full story here.

2007.03.17 in Current Affairs, Skills shortages, Trades, Youth | Permalink

2007.03.09

Unemployment slips to 6.1%

Thanks to the addition of 14,000 new jobs in February, Canada’s unemployment rate dipped to 6.1 per cent, down from 6.2 the month before, Statistics Canada reported on Friday. Employment has been on the rise since August 2006 with average monthly gains of 42,000.

A quick look at February unemployment (previous month in brackets):

Unemployment rate: 6.1 per cent (6.2)
Number unemployed: 1,084,000 (1,096,500)
Number working: 16,743,500 (16,729,300)
Youth (15-24 years) unemployment: 11.0 per cent (11.7)
Men (25 plus) unemployment: 5.3 per cent (5.3)
Women (25 plus) unemployment: 4.9 per cent (4.9)

Here's what happened provincially (previous month in brackets):

- Newfoundland 14.3 (15.4)
- Prince Edward Island 10.1 (10.7)
- Nova Scotia 7.4 (7.8)
- New Brunswick 6.9 (8.1)
- Quebec 7.8 (7.7)
- Ontario 6.3 (6.4)
- Manitoba 4.3 (4.6)
- Saskatchewan 4.0 (4.1)
- Alberta 3.5 (3.3)
- British Columbia 4.0 (4.3)

Full article here.

2007.03.09 in Demographics, Statistics, Work Search, Youth | Permalink

2007.03.07

Statistics Canada

Statistics available by subject:

2007.03.07 in Aboriginal, Demographics, Legal Matters, Research, Statistics, Trades, Youth | Permalink

Plan to protect vulnerable children and teens

British Columbia's new children's advocate is calling for a special non-partisan plan to be put in place to help monitor vulnerable youngsters. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a former Saskatchewan judge, is overseeing the establishment of offices in Victoria, Vancouver and Prince George and she intends to hire about 30 people. She said her office will be advocating for the 9,500 to 10,000 children and teens in care or custody. Full article here.

2007.03.07 in Youth | Permalink

2006.12.16

Sex-trade workers - not a "job of choice"

There is one thing that everybody involved in the debate over prostitution and human trafficking agrees on: Change is needed to protect women and children from predators. The controversy comes first in defining predator, then over what kind of protection is needed as is evidenced by this week's report(s) of the parliamentary subcommittee on solicitation. Many women and groups representing them define predators as all men who buy sexual services. They define all forms of work in the sex trade as violence against women. Full article here.

2006.12.16 in Youth | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

2006.10.14

What direction should you take?

If you are considering post-secondary education and are unsure of what direction to take, this assessment can help you identify your skills, abilities and interests --- a first step before you start researching specific jobs or academic/training programs. Assessment Test

Source.

2006.10.14 in Youth | Permalink