Youth need the opportunity to develop good working habits, gain experience for their resumes and be supported in accessing work. The main issue for youth in this economy is being able to access entry level jobs in all sectors when they do not have the experience to compete. Entrepreneurship support is also important for those who want to start their own businesses but they need direct opportunities to sell their stuff and develop their businesses. Real world, supported experience is a must. Our youth volunteer led cafe offers opportunities for young people to get this experience through work experience by volunteering and providing a space from which they can run their own business. The young people call it a 'job with training wheels' and see it as crucial to improving their future employment opportunities. Local businesses are also taking the cafe and the youth working there seriously given it's increasing success.

there is a lack of enterprise knowledge for youth to adequately make informed decisions about the enterprises they want to open up. the issue is that youth are not given the opportunity to learn through training(hands on training) about the careers, business they want to open up. We are lacking employment placements for youth as they are only 4 avenues that youth can gain employment , tropicana Summer jobs, TDSB, TCDSB focus on youth, province intern opps. and weith teh restructuring of employment ontario , youth are going to be competing with adults for subsidy placement limiting the number of opportunity they can access to gain skills and experience. i definetly echo a incubator/hub that has good infrastructure to support the development of sustainable employment through enterprise development in ontario. there are a lot of young entrepreneurs in ontario that need support . youth that want to develop their ideas are not given the opportunity to learn about the industry they want to get into before they get into it. 80% of new business fail with in 2 years , just imagine youth who face multiple barriers trying to open their own business. we need to invest in the learning aspect of our young people so they have the soloid foundation they need to make informed decisions

The main barriers for youth employment in Canada are:

1) Lack of confidence, knowledge of opportunities and role models

2) Agism in the work place

3) Lack of quality training opportunities for youth after high school

Ontario needs a provincial youth employment policy that will give direction to the numerous organizations working to promote youth empowerment and employment. Additionally, an umbrella organization should be created that helps coordinate the actions of various stakeholders, such as youth-employment organizations (Talent Egg), funders (OTF), and politicians. This organization would also be the voice of youth in Ontario and aim towards a strong media presence to sensitize the population towards youth issues.

In order to address the issues listed above, more co-op and youth employment opportunities must be made available to high school graduates, whether they are pursuing academic studies, professional studies, or are unsure about their future. Early and meaningful employment can be extremely rewarding for youth and greatly increase their confidence. There should be a tendency towards giving youth positions of responsibility rather than "stapling" jobs.

When many older workers have slowly worked their way up, it is understandable that some might be hesitant to see too many young people in important positions in the work place. However, it may be possible to work with employers to create mentorships between older and younger employees that would be rewarding for both. While work places are changing rapidly, a system of mutual respect and understanding can help both younger and older employees to feel comfortable.

These, and many other issues, could be addressed by this youth-serving umbrella organization, working with the provincial youth policy as a guideline and in collaboration with other youth-serving organizations across the country.

A provincial non-profit organization representing all the youth economic development and advisory committees needs to be established. Youth across the province must be UNIFIED and must have ONE VOICE. The organization would develop policy positions and reports on economic development issues facing youth, including; job placements, increase in co-op opportunities, summer employment, funding and much more. Furthermore, a mechanism needs to be in place to obligate the Province to consult with the youth organization on matters affecting youth economic development opportunities. This would set out a commitment to develop a framework for collaborative decision-making and actions towards meaningful economic development opportunities for youth across the province! This framework would also ensure that the leaders of tomorrow have a “seat at the provincial table”.

We are establishing an integrated set up / inubator where youth could learn skills and develop competencies which take them beyond employability, and offers opportunity of ownership and participation in decision making in their enterprises. The enterprises we select will have social roots and markets.

For us, this concept of social economy comprises of business models and opportunities combined in community based enterprises in the service sector. These enterprises would be owned and operated by a group of 7 to 15 youth with supplementary skills and strong team spirit, leading to mutually supportive schdeules to facilitate their educational and family commitments.

The groups thus formed would be provided with training, mentoring and coaching so that during the incubation they learn all the necessary steps to become successful, confident and prudent entrepreneurs and professionals.

The incubators would be set up in the neighourhoods of these youth, and initially we would bring them business from our contacts through preferred procurement and subsequently these enterperises could build upon these contracts to grow their business and earning base.