CSI provides a home and community to Canada’s social innovators who are working to put people and planet first, and all those entrepreneurs and trailblazers have to start somewhere. We’re thrilled to highlight some of our members who are working with youth to help grow our future leaders in honour of World Youth Skills Day.
The United Nations observes World Youth Skills Day to “celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.” Below, we’ve rounded up some of our members who are doing this important work and asked them why they feel supporting youth training is fundamental.
Girls E-Mentorship
(GEM), a CSI Annex Member, supports young women on their journey to leadership roles. GEM believes that “every girl deserves equal opportunity to develop professional skills, pursue higher education and build successful career paths.” Learn more about the GEM Mentorship program here.
“Girls E-Mentorship is a charity that provides research-based mentorship to racialized high school girls from low-income communities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). GEM is a platform for providing every girl with the opportunity to achieve success. GEM's goals are to build leadership and professional skills, increase economic opportunities, and inspire all girls to reach their full potential.”
Tungasuvvingat Inuit, a CSI Spadina Member, is an Inuit-specific not-for-profit provider that runs many different programs that offer social support, employment and education assistance, cultural activities, and more. Their Youth in Transition program supports Inuit youth who are or were in extended care with an Ontario CAS and need support as they transition into adulthood and independence.
CSI Community Member CAGIS (The Canadian Association for Girls In Science) is Canada’s largest and longest-running STEM club for girls, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming youth. Created in 1992 in London, ON, the club continues to offer fun, hands-on STEM programming through in person and virtual sessions. Learn more about their programs here.
“Children’s exposure to stereotypical images of STEM professionals plays a strong role in shaping their perceptions and their interest in entering STEM fields. Fortunately, research shows that providing children and teens with diverse role models and inclusive programs has a powerful impact.”
CSI Annex Member Street Voices is a social enterprise that provides an online directory to free and subsidized services in Toronto, including those of importance to youth. Established in 2014, Street Voices evolved from a magazine to a digital media platform, that also hosts media workshops. Street Voices’ aim is to “empower marginalized voices, no matter who they are.” Try out their directory here.
CSI Regent Park Alumni, Youth Challenge International, works to “transform conversations about youth and innovation into real solutions that inspire young people to realize meaningful employment and overcome the challenges they face.” Their programs include Innovate My Future, HerStart, Innovate ME, and more – check them out here!
“YCI is driven by youth and their potential to affect positive change. When you contribute to YCI you open up a world of opportunity for young people across the globe.”
Skills for Change, a CSI Community Member, helps to provide learning and training opportunities to immigrants and refugees. Serving 16,000 people annually, Skills for Change works to ensure full workplace participation for their communities. Their youth centered programs include The Jane-Finch Bridging Education to Employment collective initiative, Lead On, and Leadership & Career Advancement Program – learn more about them here.
CSI Annex Member, Hockey 4 Youth, helps to increase social inclusion for newcomer Canadians and high-priority youth through free ice hockey and their life skills T.E.A.C.H. program. Through T.E.A.C.H., youth learn skills in technology, entrepreneurship, arts, community giving, and healthy active living.
“For me, it's important to help newcomer youth feel more connected to their new home. Through sport and our off-ice life skills program, we are building pathways and creating impact so that our youth can thrive and succeed in life. This was done for my parents and family when we arrived in Canada 50 years ago. It's a full circle moment and it makes me incredibly happy to be able to support young people who are in similar situations as new arrivals today.”
“Actua engages youth from all corners of the country in transformational STEM learning experiences that build critical employability skills and confidence. We do this while working relentlessly to remove barriers on the ground and at a systems level so all youth can benefit from and participate in STEM.”
CSI Community Member S.U.C.C.E.S.S. helps Canadians and newcomers achieve their full potential through a range of programs, working in areas like newcomer settlement, employment, youth support, senior care, affordable housing, and more. The Active Career Connect and Engagement Project (ACCEP), serves internationally trained professionals in both British Columbia and Ontario, including at CSI Annex! S.U.C.C.E.S.S.’s youth career programs in B.C. help to prepare participants for bright futures in a rapidly changing labour market. Learn more about their youth programs: Youth Leadership Millennium (YLM), Chance to Choose (C2C), and Youth Employment Connect (YEC) here.
“YLM is designed to empower youth by helping them develop core leadership skills through experiential learning and mentorship. C2C includes 12-weeks of integrated training and work experience, and YEC offers job skills training and coaching.”
CSI Regent Park Alumni, Visions of Science, exists to transform communities, society and the planet through equitable access to STEM. Read more here.
