Youth Development and Inclusion Archives - SRDC

Understanding the Experiences of Equity-Deserving Students and Prospective Students who Face Barriers Accessing Student Financial Assistance

Wallaa Daramlly — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:53:19 +0000

This project examines the experiences of equity-deserving individuals who face barriers to accessing student financial assistance (SFA) in Canada. Despite the availability of federal and provincial supports, some current and prospective postsecondary students do not apply for or receive financial aid, even when they may be eligible. This study seeks to understand why.

Using a mixed-methods research design, the project gathers evidence from two groups: current postsecondary students who are not using student financial assistance and youth aged 18 to 30 who are not currently enrolled in postsecondary education. Surveys provide national-level insight into awareness, perceptions, and barriers, while in-depth interviews explore how financial, administrative, informational, and personal factors shape decision-making.

By centring the lived experiences of equity-deserving populations, the project aims to generate actionable evidence to inform policy improvements to make SFA more accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of diverse learners across Canada.

The post Understanding the Experiences of Equity-Deserving Students and Prospective Students who Face Barriers Accessing Student Financial Assistance appeared first on SRDC.

Resources and Practices for Engaging Opportunity Youth in Career Development

Wallaa Daramlly — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 17:20:46 +0000

This project explores the best ways to engage students who are disconnected from school and at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment, or training) in career development. The right support at the right time can reengage students and positively shape their career paths. Yet career development professionals face two major challenges: first, it is often challenging to reach young people who are disconnected from school and not inclined to seek support; and second, when they do reach this population, they may not know what supportive career guidance practices are most impactful.

To address these challenges, the project combines a literature review and environmental scan that identifies promising programs and practices and a survey of 500 school guidance counsellors across Canada that gathers insight on both barriers to engagement and best practices in working with opportunity youth. Together, these sources highlight obstacles to engagement and uncover practical strategies for supporting opportunity youth. The mission of the project is to find tangible ways to reach and engage this population, understand what practices and tools can motivate them to engage in career planning, and learn what further resources are needed to support career counselling practices.

The post Resources and Practices for Engaging Opportunity Youth in Career Development appeared first on SRDC.

Youth LMI Development

Wallaa Daramlly — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 14:46:00 +0000

Many young people face challenges accessing labour market information (LMI) that is relevant, engaging, and tailored to their needs; particularly those who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET). To address this gap, SRDC is improving youth-focused LMI on a provincial employment platform. The project will develop a suite of integrated resources designed to support career exploration and readiness among youth, with special attention to those who are currently (or at risk of becoming) NEET. Planned components include a youth-aligned career exploration model, an interactive self-assessment tool linked to occupational profiles, and customized content for NEET youth. The initiative also involves redesign recommendations for the platform’s interface to better serve young users and the creation of a labour market information presentation tailored for Alternative Education settings. Focus groups and user testing with NEET youth will be conducted to ensure the tools are accessible, relevant, and effective. Ultimately, the project aims to empower young people with personalized, engaging resources that foster informed career choices, build confidence, and strengthen their pathways into work, education, and training.

The post Youth LMI Development appeared first on SRDC.

Connecting Racialized Youth with Employment – Secondary Analysis of 2024 Survey Responses

Wallaa Daramlly — Sun, 01 Jun 2025 14:09:17 +0000

As an extension of our previous ESDC-funded research project, Connecting Racialized Youth with Employment: Strengthening Skills for Success via Mentoring, SRDC and Mentor Canada are undertaking an additional secondary data analysis of our youth survey data set, focusing on subgroups of interest to the mentoring field. The original survey included 3,100 responses from youth aged 18 to 30 from across Canada, focused on racialized youth’s employment journeys and experiences with community-based mentoring opportunities specifically designed to strengthen their skills and support their career pathways. In the current project, SRDC will provide additional data and research analyses of the survey dataset to contribute to and advance the knowledge of the field. The additional data and research analysis will be provided in data sets, analysis tables, graphs, and visual data knowledge mobilization formats, including an analysis report.

The post Connecting Racialized Youth with Employment – Secondary Analysis of 2024 Survey Responses appeared first on SRDC.

Mentoring as a Catalyst for Youth Employment

Wallaa Daramlly — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 18:17:37 +0000

This national project addresses emerging systemic challenges within the youth employment sector through strategic, cross-sector partnerships and rigorous research and development (R&D) approaches. Mentor Canada, in partnership with SRDC and the Students Commission of Canada (SCC) and in collaboration with 24 other organizations, establishes mechanisms to identify emerging trends, facilitate the sharing of best practices, and align R&D efforts across the sector. This collaborative approach strengthens sectoral capacity to accelerate the adoption and integration of high-quality practices and opportunities, particularly in mentoring, to improve employment outcomes for equity-deserving youth.

SRDC plays a vital role in this project. SRDC co-facilitates three sensemaking sessions to generate collective intelligence and produce evidence briefs with actionable recommendations. A significant component of SRDC’s work involves leading the implementation of the pay-for-performance pilot R&D activities. This pilot evaluates Mentor Canada’s Quality Mentoring Framework (QMF) and the impact of embedding mentoring as a strategic lever to improve youth employment outcomes. Through these activities, SRDC contributes directly to the project’s overarching goal of developing and testing innovative solutions and generating evidence to inform the adoption of effective mentoring practices within the Canadian youth employment ecosystem.

The post Mentoring as a Catalyst for Youth Employment appeared first on SRDC.

Youthworx Evaluation

Wallaa Daramlly — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 14:45:29 +0000

SRDC is conducting a comprehensive and participatory evaluation of Futureworx’s forthcoming Youthworx program, supported through Employment and Social Development Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy. Drawing on developmental and participatory approaches, this evaluation aims to meaningfully engage local stakeholders and youth to support program design and development, implement evaluation methods that prioritize youth voices while supporting organizational learning, and document and report on program delivery and outcomes.

The post Youthworx Evaluation appeared first on SRDC.

Strategic Evaluation and Learning Support for the Future Skills Centre 2025

Wallaa Daramlly — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 20:58:11 +0000

Since 2020, the Future Skills Centre (FSC) has supported the development, refinement, or expansion of approaches to developing skills for workers from a variety of backgrounds and in a variety of sectors. These innovation projects are required to mobilize knowledge and evidence among key stakeholders, institutions and decision-makers for the purposes of improving policies and practices in Canada. SRDC is developing a mix of retrospective and prospective evaluation approaches for a subset of these projects, dependent on the timelines and stage of development of each project. These involve quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis using document and data review, interviews with project partners and their subcontractors, implementation evaluation, and theory of change or logic model development. SRDC’s learning and evaluation framework is designed to capture what has been learned from these projects for the future development of the skills ecosystem in Canada.

The post Strategic Evaluation and Learning Support for the Future Skills Centre 2025 appeared first on SRDC.

Skilled4Success Program Evaluation

Wallaa Daramlly — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 15:22:21 +0000

BGC Canada supports Clubs across the country who provide safe, supportive places and programs where children and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, and develop confidence and skills for life. With support from the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) program, BGC Canada is delivering Skilled4Success, which is designed to help youth facing barriers to employment develop the skills and gain the experience they need to find and keep quality jobs. Through a combination of employment services, training, and work experiences, the program provides the foundation for learning and other skills that will help participants better prepare for, get and keep a job, and adapt and succeed at work. In addition, Skilled4Success includes individualized supports to enable youth to benefit from these interventions. As BGC Canada’s evaluation partner, SRDC is working with BGC Canada and participating Clubs to capture the impact of youth participating in the program, while connecting evaluation findings to BGC Canada’s broader learning and impact objectives.

The post Skilled4Success Program Evaluation appeared first on SRDC.

Empower3D

Wallaa Daramlly — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 21:38:11 +0000

Led by Neil Squire Society (NSS) in partnership with the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC) and SRDC, the Empower3D Program provides youth with disabilities the opportunity to develop skills and gain valuable work experience in the manufacturing sectors. It involves three dimensions of job readiness, professional practice, and technical skills. NSS is implementing the training and EMC is coordinating the work placements with manufacturing companies. SRDC is the research and evaluation partner, providing critical insights and data-driven guidance to inform program design, implementation, continuous improvement, and reporting on program outcomes. This project is scheduled to begin Fall 2024 and end March 31, 2028, and serve approximately 120 youth with disabilities across Canada.

The post Empower3D appeared first on SRDC.

SEED Program

Wallaa Daramlly — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 18:32:46 +0000

This research aims to build on a previous project with SRDC aimed at understanding how the Karma Project, a work-integrated social enterprise, supports the long-term employment and well-being of at-risk youth in North Simcoe County through its Social Enterprise Education (SEED) program. Specifically, this research seeks to further understand the youths’ training and employment journeys, their circumstances before and during their participation in SEED, and the role of SEED in shaping their future employment. Further, this research centres on youth engagement through a community-based, participatory approach that focuses on collaboration and mutual learning.

The post SEED Program appeared first on SRDC.