Youth Archives - SRDC

Exploring Co-op Participation, Schooling and Labour Market Outcomes Using Longitudinal Linked Administrative Data

Wallaa Daramlly — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 15:44:16 +0000

SRDC aims to expand understanding of work‑integrated learning (WIL) in Canada by examining co‑op participation and its relationship to students’ postsecondary and early career pathways. Using the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform, the project analyzes British Columbia’s postsecondary system – one of the few jurisdictions with reliable PSIS co‑op reporting and linked K‑12 data – offering a rare opportunity to study one aspect of WIL participation at scale. We assess the reliability and consistency of the PSIS co‑op indicator in BC and in selected Ontario institutions, supported by a sensitivity test using WIL data from the National Graduates Survey. We then examine who participates in co‑op and explore associations between co‑op, postsecondary persistence, and early labour market outcomes.

Overall, the aim is to: 1) demonstrate what can be learned from this WIL indicator in linked administrative data, 2) provide HEQCO with new insights into student pathways and outcomes, and 3) highlight opportunities to strengthen Ontario’s WIL data infrastructure.

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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.

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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.

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National Training System to Ensure Low-Carbon Building Performance to Reduce Energy Consumption

Wallaa Daramlly — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 18:09:01 +0000

SkillPlan, in partnership with the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers and Local Unions (IAHFIAW), Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU), Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC), Climate and Industry Research Team (CIRT), and Building Efficiency Resources (BER), is supporting Canada’s climate and low-carbon economy goals by developing, implementing, and evaluating a national energy assessment training program for the Insulator Heat and Frost Red Seal trade. The project will train both unionized and non-unionized journeypersons and apprentices in the Insulator Heat and Frost Red Seal trade with technical, operational, and communication tools to upgrade their knowledge and skills, and develop their leadership capacity.

SRDC is leading a comprehensive needs analysis to support the design of the program training. SRDC will also support this project through developing a comprehensive evaluation framework and protocols, conducting fieldwork, data quality control, analysis, and knowledge dissemination.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Expanding Apprenticeship Success Through Improved and Enhanced System of Technology (EAST Project)

Wallaa Daramlly — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 20:11:39 +0000

SkillPlan, BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement Council, in partnership with Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU), Provincial Building Trades Councils (PBTC), U7 SOLUTIONS, British Columbia Colleges (BCC), and the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC), are providing online educational tools, resources, and materials to support apprentices progressing in and obtaining certification in an apprenticeship in the Red Seal trades. This project will be delivered across Canada. More specifically the project seeks to firstly improve the quality of training in the skilled trades by utilizing a structured, integrated, and accessible online training system and secondly to support Red Seal trades partners to create safe and inclusive workplaces of equity-deserving groups, including women, youth, newcomers, Indigenous and racialized persons, persons with disabilities, as well as low-skilled individuals by expanding training platform and developing new courses. SRDC is helping to test and measure the results of this project through a mixed-methods approach which will include administrative data from online platforms, surveys, and interviews.

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