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Take a chance on youth

Forgive me if I leave behind issues around accountability, the shaming of the Vancouver rioters and tourism for a moment to focus on our youth. This week sees the "graduation" of Grade 7s from our elementary schools.

Forgive me if I leave behind issues around accountability, the shaming of the Vancouver rioters and tourism for a moment to focus on our youth.

This week sees the "graduation" of Grade 7s from our elementary schools. Whistler Secondary grads have already walked their red carpet and been fêted.

And while no doubt there is great excitement at the achievements of all the youths many parents, such as myself, are anxious about what the future holds for our children.

At the elementary level this is translating into conversations about sending children away to boarding schools. These conversations are not about privilege, they are about sacrifice - parents are seriously considering giving up time with their kids for any perceived edge it may give the youths when it is time to apply to post-secondary education or get out into the world and secure meaningful work.

For years there has been interest in a private school in Pemberton, as first a GEMS establishment, but now another such venture yet to be named is on the planning table.

Recently we have learned a private educational facility, Coast Mountain School, is looking to open at the Quest University campus in Squamish.

For all the years I have lived in Whistler and had kids there have been these types of conversations but in the last few years the dialogue has moved away from a kind of "silver-spoon" approach to tactical planning.

After all, to get into the University of British Columbia arts program in 2010 you needed an 84 per cent average. According to an information letter sent to parents and kids about to enter Whistler Secondary, the school consistently outperforms the rest of the province in Provincial Exams. The last stats available (2009) show that there is a 98 per cent graduation rate. Over 50 per cent of students from that class are in universities or colleges compared to a provincial average of 12 per cent. This year at Whistler Secondary kids with an 85 per cent average over Grade 11 and 12 didn't even make it into the top quarter of the grad class, the academic standing was so high.

But the concern for the future of our youth is not misplaced. As we celebrate Canada Day we are also celebrating the opportunities the country affords its residents but on the youth front it appears a lot more opportunity is needed.

There is a growing push to have Canada take a second look at its Youth Employment Strategy to help young workers prepare for the labour market or support further education.

Currently, the federal government invests almost $340 million each year in the Youth Employment Strategy, which was designed to assist Canadians aged 15 to 30 with skills development and finding a job.

In January the youth unemployment rate was the highest it has ever been 19.5 per cent as compared to national average of 7.4 per cent. Of course youth rates are always higher but with the on-going recession there is no shift happening and many youth are so frustrated they have stopped looking for work.

Look at the case of Jacob Huang recently interviewed by the Globe and Mail.

The 25-year-old has a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Victoria as well as overseas work experience, and he speaks six languages.

He has sent out about 300 résumés leading to 20 phone calls and 10 interviews - including a handful of employment scams - but no career job. To pass the time, he's working in a gym and studying for a chartered financial analyst designation.

Many argue that what is needed is better synergy between business and education. Perhaps business should get bigger subsidies to hire and train young people, maybe more counselling should be in place so it is clear to those in post-secondary school which jobs and trades are in demand.

And in Canada we are lucky. The youth jobless rate in other regions of the world is far higher.

"Youth employment is a world priority," said International Labour Organization (ILO) director-general Juan Somavia in a recent report.

"The weak recovery in decent work reinforces a persistent inability of the world economy to secure a future for all youth. This undermines families, social cohesion and the credibility of policies."

In South Africa youth employment is a staggering 50 per cent, in the European Union it is 21 per cent - in the U.K. 20 per cent of university grads are unemployed.

According to the ILO about 81 million of the 620 million economically active young people aged 15 to 24 are currently jobless ( ILO Global Employment Trends for Youth 2010 .) And that, states the organization, doesn't count the close to two million who have given up looking for work.

The report adds that these trends will have "significant consequences for young people as upcoming cohorts of new entrants join the ranks of the already unemployed" and warns of the "risk of a crisis legacy of a 'lost generation' comprised of young people who have dropped out of the labour market, having lost all hope of being able to work for a decent living."

Despite parents always working to make the lives of the children better each generation thinks its troubles are the worst. But our young people are struggling and will continue to struggle.

Think about that when youths hit the job market this summer. Taking a chance on a young person might make Canada a stronger nation.