Ian_Bird

1. One of the things we heard loud and clear at our national youth dialogue that followed the release of our #GenFlux report was that redefining success matters. So for some, your question is right on the mark. For others they want to redefine success with the view that 20 is still 20. And so what's a sustainable career and way through life for those that are looking to engage in their communities now and what does it mean for those that are exploring and looking to more fully engage later? These are the implications of the report that we want to examine.

2. All indications are that the labour market will change as boomers exit the worforces. What we're interesting in is how ready we are for that change, and in particular what will happen for #GenFlux to prepare them for those new gaps and changes in the new labour market.

3. First, in today's global society and global economy the development of human capital and the knowledge base that comes from Universities is critical to Canada's future success. Those investment will reap long-term dividends for our country and our communities. In addition, we can do a much better job of identifying the other ways that we are going to build the other types of human capital that our businesses, communities, gov'ts and non-profit organizations need. So the key thing is not to think of these as opposites - skilled-trades vs. university graduates - but to think of them as complements worthy of ongoing investment by all of us.

Thx for your questions.

1. When one particular generation absorbs 50% of the job losses during a recession, and yet only accounts for 16% of the labour market, then you know the challenges facing young people are systemic and not casually attributed to a certain work ethic. Our experience is that young people are eager to make it happen and are meeting up against barriers that previous generations haven't experienced all at once: rising tuition, student debt, downward pressures on job market, etc.

2. A notable finding in the #GenFlux report is that this generation doesn't clearly separate the workplace and their lifestyle. Relationships will matter as much or more for the millenials than previous workforces.

3. Fascinating question. It isn't something that we explored in our report, but this would make for interesting findings.

One thing that we've learned through our work as community foundations across the country is there's nothing more powerful than buidling relationships through public service. The combo of a strong network and a commitment to your community positions you well for opportunities where you want to live and work.

While our report doesn't specifically address your question, what it does identify is that access to the labour market is limited for #GenFlux and that this is compounded by the financial circumstances that many graduates are facing - high depbt levels and high cost of living in our urban centres. Policy makers will need to start addressing these factors related to living wage, if they aren't already.

The way I see it is that any discussion about the minimum wage in Canada - and these are frequent public policy debates - ought to factor in what #GenFlux is trying to address right now. The two key factors are 1) Liveability in urban centres where the jobs are and the costs are high, 2) rising tuition fees and debt loads. These are the realities of today's post-secondary education. Figuring out the minimum wage needs to be addressed in light of these issues.