TORONTO – Mayor John Tory has issued a challenge to employers in the city to hire at least 10 per cent of its workforce through Toronto’s youth hiring program to curb the unemployment rate.
“The reality is that the youth employment rate in Ontario stands at 20 per cent,” said Tory at a press conference inside a Starbucks coffee shop Monday morning. “1 in 5 young Torontonians cannot find a job.”
Tory announced that Starbucks Canada has stepped up and partnered with the city’s Partnership to Advance Youth Employment (PAYE) program to hire 150 employees from Toronto’s neighbourhood improvement areas.
“These are the areas where young kids will have more trouble networking and wonder who to call about finding a job,” said Tory.
“Give them that vital first step to get a little bit of experience so they’re not trapped in that circle where you don’t have any experience, so we can’t hire you.”
WATCH: City of Toronto partners with Starbucks to address youth unemployment
A report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in 2013 finds Toronto’s youth unemployment rate is 18.1 per cent — the worst of any region in the province.
City council voted last month to expand the PAYE program which matches potential candidates to employment opportunities.
This includes doubling both the number of hiring employers engaged annually from 40 to 80 and the number of youth served from 500 to 1000.
“Today so far, 19 new Toronto employers have pledged their commitment to PAYE,” said Tory.
Meanwhile, the city’s economic development committee will consider a report this week on an action plan to further bolster youth employment.
The report calls for working with Corporate Human Resources, Toronto Employment and Social Services to increase youth access to existing city positions, increasing the number of apprenticeship positions and expand the range of employer- and sector-specific work-based learning initiatives.
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