Resources
Youth and the New Economy
Volume 1, Number 2
Introduction
Contents
Introduction
The Cost of Change
Jonathan Bennett
A Hitchhiker's Guide to the New Economy
Olivia
Chow
A Joint Venture
Pratibha Thadani
We all have to start somewhere. Many if not most of us enter the labour force as young people, and one of the quintessential images of growing up – so idealized that it has become a miniature fairy tale in the world of advertising – is that of a young person's first job. How easily can we call to mind a depiction of a young person, trudging off wearily but with determination, on their newspaper route in the early morning hours? Oddly enough, there is no comparable image for youth employment in the new millennium, in the midst of the new economy. Youth in the new world of work are more frequently portrayed as hackers or drifters; or, at the other extreme, they are twenty-something entrepreneurs who improbably, effortlessly rise to the top.
The Toronto Training Board aims to represent a cross-section of labour market partner groups, including business, labour, educators and trainers, and equity groups: women, visible and racial minorities, persons with disabilities and Francophones. Youth have not been directly represented, but at its Annual General Meeting in October 2000, the Board of Directors wanted to express its commitment to exploring the issues of young people in the new economy. Councillor Olivia Chow, Toronto's first Children and Youth Advocate, was invited to present the keynote speech; fellow panellists were Jonathan Bennett, Director of Communications at the Youth Employment Service and Pratibha Thadani, Human Resources Consultant for the Bank of Montreal. Randy Heasman, Director of St. Stephen's Community House Employment and Training Centre, moderated the panel. These four individuals brought a wealth of expertise, speaking from their experience as youth advocates in the political, private and public spheres, and with a compassion borne of their vivid recollection of their own youth.
The panellists demanded that we re-examine the jargon of the new economy to reveal the actual dilemmas of youth in this as in any economy. While the statistics and trends of youth training and employment in the new economy might change, the passionate viewpoints articulated here remain relevant. The Toronto Training Board wishes to thank the panellists and moderator of the forum on Youth and the New Economy, for seeing beyond the fairy tales and pop culture representations of our time to the real and immediate challenges of Toronto's young people.
