WEBINAR: Rural Youth Workforce Development: Policy and Practice

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• published: 22 Apr 2016
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Webinar title: Rural Youth Workforce Development: Policy and Practice Date: April 21, 2016 Host: Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute (CBRDI) & Rural Policy Learning Commons (RPLC) Presenters: Ray Bollman – Rural Youth & Labour Force: Exploring Conditions and Trends Dianne Looker – Rural and Urban Youth: Leaving, Staying, Moving Sarah Breen – Youth in Transition: Obstacles and Potential in the Kootenays Abstract: Rural youth face many hurdles in the transition from school to work. A fast changing economy means that youth are likely to face more career changes than their parents. In order to retain and attract youth rural places need to better understand youth and the challenges they face, as well as potential options for how to support them. This webinar will explore labour force conditions and trends related to rural youth in Canada and will present research undertaken in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and British Columbia focused on better understanding rural youth school-to-work transitions. Possible policy and program approaches to supporting youth as they transition into the workforce will be discussed. Ray Bollman’s presentation will explore factors driving Canada’s rural economy, and rural youth employment. Dianne Looker will report on some longitudinal research undertaken in Ontario and Nova Scotia that asked 1200 youth (age 17) their plans to stay or leave, and at age 22 and 29 why they made various geographic moves and where they’d like to live. Doctoral Candidate, Sarah Breen, will present findings from a study recently conducted in the Kootenay region of BC that explores what action is needed to address youth training, engagement, and retention on a regional scale. Presenter Bios: Ray Bollman retired from Statistics Canada in 2011 where he was the founding editor of their Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletins ( http://www.statcan.gc.ca/bsolc/olc-cel/olc-cel?catno=21-006-X&CHROPG;=1⟨=eng). He has recently prepared FactSheets for the Rural Development Institute, Brandon University (see http://www.brandonu.ca/rdi/25th/) and the Focus on Rural Ontario FactSheets for the Rural Ontario Institute (see http://www.ruralontarioinstitute.ca/focus-on-rural-ontario.aspx). Ray is currently a Research Affiliate with Brandon University’s Rural Development Institute. Dianne Looker, Professor Emerita from Acadia and Mount Saint Vincent Universities, has studied youth for her entire academic career. She has undertaken several longitudinal surveys focusing on youth in a changing society and has provided expert advice to numerous policy groups and government departments. Her recent work looks at the ways in which the shift to a more information society has affected equity for sub-groups of youth in Canada and abroad. Currently Dr. Looker is writing a book on rural youth, examining why some youth do or do not move to urban areas, while many others remain in their home communities for a host of reasons not well understood by policy-makers and academics. Sarah-Patricia Breen is a PhD candidate with the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University. She has a range of research interests including rural economic development, youth engagement, infrastructure, and resilient communities. Sarah is an Executive Board Member with the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation. Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Sarah has lived and worked across the country and is currently enjoying life in the Kootenays. Sarah is currently a research assistant at the Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute.