Newspaper Article : Globe and Mail
February 16, 2008
Jennifer Lewington and Jeff Gray
PARTNERSHIP TO ADVANCE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT
An opportunity to work - and give hope
The city is expanding its program that links employers with young people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
It is only a 20-minute subway ride to downtown from Lawrence Heights in the city's north end. But it may as well be a planet away for some of the young people who live in the low-income but proud neighbourhood, which rarely grabs the headlines for anything other than a shooting or murder.
Born and raised in city-owned housing in Lawrence Heights by Trinidad- and Jamaican-born parents, and now raising his own family there, 25-year-old Andrew Cox can count only a few times that he took the train as a youth to the Eaton Centre or Caribana. Now, much to his surprise, he takes the subway every day to work in the technology-support department of a prestigious Bay Street law firm.
"If I had walked into Heenan Blaikie without being invited," said Mr. Cox of the firm where he has worked for the past year, "I would probably say I could never get a job here." Mr. Cox owes his success to an unusual project launched a year ago in Lawrence Heights by the city and the private sector that links employers and youth from disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
Unlike typical job fairs and summer internships aimed at young people, the Partnership to Advance Youth Employment tries to open doors so youth with skills - but few connections - can land permanent, career-making jobs. The program brings high-profile employers into a troubled neighbourhood to recruit young people for specific openings. The youth also receive one-on-one coaching from city staff and the employers to identify career interests and prepare for an interview.
Yesterday, Mayor David Miller announced at a press conference that the program, which so far has helped 39 young people find jobs and provided advice or training for 100, is being expanded this year to several other troubled neighbourhoods in east Toronto and Scarborough.
"This program is extraordinary because it helps young people in neighbourhoods who simply need a door opened," Mr. Miller said. "...Too often in our city, doors are closed."
The program, pushed by the mayor's community-safety panel, which is chaired by former Ontario chief justice Roy McMurtry, is primarily driven by participating private-sector employers, and co-ordinated by prominent development lawyer Stephen Diamond. It has attracted some of the biggest names in corporate Toronto, including major banks and IBM, and Mr. Diamond said the companies are eager to broaden their talent pool by finding new recruits in unlikely places.
"The safety of this city is important for making money," Mr. Diamond said at yesterday's press conference. "Obviously, you're not going to make money if the city goes downhill. So it's enlightened self-interest."
Jennifer Tory, Greater Toronto Region president for RBC Royal Bank and a big backer of the program, said she is hopeful it will continue to expand and attract more employers with jobs to offer, despite the looming threat of a recession.
"Notwithstanding that there are certain parts of the economy where there might be challenges, there are always job opportunities," Ms. Tory said, adding that entry-level posts often have high turnover, even during an economic slowdown.
Mr. McMurtry, a former attorney-general, said he always felt the criminal justice system had "marginal impact" on crime prevention. "I'm of the opinion the most effective prevention is hope," he said yesterday. "And in recent years, I've encountered a number of young people who have lost hope at an early age."
Mr. Cox was a high-school graduate who felt trapped in a call-centre job with no prospect of moving up the ladder from his $13-an-hour pay. With responsibilities as a father of two children aged five and 1 ˝, Mr. Cox had abandoned his aspirations to be a basketball star. Despite recent success as a budding hip-hop artist with a top hit on FLOW radio, Mr. Cox saw no way to earn enough money to attend college or university and support his family.
"I was at a crossroads," he said. By chance last spring, he dropped into Lawrence Heights Community Centre, where local residents had been invited to meet with organizers of the Partnership to Advance Youth Employment, who had city officials, community groups and major employers in tow.
"They came to us," Mr. Cox recalls, still astonished that officials from Royal Bank and other big firms were in the room despite the perception that he says many young people hold that their Lawrence Heights address is a barrier to getting a decent job.
Mr. Cox signed up for the program, which offered career coaching and advice on résumé writing and job interviews, with training provided in some cases by prospective employers.
"It was up to you after that," said Mr. Cox, who initially scoffed at an entry level position as an intern in the IT department at Heenan Blaikie. His job counsellors persuaded him that if he did well he could move up the ladder - and he has done just that, earning raises and a one-year contract with benefits. He is now studying for an information technology certificate.
"A lot of things aren't cool," he said. "But when you have a family and responsibilities and you grow up, it does become cool to work in an environment where there are a lot of prestigious people." As for the program, he says: "I don't know where I would be without it."
To find out more about PAYE and the 2008 Recruitment Initiatives please contact Bryan Dale