Brayden Pack, one of the YES program's first clients, sat down with Ashton Selig and Breanna Rolli from Career Assistance Network to discuss resumé building and what opportunities may be out there. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

youth unemployment

Free program helping youth find work amid ‘alarming’ jobless rates

Feb 1, 2020 | 5:05 PM

A new program designed to find work for youth ages 18-25 officially launched this week at the Career Assistance Network (CAN).

The Youth Employment Services (YES) program is provincially-funded and is running as a two-year pilot program. It is completely free to use, and the goal is to aid more than 900 people by January 2022.

“Stats show that youth unemployment is above 15 per cent in Alberta for youth who are 18-25, and that’s pretty drastic,” says Ashton Selig, marketing specialist and employer liaison at CAN. “It’s a tough one to figure out, but a lot of time it’s individuals seeking education or training, they’re not sure where to go, or employers may be wanting more experience.”

When youth unemployment is broken down further, the numbers are even more eye-popping, with 18.7 per cent of males in that demographic jobless. For women, the number is 10.4 per cent.

“The program is advantageous because it is customized to what youth need,” Selig says. “If we have someone coming in who just needs a resumé, we can sit down with them for free and do that, versus them taking our workshop or having to pay for that service.”

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Brayden Pack, 21, is one of the YES program’s first participants. He came to CAN after three weeks on the job hunt.

“It’s definitely been helpful having all these services for free. Up until now, I’ve participated in the career planning workshop, and have had interview help,” he says. “It’s been very informative and helped me think through my interests and what I want to do for the future, including education, with a career as an end-goal.”

Pack, who just finished a two-year missionary trip to Japan, says he hopes to become accomplished in the field of computer engineering. The YES program has guided him towards job opportunities that would offer him relevant experience, he says.

He’ll be attending Red Deer College (soon-to-be University) in September 2020.

To find out more about CAN’s Youth Employment Services program or their quarterly job fairs, visit RDcan.ca.