Policy Brief to Create Jobs for the Canadian Youths - Assignment Example

Policy Brief to Create Jobs for the Canadian Youths al Affiliation Policy Brief to Create Jobs for the Canadian Youths Canada ranks among the largest economies in the world. Canada currently boasts of having one of the highest per capita income and GDP growth rate (Ligaya, 2014). However, this does not necessarily mean that Canadas economy has no challenges. Currently, youth unemployment ranks among the main issues of concern to Canadians. A study conducted in the recent past showed that youth unemployment continues to increase despite the measures that the government has employed to contain the situation. Although the average rate of unemployment currently stands at about 7.1%, according to a recent economic survey, youth unemployment remains high throughout Canada. For this reason, there is an increased need for the Canadian legislators to find better ways of creating jobs for the youth so as to improve the standards of living of the Canadian youths. This policy document seeks to highlight the extent of youth unemployment in Canada to policy makers, and what needs to be done to reduce youth unemployment for the betterment of the economy and the society. Canada ranks among the countries that are doing well economically. Despite having been affected by the recent financial meltdown, the Canadian government took proactive measures that ensured faster recovery of the economy. With the current per capita of $43,472, the Canadian economy ranks among the largest in the world. The Canadian government has also been doing well in terms of keeping the inflation rate down. The current Canadian inflation rates stand at about 1.0%, which is among the lowest in the world. Nevertheless, the main issue of concern to most Canadians currently has to do with the high rate of youth unemployment rates. 2015 economic index shows that the average unemployment rate stands at about 7.1%. However, youth unemployment stands at 13.6%, which is among the highest in the region (Leung, 2013). In fact, the Canadian youths had a lot of hope when the Conservatives took the reins of power as they thought the new administration would generate enough jobs for the youths in the first few years in the office. However, the hopes of the Canadian youths have been dashed, as the rate of youth unemployment continues to rise throughout the country. A report by Goar (2014) reveals that, at the time the Conservatives took the reign of power in 2006, youth unemployment was only 12.2%. However, the percentage of youth unemployment has since jumped to 13.6%. Goar argues that this statistic tells only part of the larger problem. Art Columnist observes that thousands of Canadian youths have been forced to give up search for employment and instead opted to return to school because of the limited job opportunities available in the market currently. They blame; particularly the laxity on the side of the Conservative government to create more jobs to the Canadian youths who are currently wallowing in poverty out of hopelessness. Goar (2014) also makes an interesting observation that; even the majority of Canadian youths who are being counted as employed are struggling to make ends meet. According to the author, more than half of the Canadian youths being counted as employed work only part-time and do not earn enough money to enable them meet their bills and live a decent life. In fact, a significant number of the youths that are counted as employed do not work in the field of specialty. Instead, lack of job opportunities has forced the majority to take up any job as long as the job can enable them to earn a living (Peet, 2011). Additionally, some who are employed on contracts do not know their fate because some companies never renew contracts. For this reason, in case an employer fails to renew an employees contract, the affected employee ends up without jobs, which make them become poorer than they were before losing the job. The problem of youth unemployment in Canada is not isolated only to a particular region, metropolitan, state or country; rather, youth unemployment is a national issue. However, some regions are affected more than others. According to 2013 economic survey, Ontario had among the highest rates of youth unemployment at about 17.0%, which was higher than the national average of 13.6% (Leung, 2013). Toronto is also affected in the same way as Ontario, with the youth unemployment rate standing at about 18.1% while its employment rate is also low at 43.5%. The worst affected states, however, are Oshawa, Windsor, and London, where the rate of youth unemployment is above 20%. Other greatly affected states and regions include Waterloo, Sudbury, and Hamilton, where youth unemployment rates are above the national average. Consequences of Youth Unemployment in Canada The Canadian youth unemployment should be addressed urgently because of a variety of reasons. Firstly, youth unemployment has been found to cost the Canadian government billions of dollars in the form of lost wages. A study conducted in the recent past found that youth unemployment is costing the Canadian government about $23.1 billion in the form of lost wages (CBC News, 2013). This finding is worrying considering that the problem of youth unemployment can easily be tackled by the government. In fact, these amounts that are lost by the government can be put into meaningful use, such as capital investment to create jobs for the youths for the good of the Canadian economy. Secondly, youth unemployment has impacted negatively on the Canadian economy since unemployment result in lost production. Canada ranks among the countries with the highest population of educated youths. However, lack of employment is making it difficult for the Canadian youths to make good use of their talents to contribute to the economic growth of the country. High rates of youth unemployment in Canada are not only impacting negatively on the economy, but also contribute to rising crime rates. Many studies have found unemployment to be directly linked to crime. This is what is happening in Canada. Ligaya (2014) observes that the areas with high rates of Youth unemployment in Canada experiences high rates of crime. Ligaya attributed this to the fact that the youths who lack employment is forced to engage in crime to earn a living. Some Canadian youth who cannot find a job has also been forced to engage in criminal activities, such as drug and human trafficking and all sorts of criminal activities that compromises the safety of the Canadian population. Additionally, unemployment in Canada also needs to be addressed because it impacts negatively on the health of the affected youths. Studies have found that unemployment puts an individual into stress, which sometimes result in depression. The more an individual continues to experience depression, the more their lives become affected, leading to poor health and low life expectancy, according to Burkett (2012). For this reason, it is important for the Canadian policy makers to move with speed and enact appropriate policies to help create employment for the Canadian youths. Solutions for Consideration by the Canadian Policy Makers Solving the problem of youth unemployment requires an understanding of the causes and policy gaps that makes it difficult for youths to get employed. Accordingly, analysis of the Canadian labor market shows that there are a number of things that can be changed to solve the problem of youth unemployment. The first thing that needs to be done to solve the problem of youth unemployment is to ensure that the Canadian colleges and universities produce graduates with the right skills that employers desire in candidates. Currently, there is a general agreement that a mismatch has emerged between the skills of the recent graduates and the needs of employers. For instance, the rapid technological advancements that have been experienced in the world over the last few decades have made it virtually impossible for some youths without the right technological knowledge to get employment (Keynes, 2006). This is because most employers in Canada today are hiring graduates who are technologically savvy and capable of meeting the demands of the organization. For this reason, it is important now for the Canadian legislators to enact a policy that would ensure that Canadian graduates receive additional training beyond university education. In this regard, the legislators should consider introducing a policy that promotes apprenticeship and hands-on practical training opportunities for the youths after graduating from colleges. However, to ensure the success of the programs, policy makers must ensure that workers and employers are given a chance to implement these programs at the local levels (Abbott, 2013). These would help bridge the gap between the needs of the employers and the skills of the graduates in Canada, thereby making it possible for youths to get employment easily upon graduating. Secondly, solving the problem of youth unemployment in Canada requires reconsidering the nature of legal protection enjoyed by long-service employees in the country. A critical analysis of the Canadian labor market shows that long-service employees enjoy much legal protection at the detriment of the youths by denying youths the opportunity to enter the job market. For instance, currently, permanent and temporary employees in the Canadian companies enjoy different levels of legal protections that have made it difficult for employers to hire youths (CBC News, 2013). At the same time, the legal protections have made it difficult for youths working in temporary positions to change the work to stable and long-term employment. In particular, since the law makes it difficult and costly for the Canadian employers in most jurisdictions to fire workers employed on permanent terms, some Canadian employers are forced to hire new employees only on a temporary basis. Therefore, to create work for the Canadian youths, it would be important for the Canadian legislators to look into these legal protections and modify them so as to ensure that young Canadians are not inadvertently denied a chance to enter the job market. Thirdly, tackling the problem of youth unemployment in Canada requires a critical though about the mandatory retirement age. According to the Canadian labor laws, the mandatory retirement age for a worker is set at 65 years (Knoechel, 2014). However, this appears to deny the Canadian youths a chance to get employed. This is because 65 years mean that older employees overstay in employment, living youths with little opportunity for employment. As a result, one way of tackling youth unemployment in Canada is to review the mandatory retirement age by lowering it to 60 years. Making such a move would take a significant number of older employees home, living room for the youths to take up their positions. The other area that needs consideration to create jobs for the youths is funding young entrepreneurs. Currently, there are many Canadian young entrepreneurs out there who want to start businesses (Ligaya, 2014). Unfortunately, they lack the funds and support to enable them to start their businesses. As a result, in order to tackle the problem of youth unemployment, policymakers should enact a law that would ensure that funds are set aside for young Canadian entrepreneurs to start their businesses. The funds should be provided in the form of a loan, but at no interest. Making such a move will certainly help create jobs for the youths, which will benefit the country significantly. For instance, the jobs, which shall have been created by the young entrepreneurs, will help create jobs for other youths, thereby tackling the problem of youth joblessness in the country. At the same time, it would also be important for the government to consider subsidizing employers and employees to help create temporary job opportunities for the Canadian youths. Conclusion In conclusion, youth unemployment is a serious issue in Canada today. Statistics show that about 13.6 Canadian youths are unemployed today. Indeed, youth unemployment is impacting negatively both on the youths and the economy as a whole. For instance, the youths who lack employment languish in poverty while others are forced to engage in criminal activities, such as drug trafficking in order to make ends meet. Economically, youth unemployment is consisting the government roughly $12.1 billion in the form of lost wages. Therefore, it is important for policymakers to be proactive enough and tackle the problem of unemployment once and for all. Some of the policy initiatives that are worth considering by the Canadian legislators include ensuring that there is a match between the needs of employers and the skills of graduates, modifying the legal protections, reducing the mandatory retirement age to 60 years, as well as promoting youth entrepreneurship through support and funding. References Abbott, L. F. (2013). Theories of the labor market and employment: A review. New York, NY: Industrial Systems Research. Burkett, B. (2012). The Plight of our Youth: Addressing the Youth Unemployment Crisis. Retrieved from http://whoswholegal.com/news/features/article/29772/the-plight-youth-addressing-youth-unemployment-crisis CBC News. (2013, Jan. 29). Youth unemployment to cost Canadian economy $23 billion. CBC News, p. 1. Goar, C. (2014, April 11). Harper government drives up youth unemployment: Goar. The Star, p. 2. Keynes, J. M. (2006). General theory of employment, interest and money. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Dist. Knoechel, D. (2014). Mandatory retirement being retired across Canada. Retrieved from http://www.bpmmagazine.com/monitor_online_exclusive/02_print/Knoechel_BPMFeb10.pdf Leung, M. (2013). Ontario youth unemployment among the worst in Canada: report. Retrieved from http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/ontario-youth-unemployment-among-the-worst-in-canada-report-1.1473423 Ligaya, A. (2014, Jan. 28). Most older workers who leave career jobs return to work within a decade: Statistics Canada. Financial Post, p. 5. Peet, R. (2011). Inequality, crisis and austerity in finance capitalism. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 4, 383–399. Read More