Human Resources Committee on Dec. 5th, 2017

[Rudy Humbert]

There is a polarization of the labour market within Canada and Quebec.

A set of middle-class jobs are disappearing, resulting in increased demand for highly skilled jobs or under-qualified jobs. This is where the problem arises because a multiplicity of well-paid and stable jobs have disappeared. We also note that young people who leave school with degrees do not have suitable opportunities, since these jobs have disappeared. They must therefore turn to underemployment.

Above all, we are seeing an increase in the profile of the difficulties faced by young people who are not participating in the labour market. We are in a period of full employment, but support is even more vital today because people who are not participating in the job market have increased difficulties, which requires even more intense support to continue on this path.

As Ms. Broome said, the road to employment is inevitably long. Support must therefore be ongoing and take into account all areas of the young person's life. Young people don't need to get jobs as quickly as possible, since they may not be able to keep them. Sustainable insertion in employment requires fairly broad support.

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

As you said, the importance of self-esteem is at the root of all learning. If young people are increasingly marginalized in the labour market, they increasingly question themselves because they see the widening gap between what might be available for them and their opportunities. What are the solutions?

[Elise Violletti]

There is no miracle solution, of course. The solutions are to support the young person, to allow accessibility to services, to make sure to provide support and to accept that the results may not occur in the short term. This is essential because we know that young people will need a lot of trial-and-error learning and experiences in order to access sustainable employment.

Finding employment is one thing, but finding sustainable employment is another, because there are different problems associated with it. This is especially true in the case of full employment. If we need all the young people and they quickly get a job, we can think that problems will necessarily crop up along the way. This can cause them to lose their jobs and to once again find themselves in a precarious situation. It is therefore essential to offer them support and to ensure that they can be supported in the context of this trial-and-error learning and in other learning they will do when they enter the labour market.

[Rudy Humbert]

I would like to add something quickly. My colleague really focused on the necessary support to young people. Supporting employers is also important.

In small communities, a young person who has one, two or three bad work experiences will, of course, have to face some self-esteem problems. Opportunities for that individual in the local labour market, will also be limited. Supporting young people, which is done in youth employment centres, and supporting employers must be done throughout the community to know how to support these young people, accept certain difficulties and work to resolve them. The whole situation has to be treated fairly broadly.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bryan May]

Thank you very much.

I see the clock at 5:30. Unfortunately, that brings our first round of witnesses to an end here today. I would like to thank each of you for taking the time to be here with us and to share your knowledge on this issue.

As I said, we are right at the very beginning. We are looking forward to wrapping up this study hopefully sometime in March, and of course sharing that with each of you.

Thank you to all my colleagues.

Thank you to the folks to the left and right of me, and the folks in the booth and behind me.

Have a nice evening. The meeting is adjourned.