15. Immigrant and Refugee Youth Unemployment

SUMMARY

Organizers:

John Shields
Ryerson Polytechnic University
CANADA
jshields@acs.ryerson.ca

Khan S. Rahi
Access Action Council of Toronto
CANADA
aackrahi@web.net

Description:

There is ample evidence to suggest that the pressures of global economic restructuring have fundamentally changed the labour market throughout the world within the last two decades. The changes have intensified international competition, decreased the number of unskilled jobs and changed immigration patterns. The ability to secure full and meaningful employment is a necessary condition for societal cohesion. Effective access to labour market participation has been threatened by the high incidence of unemployment, particularly for youth. The purpose of this workshop is to explore the "lived labour market" experience of immigrants and refugee youth who have been unsuccessful in their attempts to integrate into the labour market.

A comparative case study approach will examine a variety of visibly identifiable immigrant and refugee youth from different countries. The overall guiding question informing the workshop is: what roles do race, ethnicity and public policy play in affecting the employment opportunities for immigrant and refugee youth, thus affecting their access to the labour market?

Presenters

Jean Kunz, Human Resources Development Canada, CANADA Paper Paper
Janice Mansfield, British Columbia Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security, CANADA
Steve McBride, Simon Fraser University, CANADA
Antoine Pecoud, University of Oxford, UNITED KINGDOM
Khan Rahi, Access Action Council of Toronto, CANADA
John Shields, Ryerson Polytechnic University, CANADA