Pathways to the Labour Market

Academica Group's research explores the experiences, motivations and perspectives of young people as they make decisions about education and careers. We have conducted numerous policy studies examining how young people develop career and education-related goals, and addressing such issues as barriers to young entrepreneurs, youth employment and employability, attracting youth to college technology programs, and promoting college applied degrees.

Drawing on this research, Academica Group worked with the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation (CMSF) and the province of British Columbia (BC) to develop Perspectives, a unique interactive multi-media resource to encourage grade 10 students to think about their educational pathways to the labour market. Consisting of a DVD, website, and teaching modules, Perspectives offers a series of interactive interviews with college and university students, and is designed to work in conjunction with the provincial career planning curriculum.

Academica Group worked with the BC Ministry of Advanced Education and CMSF to research student interests and needs, shoot and produce the DVD, develop the curriculum components, and pilot-test the resource in selected schools. Perspectives is now being used in high schools throughout BC, and is being considered for pan-Canadian implementation. Read the case study »