The Green Ride Celebrates Youth Empowerment with Minister Monsef in Peterborough

August 05, 2019

Zac Wagman, PLT Canada Green Jobs Manager (standing), Minister Monsef (seated left) and Green Jobs youth.

Green jobs are all about sustainability. But what about the long-term sustainability of green jobs themselves? Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT Canada) is working with employers, the federal government and other groups in an all-out effort to create job opportunities for youth and provide incentives to grow the next generation of leaders in forestry and conservation.

Encouraging Canada’s youth to see a path to working in a sustainable green job was at the heart of a serious coffee-fuelled collaboration between the Honourable Maryam Monsef, MP for Peterborough-Kawartha, Green Jobs Manager and Green Ride cyclist Zac Wagman, PLT Canada staff and partners, and 30 youth at the Bean Café in Peterborough, Ontario, on Aug 2.

Zac Wagman (far left) engaging in a Green Jobs Youth Roundtable with Minister Monsef (second left).

The success of the Green Jobs program, which has already placed more than 2,000 Canadians aged 15-30 years in Green Jobs, with the help of the federal government, was a big part of the discussion. But the conversation also focused on the barriers that many youth still face to advancing their careers and pursuing their dreams.

Youth spoke up about the challenges they faced in obtaining full-time secure employment that allows them to better plan for the future, and the role that academic institutions can play in supporting and  connecting students to the workforce. There was also valuable discussion around the importance of a mentor in helping youth to navigate workplace challenges.

Monsef, as Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality, has a deep understanding of what it takes to overcome barriers. That’s why she was pleased to be able to talk about the added support announced recently by the federal government for PLT Canada’s Growing Skills project. This funding will help more than 500 Canadian youth, including some facing barriers, gain work experience and receive career support services in the conservation and forest sectors by October 2020.

This additional funding will build on PLT Canada’s growing success in providing opportunities for youth. In addition to achieving gender balance in over 2,000 job placements, the Green Jobs program has also placed nearly 300 Indigenous youth in meaningful jobs across the country with the help of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Canadian Parks Council networks.

“A common theme with young people we’ve met across Canada is that they were never told about green jobs as part of their career options. We want to change this,” says Zac, who began the Green Ride for Green Jobs in Victoria and will wind up in Newfoundland mid-September.