Supported Employment and Education
Overview
Maybe you’ve heard the term NEET – not in employment, education or training. Youth are particularly at-risk for being NEET – unable to find a job or pursue additional education, often for complex reasons.
New options are emerging to help youth find and maintain employment, education or training. One example is individual placement and support (IPS), which emphasizes providing support services tailored to the unique needs of each person.
Foundry is working with partners across British Columbia and Canada to understand what helps youth achieve employment or education goals. We are sharing our innovative approaches at the provincial, national and international level to help these programs expand and adapt for folks who need them.
Importance
When asked about personal goals, youth often share goals related to their employment and/or education. Furthermore, youth can face unique challenges and barriers to achieving employment or education. Studying what services are most effective at supporting youth in this area, and what can be done to address or overcome barriers to their employment and/or education, can therefore support improved youth wellbeing.
Key Questions
- What are the barriers and facilitators for youth entering employment or education?
- Are the needs of youth being addressed by existing employment and education services?
- How can Foundry innovation improve employment and education services for all youth in British Columbia?
Spotlight
Facilitators and Barriers in bringing research to practice for a youth supported employment program.
Cassia, a Research Project Coordinator at Foundry, discusses learnings from the Foundry Work & Education Program Research Project. Cassia highlights the facilitators and barriers to implementing the findings of this study into practice at Foundry centres across British Columbia.
The Foundry Work and Education Program: A vocational rehabilitation program
This paper reviews the Foundry Work & Education Program and the research findings to date about how youth have utilized this program to achieve their employment and education goals.
Through hell or high water: Keeping youth services accessible in times of unprecedented disasters
This article summarizes work from the Lift/Futur en tête Project Team showing how Foundry Penticton navigated multiple severe weather events in one year to keep employment and education services accessible for local youth.
