New funding to support career development for Black youth in Ontario

Black Ontarians are more likely to have lower average incomes compared to the rest of the province, and Black professionals are underrepresented in key industries such as life science, finance, and engineering, according to the Government of Ontario. To address these disparities, the province recently announced a program called the Industry-Led Career Initiative, which will aim to increase Black representation in the said career sectors.
“Our government is working to level the playing field for our province’s Black youth,” says Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services and the Minister Responsible for Anti-Racism, Michael Coteau. “We are improving opportunities for our Black youth and ensuring they are positioned for success both now and in the future.”

Applications to Industry-Led Career Initiative
Organizations in the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Windsor can apply to the Industry-Led Career Initiative, which will give them the opportunity to access funding of up to $375,000 to develop programs to help Black youth excel in math, science, and leadership positions. Successful applicants can use the resource to create job placements or other industry-specific training.

This newly announced program is a part of the provincial government’s Ontario Black Youth Action Plan (OBYAP). This $47 million investment aims to improve the lives of Black Ontarians by decreasing their representation in negative scenarios, such as dropping out of high school; and increasing their representation in positive scenarios, such as pursuing high quality careers in science.

The province says that the systemic racism Black people experience is a key explanation for these disproportionalities, and they hope that the Industry-Led Career Initiative and the other components of the OBYAP will help to address some of the existing issues. “Eliminating systemic racism and advancing racial equity,” says the Ontario government in a news release, “is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.”