Rural Manitoba Youth Facing Barriers

The Rural Manitoba Youth Facing Barriers Project was aimed at expanding (1) knowledge about rural Manitoba youth facing barriers and (2) the capacity of rural and northern communities and regions to address the needs of this sub-group. The major activities of the project included data collection through youth and employer surveys; capacity-building through two workshop sessions and on-going support; the involvement of local youth advisory committees; and finally, community-based consultations that concluded with the development of 5-year action plans for each of the 12 participating communities or regions.

This report presents an analytical starting block for youth facing barriers including the key findings and aggregate analysis of (a) more than 1700 surveys from youth facing barriers living in 12 rural and northern communities or regions in Manitoba and (b) approximately 500 surveys from employers in these communities. The report begins with a presentation of the importance of youth in the workforce and some key concepts of significance to individuals, communities and organizations involved with these youth. These concepts are linked to the major findings from the youth and employer surveys. These key findings include individual factors such as the lack of high school completion, high levels of youth mobility, and the number of youth with dependent children. They also include community factors such as inclusion in social networks and structural factors such as youth and employer awareness of and participation in programs and services.