Career Platform for K-12: Investing Upstream
In a national virtual career fair hosted by myBlueprint, Jaclyn Meilach (Career Coordinator, Diversity Institute) led an information session titled "Decode the Job Market: How to Use Data to Choose Your Career" for K-12 students.
Canada’s labour market is evolving rapidly. Advances in artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and demographic change are reshaping the skills employers need and the pathways young people will take into work.1 As these changes accelerate, career development can no longer begin after graduation. As Canada continues to navigate labour market disruption and skills shortages, investing upstream in youth career exploration is essential to building a more resilient, inclusive, and competitive workforce.
Supporting young people earlier in their educational journeys helps ensure they are equipped not only with technical knowledge, but also with the awareness, confidence, and adaptability needed to succeed in a changing economy.2 Building a future-ready workforce requires collaboration among educators, families, policymakers, and employers to ensure that all students have access to meaningful career development opportunities from an early age.
Early exposure to career pathways helps students make informed decisions about education and training, better understand emerging opportunities, and develop confidence in navigating an increasingly complex labour market.3 For students from equity-deserving and under-served communities, including Black and racialized youth, access to accessible and relevant career information can play an important role in reducing barriers and expanding opportunities.4
To support this need, the Diversity Institute and the Future Skills Centre developed the Future Skills & Careers platform (external link) , a free online microsite designed to help K-12 students explore careers and future skills. The platform provides students, parents, and educators with labour market information, career planning resources, and stories from diverse role models working across industries. By connecting young people with accessible data and real-world insights, the platform helps demystify career pathways and encourages students to think proactively about their futures.
Career exploration at an early stage has significant long-term benefits. Students who are introduced to career options earlier are better positioned to make informed choices about high school courses, post-secondary education, and training opportunities. Early exposure also helps broaden awareness of careers in high-demand sectors such as technology, healthcare, skilled trades, and engineering, all areas where Canada continues to face labour shortages.5 Strengthening career awareness among young people contributes not only to individual success, but also to a more adaptive and future-ready labour force.
Evidence from the Future Skills & Careers pilot project, led by the Diversity Institute and the Future Skills Centre, in partnership with Peel District School Board, engaged 47 high school students in evaluating the platform’s usability, relevance, and effectiveness. Findings showed strong positive responses: 80% of participants reported that the career information was relevant to them, 84% found the platform easy to understand, and 70% said it helped them better identify possible career pathways. Students also provided constructive feedback, including recommendations for additional interactive features, simplified language in some sections, and more frequent labour market updates. These insights continue to inform improvements to the platform and its accessibility for youth audiences.
The platform’s reach has also expanded through national partnerships and student engagement initiatives. In December 2025, the Diversity Institute participated in a national virtual career fair hosted by myBlueprint (external link) to promote the Future Skills & Careers microsite. The event reached more than 65,000 students across 256 schools and 26 school boards nationwide. DI’s session, “Decode the Job Market: How to Use Data to Choose Your Career,” was viewed by 186 classrooms, reaching an estimated 1,900 students. In addition, DI’s virtual booth engaged over 200 unique users. The highest levels of engagement came from the Peel District School Board, Algoma District School Board, and Ottawa Catholic School Board, highlighting strong interest from students and educators in accessible career exploration tools.
This work continues through the Diversity Institute’s collaboration with myBlueprint as an evaluation partner for the Industry Immersion Series Challenge (external link) , running from October 2025 to May 2026. The partnership complements DI’s broader efforts to support K-12 students in career exploration, future skills awareness, and informed career decision-making. Together, these initiatives reinforce the importance of creating coordinated systems that connect education, labour market information, and experiential learning opportunities for youth.
By helping students explore possibilities before they leave high school through accessible, self-directed career exploration tools, initiatives like the Future Skills & Careers platform (external link) contribute to a stronger and more inclusive labour market. Empowering young people to independently discover career pathways, skills, and opportunities is an investment in Canada’s future workforce, innovation capacity, and long-term economic resilience.
References
1 Cadieux, H., & Boullion, A. (2025). Rising concerns about the impact of new technologies on employment. Diversity Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University; Environics Institute for Survey Research; Future Skills Centre. https://www.torontomu.ca/diversity/reports/rising-concerns-about-the-impact-of-new-technologies-on-employment/
2 Jiang, Z., Newman, A., Le, H., Presbitero, A., & Zheng, C. (2021). Students’ career exploration: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 131, 103645. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879121001172 (external link)
3 Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2021, May 2). The benefits of workforce exposure and career programming for youth and young adults. https://www.aecf.org/blog/the-benefits-of-workforce-exposure-and-career-programming-foryouth-and-you (external link)
4 Laidlaw Foundation. (2023). The state of Black and Indigenous youth in Ontario: An examination of the experiences and impacts of policing on Black, Indigenous & racialized youth. (PDF file) https://youthrex.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-State-of-Black-and-Indigenous-Youth-in-Ontario.pdf (external link)
5 The Conference Board of Canada. (2025). From shortages to solutions: Tackling Canada’s critical gaps in talent. (PDF file) https://fsc-ccf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/from-shortages-to-solutions_mar2025.pdf (external link)