It might be a good time to offer a young person a summer job
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oakville, Ont., April 30, 2025 – About 1 in 13 youth (7.6%) between the ages of 15 to 24 in Oakville are not in education, employment or training, according to a new community report from the Oakville Community Foundation, Are the Kids Alright?
The report is an update on the NEET (not in education, employment or training) indicator initially explored in The Foundation’s 2018 Vital Youth Report and is formally followed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Oakville NEET rate is 3 percentage points higher than initially found in 2016. While lower than the national average of 1 in 9 youth between the same ages, it reflects a major fluctuation in enrolment and employment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout Halton, the NEET rate for youth 15 to 24 is slightly higher at 8.3%. Oakville NEET youth make up 36.6% of the total Halton NEET youth.
The future of the NEET rate will depend on other indicator trends, like current university and college enrolments, apprenticeship registrations and unemployment rates. With uncertainty around employment as well as changes around university and college enrolments, the NEET rate is at risk of fluctuating.
“While the numbers in Oakville are not as high as the rest of the country, it’s still important for all of us to address,” said Michael Salem, Director, Communications, Oakville Community Foundation. “We’ve seen a bit of a rebound after the detrimental effects of the pandemic, but with current economic uncertainty and a reduction in offerings across all of our post-secondary institutions, this could very quickly become a challenge for a lot of young adults.”
This information helps organizations like The Foundation determine the best ways to support youth in the community and ensure they’re able to achieve their goals. Some of the supports available to local youth include:
- HIEC (Halton Industry Education Council), which helps young people as they move towards postsecondary education and employment
- Halton Youth Collective Impact, which is a joint initiative between a number of organizations to support youth coming out of the care system
- Oakville Youth Education Award, which is a bursary hosted on the Community Education Awards Hub, to assist students in their postsecondary education
Click here to see other community updates and research reports produced by the Oakville Community Foundation.
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Oakville Community Foundation
The Oakville Community Foundation is Oakville’s largest community of philanthropists with 400 Funds. The Foundation acts as a philanthropic medium, investing donations to generate new money for our community. We conduct local research to provide our diverse donors with knowledge and solutions to make an impact in the local community, both today and in the future. Thanks to the visionaries in our community who started The Foundation 30 years ago, The Foundation has granted more than $69 million to support charities locally and beyond.
Media Contact
Taline McPhedran
Communications and Events Manager
taline@theocf.org
