A strong voice: Canada's Indigenous youth are not feeling the full effects of reconciliation, and offer solutions

While indigenous youth are making considerable gains in completing post-secondary education, they still face systemic barriers in their higher education, recruitment and career journeys.

TORONTO, June 6, 2023 /CNW/ - Deloitte's Future of Canada Centre is launching the second volume of its Voices of Indigenous Youth Leaders on Reconciliation series of reports, highlighting the perspectives of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis youth leaders. Focused on reconciliation in the context of higher education and early employment, the report draws attention to the systemic barriers Indigenous youth continue to face on their path to academic and career success, and their recommendations for advancing reconciliation.

The report, Bridging study and work for long-term success, is co-published by Canadian Roots Exchange, a national Indigenous youth-led organization, and all recommendations put forward within the report come solely from Indigenous youth and are qualified by secondary research.

Indigenous youth have shown significant resilience in their higher education journeys: from 2011 to 2021, those who completed a bachelor's degree or higher increased by 85%. However, the gap between Indigenous youth and their non-Indigenous peers remains large; as of 2021, only 11% of Indigenous Peoples held a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 35% for non-Indigenous peoples.

"We know that First Nations, Inuit, and Métis youth are at a pivotal moment of opportunity as a growing segment of the population in Canada and one with significant gains in graduation rates over the last decade," says Dean Janvier, Director, Indigenous Prairies/BC and Government & Public Services, Assurance Services. "However, we also know that Indigenous youth are not feeling the full effects of reconciliation and a large gap remains between their educational and career success rates versus those of their non-Indigenous peers. Decision-makers must re-examine their reconciliation efforts to ensure they are informed by Indigenous youth's lived experiences, so they ultimately have meaningful and positive impact." 

In all stages of their higher education-career journeys, Indigenous youth cite being confronted with biases, prejudices, and racism. Students report a limited presence of Indigenous instructors and note non-Indigenous professors using pan-Indigenous approaches to teach cultural traditions, thus failing to acknowledge the diversity of cultures. In the job application process, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis applicants report biases and racism, and additional research shows that the number of Indigenous people who felt discrimination at work jumped 10% between 2014 and 2019.

Structured as a journey from post-secondary learning through the transition to the labour force and, finally, to the early stages of their chosen career, the report not only outlines the colonial barriers identified by Indigenous youth, but also provides their recommendations for advancing reconciliation, including:

• Enhance student supports and make them more accessible. For example, policymakers and post-secondary institutions should offer more services and financial supports to help cover the costs of living to Indigenous students of all ages. The institutions should also better promote awareness of this assistance and make it easier for students to access them.
• Support Indigenous-focused career readiness. Promising practices for employers and schools include jointly sponsoring Indigenous student groups, hosting culturally inclusive recruitment events, and providing opportunities targeted specifically to Indigenous youth for regular one-on-one conversations with potential employers.
• Foster Indigenous-friendly workplaces, by increasing Indigenous inclusion among staff, requiring all staff to take cultural sensitivity training, working more closely with Indigenous communities, and implementing placemaking to create unique spaces that honour Indigenous nations and culture in the territory.

While youth leaders are optimistic about this moment of opportunity and have been working hard for their futures, they are also looking for reciprocal action. The progress under way across Canada to improve the education-to-career journey for Indigenous youth deserves continued, dedicated time and energy from post-secondary institutions, policymakers, and employers.

To access more actionable recommendations put forward by Indigenous youth leaders, please find the full report here.

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