A joint research brief on youth employment in Niagara will be launched by Brock University’s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO) and the Niagara Workforce Planning Board (NWPB) on Tuesday, March 20.

The brief, “Youth in Niagara: Highly Skilled, Highly Mobile,” examines education and employment data from the 2016 census, as well as local job demand data, to build a snapshot of the work Niagara’s youth are doing.

This project also explores the educational background of Niagara’s youth, as well as the employment opportunities available to young job seekers.

“If Niagara is going to be a region that remains globally competitive, and one that can energize growth in small-to-medium enterprise, then it is vital for us to engage in research topics that help us map and leverage our talent opportunities,” NCO Director Charles Conteh says of the combined research team’s brief.

“This project demonstrates what happens when local research organizations collaborate on topics that serve the local needs while laying the groundwork for approaching systemic workforce challenges,” says NWPB CEO Mario De Divitiis.

The launch takes place at Brock University’s Pond Inlet on March 20 from 10 a.m. to noon. The event will include a presentation of the report followed by a panel discussion with the project’s research team.

The team consists of: Associate Professor of Geography Jeff Boggs; NWPB Research and Project Manager Adam Durrant; NWPB Research Associate Thalia Semplonius; and NCO Research Co-ordinator Carol Phillips.

Anyone planning to attend is asked to register on Eventbrite.