Guides
Practical. Actionable. Purpose-Driven.
Inclusive hiring isn’t just a mindset – it’s a movement. And movements need momentum.
The OY Works Employer Toolkit was built with your time and goals in mind. Whether you’re making the case, posting a job, onboarding, or planning for retention, these tools help you do it faster, smarter, and with impact.
Co-designed with employers, HR leaders, youth-serving agencies, and experts
Each tool is:
Tangible
Easy to implement, ready to customize
Evidence-based
Grounded in best practices and real-world results
Human-centred
Designed to support youth, supervisors, and systems
Shareable
Empower your whole team to lead inclusive change
Explore the guides
Make the Business Case: Inspiring the Will to Hire Opportunity Youth
A powerful briefing tool to help leaders and teams understand the business, social, and economic case for hiring Opportunity Youth.
Quick Start Hiring Guide
A practical step-by-step guide to attract, recruit, and hire Opportunity Youth with confidence and care. Includes a simple job posting example, interview tips, Myth-Busting FAQ, a Wage Subsidy Simplifier, and onboarding prep.
Optimal Onboarding & Mentoring Guide
Learn how to build structured, trauma-aware, and engaging onboarding experiences that boost confidence, productivity, and long-term retention. Includes companion guides for managers and mentors.
Retain & Grow Guide: Keeping and Developing Opportunity Youth
A retention playbook to help you grow the potential of Opportunity Youth hires over time. Features strategies for mentorship, advancement pathways, benefits, rewards, learning supports, and culture-building.
Myth-busting FAQ
Shifting perspectives on Opportunity Youth.
Wage Subsidy Simplifier
The incentives that make hiring easier.
Don’t just review – activate
These guides are here to help you lead.
- Share tools with your team, supervisors, and internal champions.
- Use them to spark conversations, launch pilots, or build organization-wide strategies.
See the research
Research from across Canada and around the world explores the reality and effects of un- and under-employed youth who face barriers to entering work. This is a curated collection of studies, reports and publications to help broaden understanding of the social and economic implications and to drive meaningful action.
