Victoria ranked best B.C. city for youth employment
Victoria’s strong youth employment numbers, its work to foster entrepreneurs and support of the region’s three post-secondary institutions has landed it in the top-10 of YouthCities’ first Urban Work Index of Canadian cities.
Victoria ranked ninth out of 21 Canadian cities on a list designed to illustrate the best cities for youth to work, and was tops of the three B.C. cities, edging Kelowna (14) and Vancouver (15).
“I was thrilled we were the first city in B.C. of the three,” said Kerri Moore, City of Victoria’s head of business and community relations.
Moore said ranking high on the list is recognition the city has changed, and that it’s younger, vibrant and growing.
But she said it also highlights where the city falls short — affordability of housing, necessities and transportation — and where it and the province have to focus efforts to make improvements.
Victoria ranks in the top-five of the index’s three education measures (affordability, access, workintegrated learning). It ranked third in terms of youth employment and finished “middle of the pack” when it came to youth entrepreneurship, which looked at incubators, co-working spaces and the ease of starting a business.
“As Canada’s population ages, we need to make sure our cities are vibrant places for youth to work,” said YouthfulCities cofounder Robert Barnard. “Using this new index as inspiration, we have a challenge for Canada and Canadian cities: make full youth employment [youth unemployment below six per cent] a goal by 2024.
“Clearly, we can, and we need to do more. We need to spark a national dialogue on the future of urban work and youth’s critical role in it.”
The index, funded by RBC Future Launch, took note of 48 indicators in four areas — education, entrepreneurship, affordability and employment, and ranked cities out of a total of 1,310 points.
Edmonton was the top-ranked city in the country with 713.86 points. Victoria finished with 635.37 points.
“The index is not a list of winners and losers. Instead, it provides a closer look at the opportunities that exist within our urban centres,” said Valerie Chort, RBC vice-president of corporate citizenship. “It helps validate the investments we’re already making in our communities and suggests where more support is needed.”