Question: How did you transition from excelling in professional sports to leading nonprofit organizations?

Greg Gary: I grew up just outside of Los Angeles, California, and I used to go to a club there — not a Boys and Girls Club, but very similar. I ended in something like a coordinator role at the club, running a summer program. We hired a bunch of other youth — I wasn’t that much older than they were — and we ran the program at a park. That was the start of my community-service work, which is in my DNA.

After football, including years with the Hamilton Tigercats when we won the Grey Cup (in 1986), I went back to community service, working for the Addiction Research Foundation, which is now the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, in Toronto – and working for other community organizations.

Fast forward to now, being part of the Boys and Girls Club is incredible — watching young people who have opportunities to work, who participate in our programs and who grow into active community members. There’s a magic in that – in all the programs. I can talk about strategies and projects, but what happens on the ground is another thing. When a young person’s eyes light up because of an activity or an opportunity, there’s something special there; opportunities change everything. I mean, that’s one of BGC’s big things: no barriers to creating opportunities.

For example, when a young person comes to the Club, there’s always a meal available, like at the . Maybe that sounds too simple, but the meal option is a big deal for many youth, as are the physical activities and creative clubs here. It’s the same with employment opportunities and initiatives that we run.

Q: How many youth are from newcomer communities?

Greg Gary: We run programs in the Regent Park and St. James Town region, in Toronto. It’s one of the most densely populated communities in Canada, and many Southeast Asians and a high percentage of newcomers live there. For example, we run a Community Action Program for Children, for children up to six years of age, and that’s for new Canadians. Parents talk about work opportunities, children’s health, educational programs, that kind of thing. It’s really valuable for the community. There are 200 families on the list that CAPC regularly serves.

You know, newcomers who come through the door for the first time, they usually want to enrol their children in an after-school program – they focus on their children — and then they learn there are other resources, like a course for parents, mostly the mothers attend, about employment opportunities and how to pursue those opportunities. There are a lot of connecting points and success stories with newcomers.

Q: What employment programs are available for youth and newcomers?

Greg Gary: It’s important to make sure that youth have employment opportunities – and we train and hire many, partly through the , for youth who are mostly 15 to 18 years old here. Each year, we employ about 85 youth part-time. We’re not an employment agency, but part of what we do is employ young people and train them to develop transferrable skills, so they can move into the workplace when opportunities arise. The training and development are intentional.

We also run a leaders training program, and counsellors training program. These give young people opportunities to develop skills. We help with resume writing, time management, organizing their lives in the “real work world.”

A phenomenal amount of our work is done in an informal way – and it gets formalized through various programs. When they work here, we know it’s their first job – we’re forgiving of mistakes. They’re often learning for the first time. It’s like coaching a sport; people make mistakes, but they figure them out and try not to make the same mistakes. Many youth have their start here in terms of employment and being active community members.

And we see young people who have been employed here start their own entrepreneurial activities, like running a photography club. We found the resources for that club — and it’s a success. Such activities are a really big deal for youth; they’re a step for them, empowering them to control their own futures and their own finances.

Q: How can our sector improve the situation in terms of programming for newcomers and their kids?

Greg Gary: It’s so important to move away from the numbers once in a while.

I know big impact numbers are impressive — let’s make sure you’re hitting 100 employed youth for example. But if you employ all those kids and mainly push them through programs, with no intentional skill development, other than they got paid for a job (and aren’t sure they learned anything), then you’re creating a false sense of impact. However, if you have a program for 10 youth, and they finish with skill sets, and they’re talking to their peers and giving back to their communities, they’re becoming leaders in their communities, then the impacts are actually exponential in terms of impact.

We finished a recent proposal, which got funded, that shows how employment makes a difference in young people moving through a community. The proposal made it clear that this isn’t only a numbers thing. It’s about measurably impacting young people’s lives, so that they can go out and have an impact on others over time. This kind of impact isn’t a one-year plan; it’s more of a 10-year, 20-year impact. That’s the way I think about it. How can we be advocates? How do we talk to funders, so that they’re open to hearing these types of conversations?

Greg Gary is on . Photos are courtesy of BGCTK.

Victor Beausoleil is the founder of Social Economy Through Social Inclusion (SETSI) and board president of the Canadian CED Network.

PANL Perspectives spoke to Victor Beausoleil about leaders in social enterprise in Canada, especially organizations doing extraordinary work with newcomers and youth in the nonprofit and private sectors. Beausoleil is the founder of , co-founder of , board president of the  and a Board Chair of the , among other leadership roles in the sector.

Question: How do you define social enterprise?

Victor Beausoleil: Social enterprise for me is when the well-being of communities, families, individuals, our planet, are the main drivers of activities, not profit. In a social enterprise, people pay more for a product or service because they know the social impact and ramifications, and patrons, donors or investors are in it to create employment and benefits for communities and the planet.

In a social enterprise, profit is a factor, but not a key performance indicator. We have to do better at getting this across. We have to do better at creating greater cultural context around the importance of social enterprises, because if a business isn’t doing something that’s empowering people, employing people, supporting individuals, families, communities, helping our planet, then it shouldn’t be in business. Being part of the extractive economy, with profit as the main driver, is what’s killing our planet, is what’s terminating us as a species.

Q: In terms of social enterprise and in particular, entrepreneurship with newcomers and youth, what approach works best in your experience?

The SETSI coalition is a group of young executives, social entrepreneurs, community organizers, economists, researchers, lawyers and social justice advocates.

Victor Beausoleil: When working with newcomers and young people around social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in general, you have to go to first principles. A lot of times, there’s a racist assumption that folks coming from different parts of the world don’t have experience with social enterprise or entrepreneurship when actually, a lot of people come from countries that organize their economic relationships very differently. They have the Susu framework, framework, and other ways that people put resources together to accomplish a goal. These initiatives lean towards mission-driven businesses, because the entrepreneurs actually have to innovate or pivot — and have to be very adaptable.

My mother was a susu banker for 39 years. A lot of her friends who were starting their first businesses, or trying to get their first vehicles, came together, organized economic relationships and started. That informal economy is what drives folks who don’t have access to capital in the same way that others have access. So, the assumption that newcomers and refugees aren’t familiar with models to advance a business is a wrong assumption. Lived experience has to be valued, weighed and assessed.

After that, best practices and promising models from various regions have to be connected. Social enterprise, social innovation or social impact shouldn’t be seen only through a white or Eurocentric lens. If we’re really trying to engage newcomers, immigrants and refugees, we have to use a lens of justice, access, inclusion, diversity, decolonization and equity.

If you’re going to build capacity around social enterprise, or around business development in general, you have to give them practical, hands-on opportunities — and that requires immersive activities, mentors who are relatable to their lived experiences and cultural contexts, and a lot more.

Q: What are a few outstanding nonprofit organizations in Canada that are serving newcomers and youth?

Beausoleil: Definitely OCASI, the , which has 200 community-based members and is a collective voice for immigrant-serving agencies. They’ve been doing phenomenal work for a long time. Debbie Douglas, the Executive Director, leads the organization. OCASI has been able to harmonize the supply and demand side of capital to advance not just newcomers and refugees, but racialized newcomers and refugees. A lot of times, folks don’t look at intersectionality as it relates to service provision, resource allocation and opportunity provision — and OCASI looks at all that.

I would also flag the , which has been doing exemplary work for almost 40 years. Their executive director, Peter Frampton, has led the organization for a significant amount of time and has found ways to edify and build the capacity of newcomers, refugees and immigrants in York South-Weston, one of the poorest ridings in the country, and also, one of the wealthiest in terms of diversity and richness of culture. I’m excited about what LEF has been doing — best practices and promising models — with communities there.

Also, our colleagues at , a social innovation hub at Simon Fraser University, have built out some incredible labs for newcomers and refugees, and these labs are thought provoking, innovative and have deep social impact.

And is a national charity that provides loans to skilled immigrants, refugees and newcomers who don’t have credit ratings or collateral. The organization was started by a psychologist who noticed that many of the janitorial staff at the hospital where she worked were internationally trained professionals who couldn’t practice their professions due to Canadian obstacles, such as high licensing fees. Windmill is committed to supporting immigrants and refugees on their journey to success. They offer affordable loans and professional development resources to help pay for upskilling, accreditation, education, training and living costs. They also support credential recognition and assist with integration into Canada’s economy.

Q: Where are the best spaces for social entrepreneurship for newcomers in Canada? Are they cultural associations and religious charities?

Read more stories in the PANL Perspectives series, “Leadership in Working with Newcomers and Youth,” introduced by Anil Varughese, Graduate Supervisor of the MPNL program: /panl/leadership-in-working-with-newcomers-and-youth

Beausoleil: I don’t think any one group has the solution. It’s not just the cultural associations and mosques, synagogues or churches. It’s not only the community centres or nonprofits and charities. Success requires public, private and philanthropic resources. There’s more than $200 billion in capital in philanthropy in Canada, so philanthropists play their roles in terms of leveraging catalytic capital.

The public sector is crucial, as it provides scaffolding, or social safety nets, to ensure that new Canadians who are vulnerable aren’t falling through because they’re not able to access services from the government.

And the private sector plays a huge role as well — and a lot of folks don’t realize this. There are many parts of the private sector that are seeking, actively seeking, a steady pipeline for employment opportunities. For decades, they’ve been able to drive economic value by engaging and hiring newcomers, refugees and immigrants.

Q: Who or what else it outstanding in terms of social enterprise in Canada?

Beausoleil: The (ACBN) has a remarkable program, specifically around newcomers, refugees and social entrepreneurship. It provides Black businesses with resources to start, grow and scale up. It was founded by Ryan O’Neil Knight, who also runs a social enterprise called , a mobile, waterless, car-wash enterprise that recently won on and that hires newcomers, refugees and folks who were incarcerated. He literally just hired a brother from Ghana, about four months ago, and changed his life as he went through a visa process.

When I think of a social enterprise, I think of right away. It was founded by our brilliant colleague, David LePage, who passed away a few months back. He wrote a book called .

And have you heard of Eric Hoskins? He was a government minister in 2015 or 2016, and he developed a for Ontario. It wasn’t used, even though it contained best practices that came from various jurisdictions within Canada.

If we could use jewels like these, from the past, we could create a future that’s more accessible and just for everyone.

Photos are courtesy of Victor Beausoleil, SETSI, LEF and Vanguard News. Beausoleil is on .

Francesca Allodi-Ross

Question: What does Romero House do, and why is its approach so successful?

Francesca Allodi-Ross: We’re a community that welcomes refugee claimants. We’re a nonprofit housing provider for refugees when they first come to Canada. They live with us for about a year. We also work with refugee claimants who live outside of Romero House: last year, we supported 1,500 claimants with immigration and settlement needs.

We welcome refugees differently; we welcome them as neighbours, not just as tenants or social work clients. That’s the heart of what we do. It’s different from being a shelter or temporary hotel. as well.

I live in one of the houses, and living at work isn’t for everybody, but I get a lot out of it. I don’t have to do the direct client work with the families who I live with, but it keeps me connected to why we’re doing what we’re doing. Those personal relationships are very meaningful, and they motivate me. I’ve been the Executive Director for two and a half years, and I’ve been part of the community for more than 15 years, when I started as a summer intern.

Question: Can you walk me through some of the innovative ways you work with refugee claimants?

Francesca Allodi-Ross: The heart of what we do is the ; staff and volunteers live in the houses alongside families. We help them to navigate the refugee process, enrol in school, find work, access mental health supports and access all the things required in a new country. We provide a food bank, a clothing bank, and support for things people need (diapers, menstrual products, hygiene products and more).

And we connect refugee claimants with the many employment supports in our communities for help with cover letters, resumes and job-search tools. We offer English conversation partners and circles because English is often a barrier for refugee claimants who don’t speak the language when they arrive. Finally, we connect claimants with friends and neighbours who can offer odd jobs, or sometimes networks that help them find permanent jobs.

Then we have our , which offers a lot of those same supports to families and individuals who don’t live with Romero House, supporting them to .

A third initiative is our , in which neighbours or supporters provide an extra bedroom or a couch — a safe place to sleep, because oftentimes, people are forced to sleep outside. Community hosts support a refugee for a time, usually a few months, until the newcomers can find permanent housing, because the shelters in Toronto are full. We also support refugees after they move out of Romero House through our alumni program.

Question: What can be done better in terms of funding or policies for your sector?

Francesca Allodi-Ross: We’re growing this year, opening a fifth building, and doubling the number of families that we house. That funding, to lease the building, is coming primarily from the City of Toronto. But there are restrictions on public funding, and we need to fundraise for the wraparound support and community programming that makes Romero House what it is.

We’re very lucky to have quite a few donors and supporters who have known us for 30 years and give us funds that we can use in a general way. This allows us to be nimble and responsive to emerging needs. We’re a relatively small organization, and our donors trust us. It’s important in our sector to have flexible funding, and I encourage governments and foundations to move in that direction.

It’s also important to defend the ability of charities to engage in policy work. We are involved in many . We’re a member of the , which includes refugee houses and agencies who work with vulnerable populations.

We see a lot of similar problems over and over, and we’re in regular communications with immigration officials and Canada Border Services Agency officials. So, with many of our partners in the sector, such as the , we advocate for change at a systemic level.

I was glad to see changes by the Canada Revenue Agency a few years ago to remove restrictions on political activities by charities. We’re never partisan but we do advocate for policy change. We can have a much bigger impact improving the lives of those we serve by combining front-line social service work with advocacy to address systemic issues.

Romero House is on . Photos are courtesy of Romero House.

Leo Nupolu Johnson, founder and Chief Empowerment Officer (CEO) of Empowerment Squared.

is the founder and Chief Empowerment Officer (CEO) of , a nonprofit organization that works with newcomer youth and families primarily in Southwestern Ontario and West Africa. His expertise spans nonprofit management, international development, immigration and resettlement, fundraising, and financial management – and he’s received many awards for his groundbreaking work over the past two decades. He spoke with PANL Perspectives about the organization’s unique approach to working with youth and newcomers.

Question: How did you start Empowerment Squared, and how does it work with young newcomers?

Leo Nupolu Johnson: Empowerment Squared started as a combination of my experiences as a government-sponsored refugee and the realities of what I encountered as an unaccompanied minor when I settled into Canada in 2006. A number of things shocked me, like finding out that kids dropped out of high school, especially a lot of kids from the Black community, even though school was free. Where I come from, in Liberia, if your parents can’t afford to pay up front, you’re not going to school.

Another thing was that nothing was tailored for young people; I was completely lost, because all the immigration information, orientation, shelter and everything was tailored to adults, except that I didn’t arrive in Canada with my parents or adults who could understand the language. Then I quickly noticed that young people who arrive with their parents face the same problems, have similar challenges as youth without parents — and that’s why my interest developed in trying to understand how to better integrate young newcomers.

At the time, there was a lot of emphasis on adults getting jobs and shelter, with the assumption that when adults do well, kids follow, but I quickly found out that wasn’t the case. In reality, it’s the kids who venture into the community, daringly; they go to school, get to know people and make friends to learn the language. Parents are often more set in their ways and are more careful, and, as a result, they rely a lot on their children to do banking, listen to phone messages, accompany them to a doctor’s appointment, rely on them for everything — and the children become super-parents.

I found out quickly that the education system still plays a massive role in integration, and not just for newcomers, but for families living in poverty or dealing with marginalization. The education system has the single greatest impact on a young newcomer’s journey. The ones who do well or who can navigate the education system tend to show more positive outcomes, and not just economically, but also for mental health, emotional health, all of it.

So, Empowerment Squared improves educational outcomes primarily for newcomer youth and families, but we don’t turn anybody away. Our doors are open to everyone.

Q: How did the Southwestern Ontario Black Entrepreneurship Network start, and why is it a success?

Zuleeats, famous for its traditional Ghanaian meat pies and diverse menu, is a celebrated, family-owned, women-owned, Black-owned business in Windsor-Essex County, Ontario.

Leo Nupolu Johnson: provides access to education, resources and advisors for Black entrepreneurs, including business owners and nonprofit leaders. One reason it’s successful is that it helps people to figure out what they need to do in terms of tools and resources, such as creating feasibility plans, creating business plans, approaching a bank, using an innovation hub – but that’s only part of it. We contextualize these tools and resources, which is more important.

I’ll use the innovation hub, present in most cities, as an example. When you visit one, you see, predominantly, a population of non-marginalized community members. When a marginalized entrepreneur goes to an innovation hub in Hamilton, they hear the language about business plans, the terms being used about strategies, the talk about this and that, and they get lost, because they don’t have the context, don’t understand some of the assumptions or don’t know the cultural foundations. As a result, many people, especially Black entrepreneurs, don’t go to innovation hubs, because, for them, it feels a bit embarrassing, because they can’t relate, even though they’ve been successful or entrepreneurial for years.

Also, there’s a lot of focus on “business” when Canadians talk about entrepreneurs – perhaps too much focus on business. Business is a big part of entrepreneurship, yes, but you can be very entrepreneurial in your life, in your career, as a person and as part of the nonprofit sector. SWOBEN is successful because it teaches Black people, Black business owners, about tools and resources and contextualizing those in culturally relevant ways.

Q: What is Empowerment Squared doing in Africa?

Leo Nupolu Johnson: We’re in Liberia and Ghana. We see our work there and in Canada as intertwined. The sooner that kids know there’s a world that’s bigger than Canada, bigger than North America or Africa, the better they’ll prepare for the realities of getting an education, of a career, of life, and of all the things they have to do when they grow up.

Empowerment Squared offers structured, four-month placements in Liberia and Ghana for youth aged 18-30. The paid internship focuses on culturally relevant research. The first cohort starts in January 2025.

We run many international programs. We recently launched the (IYIP), providing four-month placements in Liberia and Ghana for youth aged 18-30 years old from marginalized communities or youth of African descent in Canada. The paid community-based research internship in Ghana will look into improving educational facilities and outcomes in rural areas, and in Liberia, it focuses on research that empowers grassroots organizations to overcome substance abuse and mental health challenges in a culturally relevant manner.

And in Liberia, we are set to launch the country’s first state of the art comprehensive learning center, which will include a public library, children’s library, co-working spaces, incubation spaces, and sports and event facilities, all for a catchment area of more than 250,000 community members. We’re aspiring for the best resources and facilities with the Liberian Learning Centre.

The Liberian Learning Center is being built on the grounds of Paynesville City Hall with the support of the Paynesville City Corporation.

Someone once asked me why we’re doing this project for $2 million when we could build a small reading room or something else for Liberian youth instead, and I knew that that person had sent their children to one of the most expensive private schools in the city. I asked, “Why don’t you send your child to the local school around the corner? Why does it have to be the best school?” He understood. We all have an innate desire of wanting the best for our youth. We should keep pushing and encouraging youth to aspire for the best, no matter where they live.

My approach is to find solutions in Canada and to share the things that we have in abundance with other parts of the world, where people are literally dying to get access to solutions. We can do both – work with youth here and there. It’s not about only resources. It’s about doing what you can within your means; that’s our approach at Empowerment Squared. We’re not going to save the world. We don’t have to save the world. But what can we do? We can do something with $2 million and we do something with $5,000. We do our part.

Q: I’ve read about your approach with entrepreneurs who work outside of formal economic systems in Africa. Can you explain it?

Empowerment Squared is implementing the Harnessing Opportunities to Promote Entrepreneurship (HOPE) program to empower 75 economically and socially disadvantaged Liberians aged 18-35 through digital literacy, financial literacy and basic entrepreneurship skills.

Leo Nupolu Johnson: Usually, when people go to countries like Liberia and talk about entrepreneurship, they go with the same old idea about “business,” about a “business plan,” about working with financial and government institutions — and many Liberian entrepreneurs lose interest. In a country where close to 75% of the economy is informal – with local markets, street hawkers, and people who don’t pay taxes and still run their own small businesses — there’s more cash outside of the banks than inside the banks, more cash outside of economic systems. The situation is similar in most African countries. At Empowerment Squared, we approach Liberians who work in the informal sector, people who already know how to produce, sell, hustle, and run successful informal businesses.

Let me give you an example. We approached a young woman who was paying for five children to go to school on a business inventory of less than $50 in total. She managed to turn around and run a small business without any of the “business” skills that you’re supposed to need. She already had the discipline of an entrepreneur. We offered training about some practical skills, like financial literacy and tax laws, and about how to strategize, to take her business from a table market to a shop, and how to structure a salary for herself, including hiring a person who could help expand her business and revenues.

Here’s another example. We had an event in Liberia, and we wanted to hire a caterer, but we couldn’t give her the contract, because she didn’t have a bank account, didn’t pay taxes, and wasn’t registered anywhere formally. I explained to her that, as an organization, we can’t hire people with cash-only transactions who are not operating legally, because we have to track our spending, we have to show how we use our money, we have to report to auditors.

This became a good learning moment: she opened a bank account, registered legally and paid less than $500 in taxes for the whole year – and gained a catering contract of $6,000. So, she saw that, yes, taxes can be a burden, but that there are other benefits to expanding into the formal economy and contributing to the development of the country.

The first time we ran this program, in 2021, 65% of the participants grew their businesses from travelling vendors to permanent shops. Now, most of them are part of the formal economy in Liberia.

Q: What can governments or the nonprofit sector do better, given what you’re saying about young newcomers and entrepreneurs?

Johnson: Consistency. It’s not about how much money. It’s about consistency. As someone who came as a refugee and went through programs, including in the refugee camps — I spent a little more than eight years in two refugee camps — it’s amazing what consistency does.

A lack of consistency keeps people in a temporary situation, keeps people in crisis. For example, we ran a sports program for one year, and the kids got used to it. The program became a source of positive, social-emotional-health for them, and they had a great place to go. Two years ago, the funders decided not to fund it anymore, so we closed it down. Youth experience this kind of thing all the time; just as they’re settling into something, it gets shut down or it shifts to something else entirely. The nonprofit sector needs to have a serious conversation about evolving from short-term crisis mode to long-term planning mode — and evolving from donations to investments.

Don’t get me wrong, donations are great. Empowerment Squared accepts donations, but donations are more crisis prone. A $500 donation to do something is great, but that something ends. However, when someone invests $10 or $200 a month, then our organization can plan for a longer term in a more consistent manner.

It’s the same with funders and grants. We transitioned most of our relationships to three to five years of funding, minimum, because we can’t plan and hire for less than that without unsettling and dislodging communities. We can effect real change if we plan for five to 10 years; a kid who joins at 15 years old will be 25 years old after ten years – and that means the program was their life and became part of their community.

What’s important is investment, not charity. What’s important is empowering nonprofits to provide solid returns on investment in terms of improved mental health, poverty reduction, educational attainment or better training – all with meaningful measurement indicators. This kind of investment in youth isn’t about a charitable contribution or conversation; it’s about fulfilling a return on investment to improve lives.

Empowerment Squared is on , and . Leo Nupolu Johnson is on .

Question: Why or how did CEE start, and how did you get involved?

Gessesse: CEE is one of 34 initiatives that came out of the Youth Challenge Fund (YCF), which was established in 2006 in response to the rise of youth violence in Toronto back then. Dr. Kofi Hope founded CEE in 2012. The YCF had focused on young people trying to solve complex challenges in their communities. CEE and Nia Centre for the Arts are the only two out of 34 initiatives that are left.

I had worked with the YCF and, later, the United Way – and joined CEE six years ago. I have a lot of lived experience, so working with young people and creating opportunities for them is something I’m called to do. I’ve centred my education around that. I’ve centred my work experience around that.

CEE runs programs for five labour gaps in the Canadian market: information technology, trades, entertainment, finance and hospitality. The purpose is to move Black youth from the back of the unemployment line, which where they usually are, to the front. And the way we do that is by providing them with skills for jobs of the future.

The organization’s vision is to create an economy where Black youth can become financially prosperous, live high-quality lives, and contribute to the advancement of Canada.

Q: How many youth have been through the programs – and how does CEE work with them?

“We’re not focused on only jobs. We’re focused on careers, and we’re committed to working with young people who are furthest from the labour market.” –Agapi Gessesse

Gessesse: In our 12 years of existence, we’ve served more than 1,400 young people – and 85% of youth who graduate from our training programs are working in the industry within two years after they’ve graduated.

We have three distinct approaches. Number one is a trauma-informed approach, understanding that by virtue of being a Black youth, you’re probably dealing with a level of trauma that your peers aren’t, and that’s going to be compounded by life experiences by the time you show up at CEE’s door. So, we have full-time psychotherapists to work with our young people, to go a bit deeper and to support them. Often, their biggest challenge is to undo the lies that have been told to Black youth. That’s a big part of the work.

“We have a curriculum that we call CEE Essentials, which is a suite of modules that are centred on Black identity and the workplace. Whether you’re a newcomer or have been here for generations, what brings us together and defines our experience is the Black experience.” –Gessesse

The second approach is person centred. Every young person is different. Some are entrepreneurial, some want to work nine to five, some have children, some have a post-secondary education, some don’t. Social workers talk with youth at CEE before they even enter a training program to figure out what their needs are and to discuss what their plans could be in a program and in the workforce. For example, where do they see themselves going and how do they want to contribute to the economy? These are questions that oftentimes, young people, particularly Black youth, aren’t being asked. They’re just kind of being told, “Take what’s in front of you, and make it work.” Social workers are there to support them with what we call “life stabilization,” such as food security and housing security.

The third approach is a culturally relevant approach. We have a curriculum that we call CEE Essentials, which is a suite of modules that are centred on Black identity and the workplace. Whether you’re a newcomer or have been here for generations, what brings us together and defines our experience is the Black experience. So, how does a Black youth deal with a “situation” at work? How do they even have a conversation with someone in a workplace who, outside of this workplace, they have nothing in common with? How do they communicate so that they’re seen and heard, and so that they can be received? It’s a module focused on soft skills, communication and being Black in a workplace.

Q: Are people tempted to put this kind of training and employment into a DEI box?

“Whether you buy into the DEI conversation or not, Black youth are a solution to Canada’s problems.” –Gessesse

Gessesse: This isn’t about diversity, equity and inclusion. I encourage people not to think solely of the DEI conversation. I think when we box it into that, then employment, jobs, careers become something else, when, actually, Black youth are an untapped talent pool. These young people are brilliant. They’re ready. They’re able.

Whether you buy into the DEI conversation or not, Black youth are a solution to Canada’s problems. They can solve some of this country’s immediate problems related to a shortage of skilled workers in specific industries. This is about empowering our community and our young people. This is about skills and jobs of the future – and for Black youth to decide how they want to contribute.

Organizations like CEE are telling the country: this is what you need to do to get an 85% retention rate with Black young people. Why not invest in them? Black youth and new immigrants are going to be the solution to this country’s job needs. However you feel about DEI, they’ll be the solution — and diversity in the workplace is going to make us much greater and more economically successful as a country.

Q: What’s in the future for CEE in terms of programs?

We want to focus on information technology, entertainment and finance — all three of those areas. How does technology affect industry? How is AI going to affect these industries? How can we teach our young people programs and skills so that, when the time for digital transformation takes place in many of these organizations, they’ll be at the front of the line, with the tools they need.

Agapi Gessesse is on . Photos are courtesy of the CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals.