Employer Coalition.
Your organization is commited to
hiring more young people.
You need them to tackle important jobs today and to help meet the challenge of tomorrow. You also know you’ll gain from their energy and ambition, from their ideas and diverse perspectives — because they understand better than any of us how fast the world is changing. So how do you tap into all that potential?
Our coalition of leading Canadian employers is connecting with young people across the country who just need a chance to show what they can do. They’re ready to work hard and learn new skills. And they can help you learn more about how the next generation sees the world. They just need us to remove the barriers between them and their future.
Explainer Video See how MyStartr helps you hire young talent
Our current MyStartr coalition members
Together, we’ve committed to hire 40,000 young people by 2023.
Here are the top five points in the business case for MyStartr:
We’re national
No other youth employment initiative has our cross-country scope and reach, supported by a network of locally focused partners.
We tailor our services to your needs
We can customize our hiring program to fit the priorities of your company, sector and specific markets.
We save your time and money
The MyStartr team determines your business goals and hiring criteria. Then we look after the whole process of identifying young talent, matching them to your recruitment needs and preparing them for interviews.
We help boost retention
Recruits are handpicked from our unique talent pipeline and ready to add value from day one. And that rigorous preparation process means they’re likely to stay engaged over the long term, helping drive your business forward.
We share a common purpose
MyStartr employers represent many different sectors and approaches to business. But we’re united by our core values and our commitment to transforming lives — and driving positive social and economic impact — by creating opportunity.
MyStartr makes business sense
Connect with us to learn more about the benefits of joining the coalition.
Connect with our Director, Employer Partnerships nowOur unique coalition is bringing together forward-looking employers across Canada who see the importance of helping talented young people overcome barriers to employment.
By unleashing their tremendous potential, we drive our own success — and the broader pace of economic growth. We’re also pooling data and insights as we build the business case for hiring young people who are not currently in employment, education or training (NEET). This information sharing helps MyStartr coalition partners improve their hiring practices while working with governments and other employment services to inform public policy, shape program development and drive system-level change.
Learn more about how joining MyStartr can help your organization
MyStartr is successful because it’s designed to meet your goals.
MyStartr is guided by direct, ongoing input from the young people we support, to ensure our programs meet their needs, goals and expectations. And that’s exactly why we’re so effective in supporting our coalition partners as well. We work closely with employers to understand their talent requirements and hiring practices. Then together we develop custom tools and processes designed to achieve their unique objectives.
MyStartr works because we understand where employers’ and young employees’ aspirations converge. We’ve developed our team and programming to deliver optimum value for everyone.
We’ve built a digital hiring platform, a youth talent pool and a path for connecting job-ready young people to employers with relevant positions to fill.
- We start by engaging with young people to determine what kind of work they’re suited for and how they can land entry-level positions.
- They tune up their skills via online courses designed with help from employers and young employees who understad the drivers of early-career success.
- We help them prep for employer interviews with personal coaching and practice sessions, then support them through each step of the interview process.
- We continue to provide support from day one on the job through onboarding, training, initial evaluations and beyond, as they succeed and grow.
Driving this process is a digital engine that connects qualified young prospects with interested employers and manages all the logistics of finding an ideal match.
See how InterviewME makes hiring easier — and more effective.
MyStartr includes other great programs to support your organization.
As a MyStartr coalition partner, you gain access to — and help to shape — a range of programs and events. All are designed to promote best practices, encourage innovative thinking and advance youth employment in a rapidly changing economy.
Each quarter, we convene a national symposium of coalition employers to share ideas and best hiring practices. We also hear from youth employment experts and service providers — and, of course, from young people just starting their careers.
Speak with our Director, Employer Partnerships to learn more
If your organization is working to attract and retain young talent, we’ve created a great way to expand and deepen that dialogue: MentorU MentorMe. Based on the reverse mentoring model popularized by GE, this unique program matches young people and employer leaders one on one, offering a rich and rewarding opportunity to share perspectives on life, career and the world of business. MentorU MentorMe provides insights that will help you increase retention and strengthen your employer brand. It can also help your organization become more nuanced in how you use social media, foster diversity and drive culture change. And for a senior leader, it’s a welcome chance to help a young person just beginning their career — and to learn from someone who likely has a very different life story and worldview.
Find out more about MentorU MentorME
We regularly bring together employers and young people to examine youth employment challenges and co-create solutions. We then design a strategy mapping out the steps, large and small, by which today’s talented youth can connect with tomorrow’s opportunities.
Coming soon
MyStartr employers have two partnership options:
- Become a Pilot Partner: Benefit from an agreed number of interviews and hires through our exclusive MyStartr youth talent pipeline, plus access to select coalition events — with no membership fees.
- Become a full Coalition Partner: Enjoy guaranteed access to our talent pipeline and hiring platform, as well chances to participate in valuable events — with membership on a fee-for-service basis, either per hire or via retainer.
As a coalition member, you make a commitment to:
- recruit and hire young people who face barriers to employment
- work to remove barriers and minimize biases in your hiring process
- ensure clear communications with prospective hires
- share data on recruitment processes, practices and results
- designate a national contact person in your organization
- support the continued growth of the MyStartr coalition.
Our employer spotlights give you more of the story:
Here’s what employers are saying about MyStartr:
“MyStartr is a strong and important partnership for Walmart Canada, as we believe that all youth deserve a chance for meaningful employment. At Walmart we are committed to hiring youth who face barriers to employment. We are especially pleased that over the past 3 years we have seen on average an improved retention rate with youth employees that come to us through MyStartr vs other channels."
Matthew Hale, Director of Talent Acquisition - Walmart
“The Source is a proud founding member of MyStartr and the coalition of employers committed to supporting youth employment across Canada. The work we do with MyStartr has helped connect us with passionate and inspiring candidates to join our team right across the country. We find particular value in consulting with the Youth Council to better engage a broader range of potential applicants and sharing best practices with our community employment partners.”
Christopher Delledonne, Director, Human Resources - Residential Services, Mobility - The Source
“MyStartr has been an invaluable partner to Nestlé Canada and our Canadian Youth Initiative Strategy to ensure young people are well equipped to overcome barriers to employment. We work collaboratively with MyStartr to include youth voices in Nestlé programming in order to give every young person a chance to carve their own future. A priority going forward will be collaborating with the Youth Innovation Council to understand how our organization can remove barriers in our own early talent programs and recruitment process to enable upskilling pathways for young people to enter our workforce."
Brittany Reynolds, Talent Acquisition Manager - Nestlé Canada
“SE Health is proud to support MyStartr in their commitment to find meaningful employment for our youth. As a not-for-profit social enterprise, our mission is to spread hope and happiness to the communities we serve. MyStartr’s partnership is invaluable to helping achieve a better Canada through our future leaders in our communities – which all starts with our youth. We are thrilled to be a part in helping achieve that goal and appreciate this partnership.”
Christal Washer, Talent Acquisition Manager, Campus and Pipeline Development - SE Health
“At Starbucks Canada, we are committed to finding innovative ways to be more inclusive in our hiring while addressing complex social issues like the barriers that lead to higher unemployment for some young people. Our partnership with MyStartr is fundamental to making a difference in the lives of youth by providing a fair opportunity to meaningful employment. We are proud to share we have seen remarkable results with youth flourishing in their careers at Starbucks. We have also benefited from learning and sharing with other employers in order to make a bigger difference together. "
Ross Anderson, Head, Social Impact, Public Policy & Sustainability - Starbucks Canada
“At Hyatt, we’re passionate about people and opening doors to new opportunities. True to our company’s purpose – we care for people so they can be their best – we work with community-based organizations around the world to help young people rise to their full potential through our RiseHy program. With RiseHY, Hyatt hotels has made a commitment to hire 10,000 Opportunity Youth by 2025. At Hyatt, we’re in a unique position to be part of the solution because hospitality is an industry where people can truly rise out of entry-level roles and build meaningful, life-long careers. MyStartr will be a key partner in Canada to help us achieve this goal and we are very much looking forward to our continued partnership with them.”
Katherine Hughes, HR Director, Calgary / HR Specialist - Hyatt Canada
