Labor shortages are driving teenagers to find themselves entering the job market at an increasingly younger age. According to several experts, a risky path for the education of our young people as the government tries to regulate this new reality.
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A survey of 18,000 young people attending high school conducted by the CIUSSS de l’Estrie in January 2023 revealed that 62% of them were employed, an increase of 26% over the previous year.
Source: Survey of mental health of adolescents aged 12 to 25, conducted among 18,000 adolescents in the Estrie, Laurentides, Mauricie-Centre-du-Québec and Montérégie regions. / ILLUSTRATION: ADOBE STICK
More than half of the first graders surveyed were also in the labor market, down from just 13% in 2022.
Young workers surveyed by the Journal say they see it as a way to mature while developing some independence.
“It allows me to earn a bit of money and take on responsibility,” explains Antoine Simard, who is already at his peak at 13.
This is unexpected help for traders who are at a loss as to where to turn in the face of labor shortages.
RISKS TO CONSIDER
However, several advocacy groups are raising alarms about the risks to academic success that working at such an early age poses for these teenagers.
FOR :
- development of autonomy
- Organizational sense, learn to manage your schedule
- Learn how to manage your budget
- confidence
- Concrete lessons
AGAINST :
- Risk of impairment of school results
- Risk for academic motivation
- fatigue and lack of sleep
- Risk of injury at work
- Can be a source of stress and anxiety
SOURCE: Luc Laberge, researcher from the ECOBES group at Cégep de Jonquière and Élise Ledoux, professor at UQAM / ILLUSTRATION: ADOBESTOCK
“We’re really sailing blindly with these young people because we’ve never measured the impact of the work on younger students,” said Ariane Cyr, director general of the Partners for Educational Success of Chaudière-Appalachians.
Aware of this new reality, some companies are also working hand-in-hand with schools to ensure young people’s graduation while ensuring their survival.
However, youth safety in the workplace remains an issue.
In 2021, 202 children were injured at work, a 36% increase over the previous year.
SOURCE: CNESST / ILLUSTRATION: ADOBESTOCK
SETTING NEW STANDARDS
Faced with this new societal challenge, Labor Minister Jean Boulet will present a draft law in the coming weeks, based in particular on the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Labor and Manpower on the regulation of child labour.
The law, if passed, could come into force as early as September and should set a minimum age for access to employment and a maximum number of working hours during school hours.
No minimum age to work, but…
If under 18:
- The employer may not entrust any work that exceeds the young person’s abilities.
If under 16:
- The previous rule applies.
- You are not allowed to work while you are at school.
- Must be home between 11pm and 6am (with exceptions).
If under 14:
- The previous rules apply.
- Written parental consent must be submitted to the employer.
SOURCE: CNESST
Six recommendations that could be included
- Set the general age for access to employment at 14 with some exceptions.
- Limit working hours to 17 hours per week during the school year.
- Run more targeted information and awareness campaigns.
- To create a statistical profile of work-related health and safety injuries by sector in relation to young workers.
- Propose the protection of child labor in the Labor Standards Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
- Creation of a statistical portrait of the work of school-age young people.
SOURCE: CCTM SOURCES: CNESST AND CCTM
“We know that there is a productivity problem in all industries […]but we cannot rest a company’s survival on the shoulders of a child,” the minister said in an interview with the Journal.
– With the collaboration of Élisa Cloutier and Daphnée Dion-Viens