BGC Winnipeg (formerly known as the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg) works in collaboration with their local Old Navy and their This Way ONward program to teach BGC Club youth important skills for the workforce and prepare them to land their first job at Old Navy

Old Navy has been a proud partner of BGC Canada since 2005, helping prepare the next generation of leaders for workplace success. Old Navy’s This Way ONward program helps Clubs provide youth with job readiness training, by offering real-world work experience with on-the-job skill building, alongside one-on-one mentorship and coaching. This program aims to help young people unlock their career potential and can help youth get their first job or prepare them for the next step in their career. This Way ONward provides a safe space for young people to learn the skills necessary to build a more secure future and successful career.

On Thursday, April 28, 2022, at BGC Winnipeg’s Annual General Meeting, the Club honoured volunteers from their local Old Navy with the ‘Community Spirit Group Award’, which is given annually to a corporate partner that provides exceptional support and goes above and beyond to assist their local BGC Club.

This Way ONward has been in high demand among youth at BGC Winnipeg since its inception three years ago. Since then, 30 of the 50 young people from the Club who applied for jobs have been hired at Old Navy or Old Navy–related stores.

Program participants are granted a job interview with Old Navy, but BGC Winnipeg staff shared that the real magic of the program actually happens before.

Club and Old Navy staff help the youth prepare by hosting activities like workshops and practice interviews. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Old Navy would also invite Club youth to tour their stores and get behind-the-scenes glimpses of the work that goes into running them. Club youth get a chance to sit down with Old Navy staff members and learn about their work experiences in the retail industry.

In Winnipeg, this local partnership has been a win-win situation for everyone involved: the local BGC Club, Club youth, and the Old Navy store. Old Navy was an obvious choice for BGC Winnipeg when choosing their Community Spirit Award recipient because they have been working together for decades. In fact, when considering which corporate partner to recognize, BGC Winnipeg’s Community Engagement Director, Heather Black, pulled out pictures of Old Navy staff at the Club from the early 2000s.

This Way ONward seeks to remove barriers to employment for youth and meets them halfway to assist based on their needs. These opportunities have been important for the youth, Jocelyn said, because “it’s one thing for us to tell the youth about employment…and work with them on resumes and such but it’s another when you say ‘ok, the store manager is going to come, and they want to spend some time with you’”. Overall, she would say the program has been “a really positive experience for a lot of our youth” and has “made a big impact, over the last few years especially”.

The program allows Old Navy staff to build authentic connections with the youth at the Club, where they feel most confident removing the typical power dynamic in a standard interview situation. The participants already knew their co-workers when they got the job from the workshops and had mentor-like relationships with them that eased them into the workforce. Jocelyn said that these experiences “show youth this is what your first job could be like, you can do it”.

Old Navy staff are very active at the BGC Winnipeg Club, and BGC participants become well acquainted with them. Not only are they active in community events such as family barbeques, Christmas, clothing donations, and food drives but they also spend hours playing games with the youth and getting to know them personally. These relationships have not only helped the clubs operate and provide services to the community, but it has helped BGC youth in the long run. For many of the participants, this was the first time they had gotten a job. While this could have made some of the teenagers nervous, their nerves were alleviated by the close relationship many of them built with the Old Navy staff before completing an interview.

One of the youth participants of the program, Jeremy, seconded this. Jeremy was a member of the BGC Winnipeg club for approximately 10 months. He was looking for a job in Grade 11, when his school guidance counsellor connected him to Jocelyn at BGC Winnipeg and he joined This Way ONward. He describes his overall experience in the program as “very fun” and noted that the program helped him gain confidence in his ability to get a job. He worked at Old Navy for nine months and said, “every single one of them [employees and workers at Old Navy] was great”. He even gained “quite a few friends” from his time there and helped his friend get a job there as well.

Jeremy felt that the skills he gained from the program “has prepared me for a lot more in the rest of my life”. He learned to write a resume during one of his BGC workshops, which he still uses now, and gained practical skills such as how to fold clothing, planning, training other people how to do the job, and how to be a leader. The experience taught him “a little bit about myself, and a little bit about others too”.

The This Way ONward program has been particularly popular with older teens at BGC Winnipeg, who are seeking their first job or a seasonal position, to help build their work experience. But Jocelyn also shared that there is demand amongst younger teenagers, who are 14 or 15, and eager to join the program, but need to wait until they are 16 to participate. This is great news for Old Navy, because there is a steady stream of prospective employees who have been trained in job readiness at their local BGC Club. Those who are old enough to apply, and have been chosen, are always able to stay on for longer periods of time if they wish to. Stephanie Mclean, who is an Old Navy Community District Leader, said there is always room for talent at Old Navy.

Overall, working together on the This Way ONward program has been positive for everyone involved. Both Jocelyn and Stephanie repeated that working with each other “never felt like work” and Stephanie mentioned that because BGC is “an organization that really cares about young people”, she felt she was “making a difference in someone’s life”. When I asked Jeremy whether he would recommend this program to others, he responded, “Absolutely, yes. 100%”.

In 2020, our Clubs used over 700 Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) grants—and more than half of those placements took advantage of the temporary program changes made in response to COVID-19, including fall/winter extensions and part-time positions.

BGC Canada was pleased to see those changes continue in 2021 and looks forward to working with the federal government on the continued evolution of the Canada Summer Jobs program.

Nathaniel has nothing but positive things to say about his Canada Summer Jobs experience at BGC Dawson in Montréal, which led to being hired permanently at the Club. He started out working at their summer camp, organizing activities and supervising the kids in his care, and he emphasizes that the supportive environment and the incredible experience has been life-changing for him.

“This job has really refined my leadership skills and taught me how to communicate better with the kids and with my team—very different from the kinds of skills I learned in previous jobs.”

Nathaniel lives with his grandparents, who are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19, so being able to run virtual programs was very important.

Plus, he’s able to work part-time hours while he’s in school studying Community and Recreation Training.

“After my first summer working at the Club, I developed a passion for community work and it inspired me to start studying Community and Recreation. It’s great to have a job that pairs so nicely with what I’m learning in school.”

For Nathaniel, the Canada Summer Jobs program was crucial in helping him find a career path and develop as a professional in his field. Chad Polito, executive director of BGC Dawson, couldn’t agree more.

“I’m grateful that the government invests in youth and their first employment experience—plus it’s a great way to help nonprofits. It’s just hugely beneficial all around.”

Chad explains that BGC Dawson couldn’t run their summer camp and other programs without the Canada Summer Jobs grants. They’ve counted on the funding for years to keep program costs down and more accessible for families. This past year alone, the Club was able to offer employment to 17 youth through the program, representing over 5,000 hours of on-the-job time.

Most importantly, the flexibility of offering the grants later in the year was crucial. With COVID-19 restrictions, the Club wasn’t offering full-time summer programs and they would have lost the Canada Summer Jobs funding. Instead, they were able to move the funding to the fall and provide more programs for Club members. This was particularly important this year since the nonprofit sector has been hit hard economically by the pandemic—moving CSJ positions to the fall kept program costs lower and provided services that were needed in the community.

Both Nathaniel and Chad strongly recommend the Canada Summer Jobs program.

“We get youth that are studying in a lot of different areas—social work, social science, early childhood education, teaching—and I can see that on-the-ground experience makes a huge difference,” says Chad.

Nathaniel agrees and takes it a step further. “You really bond with the kids—you’re spending so much time with them that you develop a strong attachment. When I was going home on the last day of summer camp, all the kids jumped on my backpack to prevent me from leaving!”

“It has really sparked a passion to continue working in this field and making a difference for young people.”

In 2020, our Clubs used over 700 Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) grants—and more than half of those placements took advantage of the temporary program changes made in response to COVID-19, including fall/winter extensions and part-time positions.

BGC Canada was pleased to see those changes continue in 2021 and looks forward to working with the federal government on the continued evolution of the Canada Summer Jobs program.

Currently working towards a degree in psychology, with the goal of becoming a child grief counselor, Emily explains that her work with BGC Camrose in Alberta helps her understand developmental psychology and the different ways the kids she works with are impacted by their circumstances.

“The job really challenges me to learn how kids communicate so I can be there for them. A lot of our families are struggling to make ends meet and it is eye-opening to see that kids know what their families are going through.”

The Club helps Emily understand how to support kids in a practical way, which is a valuable addition to her education. While not her first job, working at BGC Camrose part-time thanks to a Canada Summer Jobs grant provides her with experience relevant to her career path.

“When I was a kid, my family didn’t have a lot of money and I didn’t have access to these types of programs—but I know they would have been beneficial. I want to help kids early on so they can get onto a path they’re proud of.”

Rees James, BGC Camrose’s executive director, emphasizes how important it is for charities to have a consistent funding source like Canada Summer Jobs.

“I don’t think we could run summer programs if we weren’t able to get Canada Summer Jobs grants—and it has made an even bigger impact during the pandemic. We weren’t running our standard full-day summer programs because of COVID-19, but thanks to the new amendments in CSJ, we were able to hire people between October and January when we needed more help. And since we’re not running programs all day, it is important to have flexibility with part-time hours.”

Rees finds the Canada Summer Jobs positions to be very effective for young people to get hands-on experience that matches their education and then decide if they are in the right field. He appreciated the change a few years ago that allowed youth that weren’t students to take part in the program—it was an opportunity for them to try something new and see if they wanted to pursue it in postsecondary. He’s personally seen past employees become nurses, teachers, and childcare workers—and, like Emily, several former CSJ employees have continued their careers at the Club.

“I would 100% recommend Canada Summer Jobs for other nonprofits—the fact that we have hired so many young people after the program ends is a testament to the benefits. Just ask Emily!”

After her Canada Summer Jobs part-time employment ended, Emily was hired permanently by BGC Camrose. Most importantly, the job has been a source of stability during the pandemic and while she finishes school.

“I have experienced more anxiety and depression with COVID restrictions, but there is always someone to talk to at the Club—all the staff are like family. And while there have been financial struggles, the Canada Summer Jobs grant allowed me to pay for textbooks and pay down some of my school loans. Our directors have also been working hard to keep the Club afloat and ensure we all have a job. Everyone really cares about the kids and their families and we don’t want to let them down.”