Where Pathways Break, Build Bridges
A young person between jobs. A young adult caring for a parent. Someone who has spent a year disconnected from both education and employment. These are different circumstances. Our responses should reflect those differences.
A new Labour Market Information Council blog by Ken Chatoor, “What NEET and NEETEST tell us about Canada’s Youth Labour Market,” explores how better measurement can sharpen our understanding of young people’s transitions. It also offers several points of alignment with the arguments I develop in The Missing Bridge. The connection, for me, is this: we need to understand where pathways break down, and organize sustained support to help people move forward.
Look beyond the snapshot
NEET means “not in employment, education or training.” It is useful, but a snapshot cannot distinguish a brief transition from prolonged disconnection. Statistics Canada’s complementary NEETEST measure, “not in employment, education or training, excluding short transitions,” examines a full calendar year and excludes caregiving identified through administrative records. In 2022, among 20–29-year-olds, the NEET rate was 12.5%; NEETEST was 7.6%. These are different measures, not evidence of an improvement over time.
From a Missing Bridge perspective, that distinction matters. A bridge must support a journey, including interruptions, changes of direction and opportunities to return. Our responsibility should extend beyond helping someone make an initial choice. It should include helping them regain direction when circumstances change.
Recognize the whole person
LMIC highlights the importance of accounting for caregiving when interpreting youth participation. Being outside paid employment or formal education does not necessarily mean someone is disengaged from meaningful responsibility. This aligns with a central premise of The Missing Bridge: career development concerns how people navigate learning, work and life. Career agency grows when people can understand their circumstances, recognize their capabilities, explore realistic possibilities and act with support. That requires listening to the person behind the category.
Build nationally, respond locally
LMIC shows that provincial rankings can change depending on which measure is used. It also highlights substantial differences by community size. National averages can conceal important local realities. My conclusion is that Canada needs shared ambition alongside local flexibility. A young person’s pathway depends partly on the opportunities they can actually reach: employers, training, transportation, accessible services and people who can help them navigate. National infrastructure should make dependable support available across communities while giving local partners room to respond to their circumstances.
Intervene before disconnection becomes entrenched
Statistics Canada’s follow-up research found that experiencing NEETEST was associated with poorer educational and labour market outcomes years later. It also identified higher risks associated with factors including low parental income, lack of a high school diploma and certain long-term conditions or difficulties with daily activities. These associations do not establish that disconnection alone caused subsequent outcomes.
For me, this strengthens the case for prevention and continuity. Career conversations, exploration, employer encounters and trusted guidance should become familiar parts of growing up. Support should remain available after graduation, especially when a first plan falls apart. These measures do not evaluate career development interventions. They help identify circumstances that a stronger bridge must address.
Turn better information into dependable support
LMIC’s contribution helps us ask more precise questions. My argument is that we must build the capacity to respond. Who notices when a young person loses their connection to learning or work? Who reaches out? Who helps coordinate the next step? Who remains accountable when a program ends? Those are questions of stewardship.
The Missing Bridge is the enduring capacity to help people connect their potential with meaningful possibilities, and keep moving when the route becomes difficult. Better data can help us locate the gaps. Sustained relationships, accessible opportunities and shared responsibility can help us close them.
AI Acknowledgement: I conceived and wrote this post, with creative and editorial assistance from my partner, ChatGPT.
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