Education is no guarantee of success in early labour market experiences. This finding points to a disconnect between education credentials and the labour market which contributes to the delay in school-to-work transitions for young Canadians.

• An increasing number of students have deviated from the linear traditional pathways of high school/PSE to work.
  
  Harvey Krahn and Julie Hudson, in their seven-year study of the post-secondary pathways of Alberta’s class of 1996, found that “interrupted and non-linear (and hence longer) PSE journeys are remarkably common” (Krahn and Hudson, 2006). This may reflect barriers to completion for some students. But for the most part, it shows a significant number of young people are able to reconsider their career paths and choose options to meet their career goals. Non-linear PSE journeys and school-to-work transitions are common. Victor Thiessen, in Policy Research Issues for Canadian Youth: School-Work Transitions, states that the flattening of the corporate structure resulting in a decline of mid-management positions and opportunity for promotion and the need to continually develop skills, means that youth are less likely to follow linear career paths and that they will move from employer to school and/or employer more often to realize career aspirations (2001).
• In Canada, there is a lack of support for youth prior to and during this transition stage.
  
  Too many students are still selecting PSE as a default option because they do not have an awareness of what other learning and career options exist. This may also be the reason for an interrupted PSE path. Approximately 70% of those students who have left PSE before completion cite that “lack of fit” issues were the main reason for leaving (Barr-Telford, Cartwright, Prasil and Shimmons, 2003). These issues included: “not having enough interest or motivation, not being sure what they wanted to do, wanting to change programs or that the program was not what the youth wanted” (Barr-Telford, Cartwright, Prasil and Shimmons, 2003, 10).
  
  The lack of support extends more significantly to those who are not PSE-bound. In Career Development Services for Canadian Youth: Access, Adequacy and Accountability, the authors found that youth who leave school before graduating and those making direct high school-to-work transitions “have significantly less access to (career) services (and programs) than in-school youth” (Bell and Bezanson, 2006).
• In Canada, career services, which are vital to preparing youth to enter the labour market, are inconsistent, not known or rarely used.
  
  Career services for youth to age 24, which include school-to-work programs, are not consistent or readily accessible across Canada. They are either provincially or locally-based programs, practices or policies which are dependent on “government policy and funding which can leave them vulnerable to shifts in government practices” (Bell and Bezanson, 2006). Lack of consistency and visibility in transitional services and policies means that youth tend not to be aware of the school-to-work programs that exist or are unable to access them when needed (Taylor, 2007; Bell and Bezanson, 2006; Lehmann 2005).
  
  In Without a Paddle: What to do About Canada’s Young Drop-outs, Patrice de Broucker states that “[Career] counselling is an essential ingredient when young people are making education and career choices in a highly fluid labour market environment [and] it can help level the playing field regarding access to information for those from more disadvantaged backgrounds” (October 2005, vi). While many of the benefits of career services are known (see Bell and Bezanson, 2006), few students report accessing those services that are not mandatory. Data on the number of students who access career counselling is limited to one provincial survey which reported that one-third of secondary school students accessed career counselling. Of those who do access this counselling, most are PSE-bound (Bell and Bezanson, 2006). And, those who have had counselling and guidance services, report being frustrated with: the lack of connection between courses of study and career paths and the narrow focus on university as the preferred learning option (Canadian Career Development Foundation, 2003).