The research cited above exemplifies many of the common components for successful schoolto- work strategies highlighted in the literature. Taken together, key elements of school-to-work transition programs and systems include:

  1. 1. Highly visible and well-organized transition pathways;
  2. School-to-work policies and programs tend to be ad hoc in Canada. The approaches taken in European OECD countries, specifically Germany, are often cited in the literature for the transparency of their school-to-work pathways (Gross, 1998; Heinz and Taylor, 2005). In these cases, research has found that youth are very aware of the career options associated with each pathway. By contrast in Canada, research reports that youth are overwhelmed by the shear number of occupational and learning options (Marine Careers Secretariat, 2004). How education and training options and school-to-work pathways are organized and made visible is critical to the engagement of youth and supports their ability to actively develop their careers.
  3. 2. A strategic framework and vision;
  4. The development of a strategic framework to support school-to-work transitions is a leadership issue at all levels of local, provincial and federal governments. There needs to be local autonomy in order to develop strategies and programs tailored to local needs. This needs to be balanced with a central policy that can speak to broader objectives and goals for improving school-to-work transitions. For this to happen, greater co-operation is needed between governments. The Ontario Learning to 18 policy and resulting programs which are implemented at the community level is an example of this balance.
  5. 3. Consultations and involvement of key stakeholders;
  6. Programs and policies that conduct consultation and involve key stakeholders are better able to target the needs of these groups. This process is a cornerstone of successful schoolto- work measures and almost all the programs in the inventory involved key stakeholders, including youth, at some point in their initiative’s development.
  7. 4. Techniques to address attitudes of parents, teachers, employers and students;
  8. Students report that there is a narrow focus on university as the preferred pathway in high school (CCDF, 2003). A majority of parents want their child to go to university and many teachers lack experience outside of this transitional pathway. Attitudes of these key stakeholders need to be addressed and information about different pathways need to be targeted at these groups in order for alternative pathways to be explored (e.g. apprenticeship and VET). Techsploration is an example of a program that addresses attitudes towards science for girls and young women.