1. 4. Sustainability or longevity;
2. There were a number of programs which had been around for longer than 10 years: Career Trek, Windsor Park Collegiate, Career Prep, Community Co-operative Apprenticeship Program, Discover to Apprenticeship, Health Services Internship, Youth Apprenticeship Program (New Brunswick), Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers Ethical Recruitment Guidelines, The Real Game, Career Edge, Deep River Science Academy, Youth Connections, Youth Employment Strategy, and Change Your Future. Of these long-lasting initiatives, several representatives spoke about the importance of their sustainability to the populations they serve. However, many referred to, especially those without core government funds, the immense challenge and required energies to keep their programs and practices going.
3. 5. Increased career outcomes for students (i.e. higher starting salaries; a job directly in one’s chosen field, increased completion rates)
4. Waterloo Co-op Program and Conestoga’s HR Post-Grad programs had specific data on the ability of students to directly access full-time, high-skilled employment as a result of their participation in their programs. More data like this is needed to build an evidence-base for improving school-to-work transitions;
5. 6. Skill development (transferable, employability, essential)
6. In Canada’s School-to-Work Report Card: Grade F, Jarvis states that “academic and technical skills get employer’s attention, but it’s the transferable, essential skills that lead to success and advancement (Jarvis, 2001). The importance of essential, employability, transferable skill acquisition is being recognized by employers and educators and several programs and practices in the inventory work to build these important skills: Youth Apprenticeship Program, New Brunswick, The Real Game, Education/Sector Council Partnership Project, WorkGo, and Youth Employment for Newcomers.
7. 7. Built-in hope for the future.
8. Building hope for the future is an important concept in career development because with hope a person can weather uncertainty about their future with a realistic confidence that it will be alright in the end (Stechynsky, 1999). The transition from initial education to work is significant and research tells us that the road for this transition is getting longer and more uncertain for Canadian Youth. One program (Career Trek) and two practices (The Real Game and Guiding Circles) have developed the concept of building hope in their programs. This concept is significant and may become an important feature in school-to-work measures in the future.

There are thousands of school-to-work initiatives in Canada and this inventory is the tip of the iceberg. WLKC’s inventory is a starting point in the investigation of school-to-work measures in Canada. The programs, policies and practices listed in the inventory are a reflection of the primary informants’ -- WLKC’s working group members – knowledge. The inventory should be considered as a catalyst for further development and expansion.