Yukon ~ Pre-Symposium Paper
Prepared for “Working Connections: A Pan-Canadian Symposium on
Career Development, Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development”
Yukon Context
The Yukon Territory is located entirely above the 60th parallel of latitude and occupies 4.8%
of Canada’s land mass (482,512 sq. km.). It is the eighth largest of the provinces and
territories. Only the four Atlantic provinces are smaller.
The 16 main communities of population in the Yukon are quite distinct and separate, as is the
Yukon from the rest of Canada. The capital city, Whitehorse, is isolated by distance from any
major Canadian city – 2697 km. from Vancouver and 2096 km. from Edmonton. The Alaska
Highway is the only road artery to the Yukon. Air North and Air Canada provide daily air
service into Whitehorse.
The population of the Yukon continues to decline, as has been the trend since 1997. Census
data indicates that the population of the Yukon declined to 28,674 in 2001 from a high of
30,766 in 1996. The Statistics Canada population estimate for the Territory for 2002 is
29,924. The decline in population has affected the 18–34 year old age group and their school
age children between 1 and 15 years of age most noticeably. The largest growing segment of
the population is those between 44 and 64 years of age. Yukon residents aged 30–59 make up
50.1% of the total population. The smallest population group by age in the Yukon is those
who are 60+ years old.
According to the 2001 Census, the Francophone population in the Yukon has decreased. As
of 2001 there were approximately 890 Yukoners whose mother tongue is French, and 85
people who considered both official languages to be their mother tongue. This is a decline of
34% from 1996 when 1,355 people considered their mother tongue to be French. Individuals
for whom both official languages are their mother tongue have decreased by 15% since 1996
when 100 people considered both languages to be their mother tongue.
The Yukon Bureau of Statistics indicates that 5,874 Aboriginals reside in the Yukon (June
2002). This is a difference from the figures reported in the 2001 Census data, which report
6,540. First Nations people represent approximately 20% of the Yukon’s population. In
many communities, however, the First Nation population is closer to 75% or greater of the
community’s overall population. In June 2002, approximately 50.3% of the Yukon’s First
Nation people were under the age of 30.
There are 14 First Nations in Yukon. Since 1993, eight of these have signed land claim
agreements under which they establish self-government. This has put very heavy demands on
First Nations to build capacity within their communities in order to have well-educated
people to carry out the duties required.
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October 31, 2003
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Government is the primary employer in the Yukon. Just under 40% of all those employed in
the Yukon are employed by either the Federal, Territorial, Municipal or First Nations’
governments. The decline in resource based industry activity has resulted in even more
dependency on government. In the past, mining was the stronghold of the economy.
However, the Yukon’s economy now relies primarily on the service sector. The tourism
industry plays a significant role in the Yukon’s economy, being the largest private sector
employer in the Territory. The seasonal nature of tourism in the Yukon leads to varying
levels of employment throughout the year. There is very little industry to support seasonal
workers unemployed during the winter.
Career Development Services: Strengths & Challengesi
Generally, career development services in the Yukon Territory are mandated to serve specific
client groups such as employment insurance recipients, public school students, government
employees, and so on. There are a number of federal, territorial, and private sector resources
and agencies that deliver services to the specific groups.
Yukon Public Schools deliver the Career and Personal Planning curriculum from
kindergarten through grade 12. This curriculum has provided a framework (including
dedicated time) for students and teachers to experience holistic career development theory
and practice.
In addition to many excellent resources utilized in support of CAPP instruction (eg. Real
Game Series, Blueprint, Second Step Social Skills and Child Abuse Prevention),
Yukon education at all levels enjoys terrific support from the private sector. Yukon
employers consistently support work experience, cooperative education, job shadowing, job
fairs, and apprenticeship programs.
The Yukon’s small population allows flexibility in ensuring the delivery of relevant
information and resources, gives us the opportunity to work one-on-one with employers and
other professionals, and allows us to take advantage of partnering to use available funds and
other resources efficiently.
Absence of a systemic approach linking career development to socio/economic planning
Funding support, criteria for funding, and protocol between agencies and governments often
serves to isolate practitioners and service providers. Duplication of services and resources
occurs, and continuity in the provision of all aspects of career and labour force development
services is difficult to achieve.
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The quality, development, and delivery of career services seems to follow a ‘boom or bust'
cycle. Information and data collection, programming, and delivery of services are dependent
on:
1) The availability and commitment of qualified practitioners (many successful career
development services, school to work transition, and career counselling services have been
established only to fade out of existence if the dedicated service provider left the job or
moved away).
2) The Yukon has a very small population but is accountable for delivering all of the services
that the population enjoys, expects, or is entitled to in other Canadian jurisdictions. In the
Yukon, one person often represents what are entire departments with multiple staff in other
jurisdictions. This is a double edged sword – there is a tremendous advantage in having the
opportunity and ability to see the big picture since individuals can see what needs to be done
and how it should be done (including collaboration and cooperative activities), but there are
often not enough people to do all the work.
There is a need for critical thinking and reframing of current approaches to the role career
development plays in developing an inclusive, prepared workforce.
The effect of national programs often marginalizes northern/rural jurisdictions
1) The focus and 'project orientation' of the agencies that fund career and workforce
development projects often dictate (especially in a small jurisdiction) the services that
will or will not be provided. Essential resources for workforce development have had to
be abandoned for lack of financial resources. For example, one challenge in the Yukon is
insufficient data and information, particularly local information. Yukon WorkFutures, an
important source (indeed, the only source) of accurate local data, was last published
based on 1996 census data, and resources and capacity to update is limited.
2) The ‘project orientation’ approach forces the Yukon workforce development community
into situations of being reactive in order to access funding. When new programs are
supported nationally we must respond or lose access to funding – e.g. the Older Workers
Project.
3) With a project orientation, true partnerships with government, business, and First Nations
are more difficult to establish and the Yukon has even experienced parallel funding of
projects with agencies and First Nations being funded for similar projects in the same
physical jurisdiction.
In a larger context, federal dollars are allocated to support projects and specific approaches to
the production and delivery of 'career information'. Resources developed nationally,
however, are not always applicable to our small jurisdiction, which has limited economic
development opportunities. A disconnect exists between the accurate career information
people need, how people and practitioners use the information, and how and in what format
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the information is produced and marketed. For example, the Yukon has derived very little
benefit from materials and programs produced by Sector Councils because the content may
be irrelevant or produced in a format that cannot be used easily.
The Yukons’ demography and unique population presents challenges to the design,
development, and delivery of career development services and programs. These challenges
include:

occupational and career information needs to be translated into First Nations perspectives
and context;

meeting the requirement for French language translation of many of the resources and
services;

workforce literacy issues;

growing social issues;

more than 70% of Yukon businesses have 10 or fewer employees so they do not have the
capacity to provide career development support or resources; and

Yukon communities do not have equal access to technology although the Yukon is very
well connected, per capita, relative to the rest of the country.
The Yukon Territory is a small jurisdiction with many professionals and employers dedicated
to career development, lifelong learning, and the ongoing formation of a healthy, flexible,
inclusive and well trained workforce. It is an evolving and ongoing challenge to develop the
theoretical, analytical, and systemic understanding of the role and relationship of career
development in life long learning and in true labour force participation.
The position of the Yukon cannot accurately be presented in this document because of the
inter-governmental protocols that are in place requiring consultation with First Nations.
i
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