Real World Challenges
What is LMI?
Labour Market Information (LMI) is exactly what it sounds like: it's information that can guide understanding and decision-making about how people find employment and develop their careers. LMI includes information on careers, occupations, and the labour market. It is everything students and job seekers need to learn about and consider as they begin exploring careers and making informed decisions about the future
It can be overwhelming and confusing. But it is an extraordinary tool that can inform the decisions of individuals, organizations or governments. Knowing how to use LMI, and how apply information to challenges can powerfully impact decision-making, and open doors of opportunity.
What are the Real World Labour Market Challenges?
Every day, communities across New Brunswick are challenged to solve problems that affect everyone. The Government of New Brusnwick's Departments of Education and Early Childhood, Post-Secondary Education and Training and the Canadian Career Development Foundation are offering an opportunity to be heard on how best to address Real World Labour Market Challenges.
For classrooms addressing the challenges, students across New Brunswick will use labour market information and use it to suggest decisions or solutions to the challenges that impact them most. Share your classroom's innovative solutions to any of the challenges below, using active and relevant labour market information. Your solutions may affect the next decision made at a school, municipal, or provincial level!
Out-migration (or leaving New Brunswick) is typically highest among youth. Every year, New Brunswick youth leave the province to work elsewhere. Why are youth leaving, and what could encourage them to stay?
Challenge Topic 1
Attracting and Retaining New Brunswick's Youth
To find a solution to this challenge, you might want to explore these questions:
- Why do youth leave the province? Are they leaving for work, education opportunities, or something else?
- When do youth leave the province?
- What do young workers want? What motivates youth in their career search?
- What work or education opportunities are youth looking for? Do employers or educators in New Brunswick offer these already?
- How can employers attract and keep young talent?
- How can New Brunswick keep and maintain a workforce that includes youth?
- What actions will help New Brunswick compete with larger cities or provinces? How can employers, community leaders, and other stakeholders take action?
- What recruitment approaches could employers take to engage youth? Are there innovative approaches, tools, or training practices that would best engage youth?
New Brunswick recognizes the challenge of Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Workforce. This challenge will have your classes exploring those groups that are still underrepresented in the labour force. What are the barriers to employment? What innovation already exists in the province around inclusive hiring practices, and what are some solutions that you see for diversifying New Brunswick’s work force?
Challenge Topic 2
Obtaining a Diversified Workforce / Recruiting Underrepresented Groups
To find a solution to this challenge, you might want to explore these questions:
- What demographic groups remain underrepresented in the labour force?
- Which underrepresented groups has COVID-19 affected most? Why?
- Employers, community organizations, and others commit to inclusive practices. How well integrated are these practices today, and is there room for improvement?
- What inclusive practices can help employers offer more diverse employment opportunities?
- What inclusive education or training opportunities are available? Do they ensure greater representation in the labour force?
- Community organizations can support inclusive skills and knowledge development. Do these programs meet the needs of your community?
- How have job loss rates or health drawn attention to economic recovery that is fair for everyone?
New Brunswick needs immigration to ensure a growing workforce. But immigrants don't tend to stay; Workers immigrate but leave New Brunswick. How can employers be be inclusive and accommodating? And what can New Brunswick do to continue to be welcoming as people build their lives in the province?
Challenge Topic 3
Immigration and Welcoming Communities
To find a solution to this challenge, you might want to explore these questions:
- Why do people immigrate to New Brunswick?
- What are the benefits of immigrating to New Brunswick? What kind of opportunities exist that draw people and their families to the province?
- Where can immigrants go to find the kind of support needed to begin life in New Brunswick?
- What training and employment opportunities are available to help newcomers find meaningful work? What about programs that help immigrants keep that work, or advance their careers?
- How can New Brunswick employers, community organizations and other groups create welcoming communities?
- How can New Brunswick residents grow community supports for immigrants? What are ways to encourage cultural awareness?
Get Your Classroom Invovled
Snatch the opportunity to take the Real World Labour Market Challenge by solving a challenge with your classroom that directly affects your community. Taking the Real World Labour Market Challenge will allow you as an educator the opportunity to:
- integrate Project-Based Learning in your classrooms
- use Career Connected Learning principles and apply labour market information in your classroom, no matter the subject area and
- connect your students with scenarios that affect their present and future
The Real World LMI Challenge grants every participating educator $250 to complete three Career Connected modules that best prepare them to implement the principles of Project-Based Learning (PBL) and/or Labour Market Information (LMI) into their classroom. Once the modules are complete, educators can use the provided lesson plans that support using PBL in the classroom, and the specially tailored Labour Market Challenge lesson plans that help educators "Level Up!".
Between January and May 2022, educators have an opportunity to complete a Real World Labour Market Challenge and with their classroom finding multiple solutions to the the many labour market challenges facing New Brunswick. By the end of the semester, Educators will:
- Be granted $250 through the school district to be used for:
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- paid release time (full or half day) to complete the Career Connected Learning modules and/or
- classroom supplies and resources
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- Complete the three Career Connected Learning modules.
- Use any of the lesson plans to address the LMI challenges submitted by the Government of New Brunswick
- Identify a final product best exemplifies their class' solutions to challenges. This will be submitted to CCDF and the Government of New Brunswick to review.
- Deliver a survey for students to complete about their experience
Interested? Press the button below to get started!
Suggested Timeline
Registration Opens
Commit to take the Real World Labour Market Challenge by contacting us. The project team will support you, and you will be welcomed to join a community of practice.
Complete the Career Connected Learning Modules
These professional learning modules are designed to support educators in preparing learners for the future. Three Career Connected Learning modules are required to participate in the Real World Labour Market Challenge, and are essential to the success of the provided lesson plans, and your classroom projects.
Use and Deliver your Lesson Plans
Use any of the provided lesson plans, or adapt your own to problem-solve using Labour Market Information (LMI) sourced from the Government of New Brunswick or student's own research.
Put Together Your Final Project
Using PowerPoint, Video, blog post, or Microsoft Sway, your classroom can put together their LMI-based solutions to share with each other. A minimum of one final project that addresses any or all of the challenges must be submitted to the project team at GNB to receive additional classroom funds for your wrap-up party.
Celebrate Together
The solutions to the Real World Labour Market Challenges that your classroom addresses will be awesome! Wrap up the challenge with your classroom, and have students complete a survey to share with GNB and CCDF their experience to keep the Challenges going year after year. Their feedback will directly inform future Challenges!