Isha Brown, who lives 10 minutes from a Scarborough neighbourhood hit hard by crime, beams with pride that she landed her first full-time job with a top law firm on Bay Street.
No less proud is her employer, Heenan Blaikie, the law firm that surprised itself by hiring Ms. Brown and three other young people for some non-legal, low-skill internships last summer.
"We thought this was a problem for others," said Norm Bacal, managing director of Heenan Blaikie, of the job-market challenges faced by young people, especially those from visible-minority communities in the city. "What we found were young people who really wanted to work," he said.
Yesterday, at a meeting of business officials at the Toronto Board of Trade, Mayor David Miller used the law firm's experience to call on the private sector to hire young people from disadvantaged communities.
"Getting involved in community building is good for business, but it is also good for the community," Mr. Miller said.
At the breakfast meeting, several companies and trade associations announced plans to hire young people, not for charity but as a part of their corporate strategy.
Goodwill Toronto announced a new project, initially based in Scarborough, to provide 100 jobs over a 12-month period to youth from "vulnerable" communities. The company hopes to offer 1,000 such jobs across the province by 2010. Meanwhile, an IBM Canada official said her firm is about to hire six young people, who will receive training and related skills during internships that could lead to full-time employment later.
The mayor said he hopes that the private sector will hire up to 300 youth over the coming year.
Mr. Bacal told the board that, initially, he was embarrassed and skeptical when articling student Ryan Teschner, a member of the mayor's community safety panel, first suggested that the law firm hire some non-legal interns.
"I didn't know how to say no," said Mr. Bacal, who said the firm decided to start small by hiring four interns for some administrative jobs over the summer.
Ms. Brown, who has a legal-assistant diploma from a private college, said she had been unable to find law-related work since graduating a year ago. By chance, she saw a job posting at the YWCA and applied for the three-month job as a "hostess," organizing meetings and special events for the law firm.
What Mr. Bacal says most impresses him about Ms. Brown and the other young people is their work ethic.
"When you are building a labour force, the only thing you can't teach is attitude," he said.
Community activists applaud the mayor's effort to persuade employers to hire young people.
"It is very important," said lawyer Roger Rowe, who works with the Jane-Finch community.
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