By Dawar Naeem
Community Journalist Focus Media Arts Centre

The Employment & Economic Development Committee (EED) is one of the four working groups of the Regent Park Social Development Plan (SDP). The goal of the EED committee is to increase employment rates and entrepreneurial opportunities for residents of Regent Park.  

Considered among the lowest income neighbourhoods in Toronto, antidotal evidence suggests that many Regent Park households are struggling with employment barriers related to language, lack of skills, lack of accreditation, mental health, Islamophobia, systemic racism and more.

To improve the employment and economic situation in Regent Park, the Employment & Economic Development Committee (EED), hired a Research Lead, Ayesha Amin, a resident of Regent Park, to prepare and design a report.

The aim of this report is to provide a current employment and entrepreneurship overview of Regent Park, to form a better understanding of what the current resources available to residents are, and the ongoing employment and entrepreneurial needs that remain to be addressed. The data from this report will inform the strategy of the EED moving forward with its objective to increase sustainable employment rates and economic opportunities for residents of Regent Park.

Among the findings the report identifies:

* that most residents are looking for part-time jobs vs full-time jobs (perhaps because of family priorities);
* that the top employment barriers that residents have are lack of training, not knowing to where to find jobs, and language and literacy;  
* that there is a perception that jobs offered by employment agencies are low paying, are all manual labour, and don’t meet resident needs (at the same time employment agencies
reported struggling to engage community members who would benefit from their services);
* need for employers to be more flexible around hours and educational requirements;
* lack of Start-Up experience and Start-Up Capital are top barriers to entrepreneurship among residents;

Some of the recommendations include:

* the need for career and entrepreneurship mentorships and financial literacy workshops
(notably for youth);
* need for employers to be more flexible around hours and educational requirements;
* all businesses and agencies operating in the community should prioritize residents;
* affordable space for resident entrepreneurs;
* centralized spot for jobs and opportunities;

The report includes the current Labour Market trends across Canada, Ontario and Toronto, which helps to better understand how Regent Park fits into wider employment related trends. The report also includes an Asset Map, which includes a repository of organizations and agencies, programs and services related to employment and entrepreneurship that exist in Regent Park.