Take Our Kids to Work

Founded by The Learning Partnership, a national charity dedicated to building stakeholder partnerships to support, promote and advance public education, Take Our Kids to Work (TOKW) started as an annual one-day career exploration event for students in the Greater Toronto Area in the Canadian province of Ontario. Today, it is a national program still involving more than 250,000 Grade 9 students (equivalent to high school freshmen [Senior 1 in Manitoba and Secondary III in Quebec], 18,000 teachers and 75,000 organizations across Canada each year.

The program helps students begin planning their future career path by helping them better understand a profession or workplace environment. On the first Wednesday in November every dayd the day at the workplace of a parent, relative, family friend or volunteer to experience first-hand the world of work, as well as to think about their career options and make informed educational decisions. Parents and teachers also benefit from the program. For parents, the program gives them the opportunity to discuss work experiences and career prospects with their children. For teachers, it helps them to better provide a more practical education as the program gives them a clearer understanding of the relationship between their students' career desires and what they are learning in the classroom. Running in conjunction with Take Our Kids to Work is Canada's Outstanding Employer Awards that annually recognizes 10 companies for their commitment to young people and the Take Our Kids to Work program. Employers additionally benefit from the program as it gives them the opportunity to showcase their commitment to education and their range of career opportunities, as well as to garner positive brand recognition.