Schema Magazine

XYBOOM | Youth-Led Initiative Tackles Youth Unemployment

'Generation Squeeze,' 'Generation Boomerang,' and being 'over-educated and underemployed' are all descriptors of Gen Y and Millenials that have inspired the XYBOOM Conference on youth unemployment. Hosted by Vancouver-based advertising and marketing agency My Loud Speaker, XYBOOM brings together 300 business professionals and youth with experts from the X, Y and Baby Boomer generations in an effort to address the ongoing issue of youth unemployment and the related baby boomer exit. \n\n\"This conference is a response to the employment issues that I constantly see affecting not only my peers, but business owners, employers and individuals of all generations, says Tammy Tsang, 27-year old CEO of My Loud Speaker and XYBOOM Executive Director. \"With XYBOOM, we're trying a new solution-based approach: giving value to what each generation has to offer, providing an open forum for dialogue and collaboration, and building bridges.\" \n\nPlanned and executed by a team comprised completely of all young Gen Y-ers, the XYBOOM Conference represents youth taking pertinent employment issues into their own hands by bringing together three generations to do so. Featured panelists include experts with diverse experiences and persepctives from all three generations, including Schema's founder, Alden Habacon, Director of Intercultural Understanding Strategy Development at UBC, Fiona Rayher of Gen Y Media Project, and Shaun Carpenter of Pinton Forrest & Madden. \n\nThe XYBOOM conference will be held on January 20th from 9-5pm at the Yaletown Roundhouse and is funded by the Government of Canada. This not-for-profit event also includes a live streaming feature for off-site youth participants, XYBOOM awards for businesses, case study reports on succession planning integration, and an art installation created by Gen Why Media Project. Industry professionals and youth can apply at xyboom.ca. Industry tickets are \$150 while youth attend at no cost (fees are being subsidized by Service Canada). \n\nMy Loud Speaker is a four-year-old, Vancouver-based advertising and marketing agency that works with diverse organizations, operating on a philosophy of exceeding expectations with a simple, yet detailed and effective approach. With a young staff all under the age of 30, recruitment is a small but an integral aspect of the agency—while most employers want to retain employees, Tsang employs a certain percentage of staff she hopes will be recruited by clients for full-time employment.\n\n