Making every day Career Day

BEP Waterloo Region is a charity that helps youth in grades 7 to 12:

Explore their career options.
Set goals. Identify pathways.
Begin to proactively manage their career journey.

Youth Creativity Fund

Now open to Waterloo Region SHSM students

Learn more

Youth Creativity Fund

Now open to Waterloo Region SHSM students

Learn more

Our Mission

BEP Waterloo Region is a charity whose mission is to help youth start a lifelong process of exploring their career choices and determining the steps to achieve their goals.

Studies of youth in Ontario show that the more exposure they have to career options, the more likely they are to be satisfied with their career choices. Unfortunately, 70% of Ontario high school students report not receiving up-to-date information about career pathways and job opportunities from their school, leading them to feel anxious, discouraged, and dissatisfied in their transition to the workforce.

We help youth in Waterloo Region better understand and prepare for the world of work so that they can build their own paths to successful careers. We do this by creating career exploration, skill development, and networking opportunities between students in grades 7 to 12 and members of the local workforce.

By guiding youth to make informed decisions about their future, we contribute to a happy, healthy community.

We invite you to join us!

Learn our history

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Real world work experiences and insights for teens

Experiential Learning provides opportunities for grade 7 - 12 students to participate in rich learning experiences connected to a community outside school; reflecting on those experiences; and applying their newly gained knowledge.

Learn more about Experiential Education

Cooperative Education for High School

Co-operative Education is a learning partnership that provides high school students with valuable work experience while they are earning credits towards their graduation diploma.

See program details

Specialist High School Majors

The Specialist High Skills Majors (SHSM) program offers grade 11 and 12 students the chance to explore a specific community, economic or industrial sector to prepare for post-secondary destinations.

See program details

Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program

The Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) is a School to Work program that opens the door for grade 11 or 12 students to explore and work in apprenticeship occupations.

See program details

Volunteering & Community Service

Community service is a volunteer role performed by one or more people to improve the lives of others, make the community a better place to live or care for our world.

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Discover your ideal experiential learning opportunity

With so many experiential opportunities to be involved with, it may be difficult to know where to begin.

Whether you are a student, educator, business, or community organization, you can use this tool to find the types of experiential learning that suit you best, based on your goals and interests.

Use the discovery tool Learn more

Looking for a speaker?

Introducing your class to a real-life industry professional can be a life-changing experience! Students can benefit from asking pertinent questions, hearing about new career options, setting goals and learn about how to achieve them.

Meet our volunteer speakers

Larry Kelly

Educator

“As a teacher of Careers, Civics, and Healthy Active Living courses, I can say that the BEP program has enhanced each of my classes with quality guest speakers in an easy-to-use program. Thank you BEP for your time and energy toward bringing the community into my school!”

Anonymous

Parent

“The electrical engineer we spoke with at WalterFedy was great. The openness for sharing why he chose the field, high school classes that he took, why he loves his job, and the opportunities sparked excitement. My son left that conversation and said, ‘This is what I want to do.’”

Stephanie Soulis

Business Owner

“The Business & Education Partnership is a great way for me to let students know what jobs are out there, and what industries are out there, that they might not have even thought about as a job.”