Katimavik promoted 'guaranteed' work in Quebec City. Some left feeling unsupported and in debt
Some participants struggled to find work in fall 2023 FuturePerfect cohort
It's an enticing opportunity: A paid full-time job in the tourism industry while learning French and living rent-free in Quebec City for three months.
Katimavik's FuturePerfect is an employment and skills training program for Canadians between 18 and 30 years old.
In the spring of 2023, Katimavik partnered with Destination Québec cité, a regional tourism association, to bring English-speakers to work in the tourism industry. The idea was to match participants with recognized employers in Quebec City and provide "guaranteed work experience."
The partnership was billed as a win-win situation.
"This is an excellent opportunity for these young people to discover Quebec culture while helping face challenges related to the labour shortage," said a news release on the Canadian youth engagement organization's website.
Although the program's main goal is work experience, several of the eight participants CBC News spoke with struggled to find work or never got a job during their time in the program in the fall of 2023.
They also felt Katimavik was understaffed and too hands-off when it came to helping participants navigate issues with employers, landlords and roommates.
Lack of communication
Chassen Bishop was accepted into the September-December 2023 cohort in Quebec City, but communication with the program's co-ordinator all but dried up in the weeks leading up to his move.
Although he'd secured a job as a cook from Katimavik's job board, he didn't find out where he'd be working — or where he'd be living — until shortly before he arrived.
"It made me feel a little nervous," said Bishop, 24, who is from east of Toronto.
For decades, Katimavik has run the National Experience program, which sees youth volunteer with community organizations.
FuturePerfect started in 2022 and has been offered in more than a dozen cities throughout Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.
But there was so little communication in the lead-up to his move, Bishop began to doubt it existed.
"There was definitely the impression that maybe this is like a fake, scam version," said Bishop. "Or they're about to go under or something."
Minimal job support
On its website, and in its promotional material, Katimavik says it connects young adults with a diverse list of employers. A job developer is supposed to support approximately 30 participants for the entirety of the program.
But several of the participants CBC News spoke with said they were left to fend for themselves, which put stress on their finances and well-being.
Chase Halliday was offered a spot in the fall 2023 program only a few days before it started.
He had 24 hours to decide whether to take it or stick with his undergraduate courses in astrophysics and political science in Toronto.
"I thought it was a pretty special opportunity and one that I would not want to miss," said Halliday, who arrived with an intermediate level of French. "University would always be there. So I ended up dropping my courses and going to Quebec City."
Participants who were accepted on short notice, like Halliday, were told Katimavik would help them line up jobs once they arrived.
But several told CBC News the job developer spoke limited French, which made it difficult for them to network with potential employers.
The job developer was the only full-time staff member for Katimavik in Quebec City. They did periodic check-ins with participants about how their job was going and also fielded questions about housing and interpersonal conflicts.
"Towards the end of the first week, they printed out our resumes and told us to basically go to the old city and knock on tourist shops and ask if they're hiring," said Halliday.
Katimavik provided bus tickets and a small stipend to cover groceries during the 10-day orientation. But once that was gone, Halliday had to start dipping into his student loan money and rely on his credit cards.
"I kind of felt like a leaky bucket with money going out every which way," said Halliday.
During his interview with FuturePerfect, Halliday said he was told there would be a guaranteed job.
"It's pretty unequivocal," said Halliday. "When someone says a job is guaranteed, you assume the job is guaranteed."
Still without employment at the end of his third week, he decided to return to Toronto.
Karanya Yoganathan, like Halliday, was also accepted into the program at the last minute and was assured she'd have time to job search when she arrived.
But the first week-and-a-half was filled with mandatory all-day workshops on everything from how to beef up your resume to budgeting.
"It was a bit weird that we were doing these classes during prime time when we could go out and actually apply for work," said Yoganathan. "Everyone was kind of panicking. I was trying to stay calm, but a lot of us didn't have jobs."
The 26-year-old had beginner-level French, but she was told it would not be a barrier in landing a job. That was not the case.
"I realized just how hard it was to get a job if you didn't speak fluent French," said Yoganathan.
She did one training shift as a laundry attendant, but didn't feel it was a good fit for her. She also didn't think it would help her learn French — one of the program's advertised benefits — as many of the hotel employees spoke Spanish.
"Is it really worth it then to be living in Quebec City doing a job where you're not even interacting with people?" said Yoganathan.
In mid-October, she asked her parents to come pick her up.
One participant told CBC News that money was so tight, they tried visiting a food bank but needed to be a permanent resident to use it. Others could not understand why Katimavik would go to the trouble of covering their travel expenses if it couldn't guarantee work once they got there.
Several said they are still paying back money they borrowed to stay afloat in Quebec City.
Katimavik refused repeated requests for an on-camera interview and would only respond to questions from CBC News in writing.
According to Katimavik spokesperson Tom Ahern, 18 of the 26 participants in the fall cohort — some travelling from as far away as British Columbia and Saskatchewan — did not have a job lined up before they arrived in Quebec City. Those participants were "expected" to find a job with the help of the tools they gained in the orientation and with the help of staff.
In an email sent to participants prior to arrival, Ahern said they were warned that if they did not have a placement by the end of orientation, they'd have to accept one provided by the FuturePerfect team in any location or position. If they did not accept it, they could be responsible for their return travel home.
Both Yoganathan and Halliday confirmed they received that email. But Halliday said he assumed he'd be applying for jobs with employers that already had agreements with Katimavik.
When CBC News asked about the job developer's comfort in French, Katimavik did not answer directly.
Ahern said it was the "responsibility of the young adults in the program to engage with potential employers."
Although an April 2023 news release about the Katimavik and Destination Québec cité partnership said it would provide "guaranteed work experience," the word "guaranteed" was removed from Katimavik's website after CBC News reached out to the organization.
Of the 26 participants in the fall 2023 cohort, 20 completed the program and 19 had jobs. Katimavik did not specify how steady that work was.
Issues with landlords, employers
Although Bishop worked in a café for the entirety of the program, it wasn't smooth sailing.
Participants are supposed to work a minimum of 35 hours a week and Katimavik subsidizes a significant part of their wage. But Bishop said he never got full-time hours.
"They almost kind of treated me like it was my fault," said Bishop, who stopped bringing it up with the job developer as he wasn't seeing any changes. "You're the ones that had an agreement with [the employer]."
There were also problems with the house Katimavik rented for Bishop and his roommates.
One of the showers backed up and the other kept leaking through the ceiling into his bedroom. The backyard in-ground pool was full of garbage and in the winter, there was a problem with the heating. Bishop said none of the problems were adequately resolved by the landlord.
Other participants told CBC News they also encountered problems with their houses, including cleanliness, privacy concerns and noise.
"We thought that Katimavik, who is the official leaseholder there, would have more of a vested interest in making sure those things were resolved or would step in to fix things," said Bishop.
Katimavik said it has intervened when participants are not given full-time hours and has also stepped in to resolve issues with landlords.
In some cases, Ahern said Katimavik had allowed participants to take the lead on minor house issues to "develop the skill set of being a renter," but added "this task is now the sole responsibility of Katimavik staff."
Hands-off approach
Although participants were provided French classes during their stay in Quebec City, several had beginner-level French.
But Joy Chamoun already spoke fluent French when she was accepted to FuturePerfect and got a job in reception at a hotel chain.
"I do think I had a big advantage over the rest of the group," said Chamoun. "I know a lot of them didn't have jobs for several weeks."
She said she used her French to help other participants find a job and would call potential employers on their behalf to explain how the FuturePerfect program worked.
"I was really pushing for a lot of my housemates," said Chamoun. "But I was like, this doesn't make any sense that I am doing this for people."
She was also disappointed with how Katimavik handled conflict between housemates.
Several participants described the relationship between some housemates as "toxic" or "hostile." The atmosphere at Chamoun's house was particularly bad after one of the participants was kicked out for allegedly not following Katimavik's rules.
Chamoun described this time as her "own personal hell."
She gave Katimavik feedback about her experience, but no one followed up.
"It was a slap in the face," said Chamoun. "Isn't there someone who is looking at this and wanting to see how FuturePerfect is going?"
Katimavik said feedback from participants, employers, funders and staff is regularly reviewed. Changes are made based on that information.
Although it was unable to address a specific case, Ahern said Katimavik does not believe that any follow-up has been missed.
When conflict arises between housemates, Katimavik said it does act as a mediator. But Ahern pointed out that it is up to the participants to resolve their issues.
"As the participants in the program are autonomous young adults, the program is intended to provide support and guidance, rather than full-time supervision," wrote Ahern.
Katimavik provided CBC News with positive testimonials from two employers and two participants. CBC News was not able to independently verify the participants' testimonials.
Improvements needed
Although Chamoun has stayed on in Quebec City, she would not recommend the program unless Katimavik overhauled it and offered more support.
Both Yoganathan and Bishop said there needed to be better communication with participants on all fronts. They enjoyed meeting new people and experiencing Quebec, but encouraged future participants to go in with savings in case their job did not work out.
All of the participants CBC News spoke with did not feel Katimavik had enough people to properly support participants, which undermined the program's goals.
"The program was new, the organization was not. So I think they should have anticipated it. You know, it wasn't their first rodeo," Halliday said.
By the time he returned to Toronto, it was too late to re-enroll in his classes. He was told by student aid that if his course load changed again, he would no longer be eligible for help in the future.
"I was going there with the expectation that I'd have a time that I could remember for the rest of my life basically and yeah, I crashed down to earth real fast," said Halliday.
Katimavik said since the fall 2023 cohort, participants are no longer able to travel to a community without a placement.
Agreement not renewed
Destination Québec cité refused an interview request with its director, but described its relationship with Katimavik as employment facilitators.
It was not involved in the "finer details" of agreements with employers, said Jessie Deschamps, a spokesperson for the association.
When asked about how many businesses employed Katimavik's participants, she referred CBC News to Katimavik.
Deschamps said Destination Québec cité's agreement concluded after the third cohort finished in March 2024. She said the agreement was not renewed due to changes in the employment landscape and new approaches being taken by the industry to meet its challenges.
Deschamps said it received positive feedback from participating businesses and improved the program by providing French courses before the participants' arrival for the final cohort.
Although the partnership is over, Katimavik said FuturePerfect will continue in Quebec City with the program open to employment placements in all industries.
Federal funding
Katimavik's FuturePerfect program is funded by Employment and Social Development Canada.
From 2021 to 2024, EDSC provided more than $4.2 million toward the program, said Samuelle Carbonneau, a ministry spokesperson.
The ministry said it regularly monitors the programs it funds and was satisfied with FuturePerfect's performance.
In February, Carbonneau said six program participants were contacted to obtain their feedback. And in July, a participant communicated with the government to share their concerns regarding their own experience with the program.
Service Canada said it proposed a meeting with that participant but is still waiting to hear back.
Additional monitoring activities, including further discussions with participants, are planned in the fall, said Carbonneau.
Katimavik said it considers the program to be a success and said their survey results show participants felt their leadership, work ethic, professional development and critical thinking skills improved during the program.
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