What happens when we stop asking young people to fit into systems that were not designed for them, and instead build programs around what they need? Since 2020, Reboot Plus has helped young people reconnect with possibility, community and a future they can imagine for themselves.
Reboot Plus is a youth career development model built around hope, relationships, real-world experiences and the belief that every young person deserves the opportunity to imagine a future for themselves.
“We are not an employment program; we are a life envisioning program: what kind of person are you? What do you want to do with your life? How do you get from here to there?” Dr. Peter Wilkins of Douglas College ponders in Helping Youth Find Vision.
After years of delivery, research, evaluation and learning across Canada, we know more about what makes the model work. Now, we are sharing it.
A Model with Evidence Behind It
Reboot Plus began at Douglas College in British Columbia and expanded to post-secondary partners in Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario.
The latest evaluation, Reboot Plus Expansion Interim Report 3 (Blueprint, July 2026), examined six semesters of the Reboot Plus expansion. During that time, 336 young people participated across five post-secondary delivery sites.
The findings are more than encouraging. More than 92% of participants completed the program, and most exit survey respondents said they were satisfied with Reboot Plus and would recommend it.
Participants reported improvements in confidence, self-awareness, communication skills and clarity about education and career pathways. Among those who had reached the expected age of high school graduation, 69% had completed high school by follow-up, and 89% said Reboot Plus helped them make decisions about school, work, or their future.
The program also helped young people think about post-secondary education. Half of participants aged 18 and older applied to post-secondary programs, and many said Reboot Plus helped shape that decision.
Together, the findings show that Reboot Plus can be adapted for different regions and delivery settings while keeping its core principles intact.
What Makes Reboot Plus Work
At the heart of Reboot Plus is hope-centred career development.
Young people, especially those at risk of not graduating, need more than job information. They need chances to discover their strengths, explore options, meet people who can help and believe that a different future is possible.
In How Reboot Plus Changed My Life: A Personal Journey one participant noted: speaking with professionals in careers I was interested in helped me understand what I did and didn’t want to do. These conversations provided clarity and helped me avoid committing to a path that wasn’t the right fit.
This is especially important for young people who have experienced barriers at school, difficult transitions, disconnection from education or uncertainty about what comes next. Reboot Plus creates space for these young people to dream bigger.
Our approach recognizes that young people do not all follow the same path.
“I have always struggled in school environments. There are many aspects that I find challenging. I have anxiety and depression which has caused me to miss a lot of classes. I feel like I didn’t have a good relationship with my teachers because of this…The Reboot Plus classroom is so different from normal school. It was such a calm, laidback and chill environment. The teachers care so much about their students and our well-being. I could feel it in the way they taught and talked to us.” – A Student’s Journey to Knowing Their Self
Reboot Plus also works because the model connects career development to the people, workplaces and opportunities that already exist in a community. Local employers, professionals, Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade have played an important role in making that happen.
Young people gain knowledge, confidence and connections. Employers gain a better understanding of the young people in their communities and an opportunity to share their experience.
Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade are natural partners for this work because they are connected to local. Youth career development is a community and economic issue.
Cory Redekop, CEO of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce shared this sentiment in Building Real Connections: How Reboot Plus Helps Youth Find Their Path: “Today, you cannot place enough emphasis on real world, authentic professional connections. Youth unemployment is at a generational high, and a lot of businesses and sectors are curtailing their entry level opportunities. There is a real risk that youth will miss out on critical information, context and insights about various career options.”
Research Made Possible Through Collaboration
We also need to recognize the role of the Future Skills Centre. The Future Skills Centre is a Canadian centre for research and collaboration focused on driving innovation in skills development and preparing people across Canada for the future of work. Its work brings together researchers, practitioners, employers, policymakers and post-secondary institutions to test new approaches, build evidence and share what is learned.
With Future Skills Centre funding, we had the opportunity to test whether Reboot Plus could be replicated in different communities and contexts. That research allowed us to move beyond asking whether Reboot Plus felt like it was working.
We could ask:
- Can this model work somewhere else?
- What needs to be in place for it to work?
- What can communities adapt?
- What should remain at the core?
The answer emerging from the research is that Reboot Plus can be adapted across different settings while maintaining its core principles. Research turns experience into knowledge that other people can use, and it gives communities a clearer starting point for building programs that meet their own young people where they are.
Resources Communities Can Use
The next step is to make that knowledge available. The Reboot Plus Research & Reports page brings together the research and evaluation work that has shaped the program. It includes reports on participant outcomes, implementation, expansion, scaling and lessons learned across different communities.
As more resources are added, future delivery partners will be able to access practical tools and lesson-planning materials that help them understand how the program works and consider how the model could be introduced in their own settings. As this blog is being published a full program “Toolkit” including a Program Guide, delivery guides and a full curriculum well as program marketing templates are being added to the Reboot Plus website for approved delivery partners. This is an important part of the Reboot Plus legacy. We do not want the learning to sit on a shelf. We want it to be used.
A New Chapter for Reboot Plus
The current program phase is wrapping up, but the work does not have to end with the program. In many ways, this is where something new begins. As the project team completes this phase of replication it is also developing a Sustainability Plan to map out the next steps in establishing and embedding the program as a well-recognized youth education and career development solution, to identify viable funding sources and continue to find new partners and scale the program.
The research has been done. The lessons have been gathered. The model has been tested in different communities. The partnerships have shown what is possible. And the resources can now be shared. When we give young people connection, opportunity, support and hope, we can help them see a future they may not have believed was possible.
The Reboot Plus project is funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Centre.
Le projet Reboot Plus est financé par le Centre des Compétences futures du gouvernement du Canada.