The Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) and the Institut de la statistique du Québec have published a report on youth who work during the school year. The results presented in these two publications (the report and an additional pamphlet) are based on analyses of data from the QLSCD gathered in 2013 when the youth were about 15 years old and most were in grade 9.
We learn from these publications that 41% of the 15-year-olds targeted by the QLSCD held jobs during the school year, and that 43% of them worked for an employer or a family business, while the others had paid odd jobs. Eight out of ten of them stated that they were working to increase their financial independence.
With respect to occupational health and safety, 68% of the youth had worked for an employer or family business in the month before the survey and were exposed to at least one physical demand, such as making repetitive movements with hands or arms, working with their backs bent forward or twisted, or handling heavy loads without help. Almost 21% of those who were working had been injured or had come close to being injured. Among the youth who held jobs during the school year, approximately 64% had previously heard about occupational health and safety.
The data gathered and the comparative analyses show no difference among the students who worked and those who did not work, in terms of their engagement with school and their perceptions of their own health.
As a result of this preliminary portrait, the occupational health and safety and employment data gathered through the QLSCD could be analyzed in relationship with other aspects of the lives of the youth documented in the study, such as sleep or academic performance and perseverance.
The QLSCD in Brief
The QLSCD, developed by the Institut de la statistique, studies a representative sample of children born in Québec between 1997 and 1998. The primary objective of the study is to understand the factors in play during early childhood that lead to success or failure in the school system. The data collection was funded by the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, the ministère de la Famille, the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation, the Institut de la statistique du Québec, the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, the IRSST and the ministère de de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur.
To consult the pamphlet and other publications based on the QLSCD, click on the Publications tab on the website of the study at http://www.jesuisjeserai.stat.gouv.qc.ca/default_an.htm
The report is available on the website of the IRSST at http://www.irsst.qc.ca/en/publications-tools/publication/i/100945/n/portrait-work-ohs-15-year-olds-quebec
The Institut de la statistique du Québec is the government body in charge of producing, analyzing and disseminating objective and high-quality official statistical information for Québec. This information enhances knowledge, enlightens debate and supports decision-making by the various players in Québec society.
One of the leading OHS research centres in Canada, the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) conducts and funds research activities aimed at eliminating risks to worker health and safety and at promoting worker rehabilitation.