youth worker

youth mentor

youth counselor

employment counselor

maintenance person

Youth Opportunities Unlimited

Once YOU was a great organization...

Not sure what its deal is now.  Upper management have all but disappeared. Mid-level management are all close friends. Consequently, there is no growth, no progress, no change in how things are done.  If staff have issues with how supervisors are performing/passing the buck/the lack of professionalism, they are told " We hear you". Then nothing is done to remedy the situation. Following up on this a little while later you will be met with " We heard you. But, we don't believe you. We like the person you complained about". 

Culture has changed drastically. There has been an artificial competitive environment created. Micro-management has become the only type of management staff receive. If you expect ANY sort of emotional/work support for any of the complex. Challenging situations inherent to this work, you will be sorely disappointed.  

Any efforts to improve the agency (beyond commercial growth) is only done by the very same staff they take for granted on a daily basis. 

Some supervisors are completely out of their depth, and as a result, they project their anxieties and their ineptitude onto the staff. Staff are blamed for things not going as well as they could be, with no consideration of any other circumstances out of their control. 

If you're thinking about working here expect to be put down ,spoken down to, and undermined by your supervisor. Expect to be paid poorly in comparison to other agencies. Expect to be micromanaged and be offered no support once this micromanagement causes you to crash and burnt out. 

Expect vague threats to the security of your position, but no action taken when you highlight real. proven, concerns about other's performance. 

Do not expect to be promoted. Do not expect to be paid much more. DO expect to have to put in extra work with no recognition.

YOU has a really stellar reputation in London, (and rightfully so) because of the amazing work the underpaid staff does. In this industry you will be faced with a multitude of challenging scenarios, but being able to navigate through it all, and seeing the youth achieve their goals after working so hard, makes it all worthwhile. For a time. 

YOU seems committed to growing and becoming a real force for Youth Services in London but you would be surprised by how outdated a lot of their program modelling is, the systems they use, and even just some of the mentalities/beliefs of upper management.

Isn't it surprising that in city with so many indigenous people, YOU caters to like 1 percent of them?

Isn't it surprising that there is a distinct lack of diversity in the hiring practices, and even the clientele of the agency?

No one stays here if they can help it. 

So the agency loses its best people and they seem perfectly happy with that. But ultimately, the lack of succession planning, and opportunities for advancement means in the long run, services will continue to decrease in quality; as they will continue to lose the best people they had. 

Also the CAFE is the most successfully run part of the organization and they definitely do not put enough respect on it, or the person running it-- despite it being so hugely beneficial to the youth.

YOU was once a great organization, and still is in many respects. I praise the employees who still believe in the organization and try their best to help youth in need despite all the barriers in their way. However, I am sad to see how it has changed over the years. 

The wages offered to employees and experienced applicants are almost insulting. It seems as if they make hiring decisions not based on who is the best fit for the job, but rather who will accept the low salary that is offered - leaving the door open for incompetent employees and those with little to no experience in the field. I knew of many staff members who had to take on a second job just to pay the bills. 

The work culture is toxic. Decisions are based on who is friends with whom, management has all but vanished, and advancement opportunities are almost non-existent. Those who have experience end up leaving due to all these issues (and rightfully so), meaning that those currently running programs are either burnt out or have little to no experience in the roles they are in. 

Many if not all of the programming is stats driven - meaning that your job is on the line if funding is cut, or if you don't produce the desired outcomes. 

It seems the agency got too big too fast, and either does not have the financial capacity to take on so many employees or projects, or doesn't want to spend money on the individuals who keep everything running. 

In the end, the youth are the ones to suffer the most from the way the agency is currently running. It was a great organization for new grads to get their feet wet in the field of social services, but now it seems they pride themselves on being a "revolving door" - which is incredibly concerning, and means that they don't have plans to make the changes that are so desperately needed. 

Are you a professional truck driver? Do you take pride in being a truck driver? Do you feel that your training and experience as a truck driver would make you over qualified to manually sort garbage? If you answered yes to these questions then DO NOT APPLY to be a driver for YOU's recycling facility.

If you complete your daily collection/delivery run early, you will be asked to "sort" the garbage you have just collected. This would entail dumping a wheelie-bin of trash onto a table, and then manually sorting that trash into 7 different material types. Garbage sorting is the job that YOU starts the unskilled youth in their program on.

To all professional truck drivers who read this: DO NOT take a driving job with YOU. You have paid way too much for your driver training, and have worked way too hard to have your skills devalued by being told to go do an entry level job.

Go somewhere else. Go somewhere where the definition of truck driver is understood to mean "a person who drives a truck", and not "a person who manually sorts through trash". 



As someone who has experienced a toxic work environment and the fast-paced environment of the not-for-profit sector, Youth Opportunities Unlimited is a great place to work! I feel that I am treated fairly, being praised for my work, and overall working with a strong team who share my collective interests in working to support youth achieve their goals. 

The leadership team with Career services cares strongly about their employee's well-being and offers consistent communication within teams to achieve transparency. I have never worked for an organization with the amount of transparency and communication as this organization has. There are even work meetings targeted directly at diversity, equity, and inclusion including hard to discuss topics on anti-racism and striving to become a better service. The leadership team has made great strides to work on the work culture and it shows. Team members are happy to welcome someone new and support them through their hiring journey. 

Overall, it's a great place to work and I'm happy to be here!

I had a lot of fun working for this organization, but after a few years when career goals start to take precedence, they become a very undesirable organization that does little to appreciate their employees. The trend seems consistent throughout, as everyone who has been there has thoroughly enjoyed being there, but with what seems to be an average 2-3 year retention rate, it's clear there's no reason to stay beyond the experience.

Compared to other organizations doing the same work, they pay quite poorly by a 10-15k per year difference.

If advancement opportunities arise, they do not look to hire from within. This is a great place to work for the opportunity you'd like to apply for, and nothing more. At the very least, you will enjoy your time there. It just won't be for long.

Once our team lead left, company culture shifted dramatically. Staff turnover increased ten-fold in this time and staff were responsible for taking on the workload employees who had left. YOU opted to recruit from outside the organization rather than promote staff. Staff eventually became perpetually stressed and burnt out and were discouraged from helping one another or collaborating. A false culture of competition was created which just made people resentful. 
Some problematic policies and practices when it comes to indigenous and BIPOC issues. 

Great place to dip your toes in and get some experience for about 6 months. 90% of Staff are very friendly and welcoming.

basically no covid regulations in place except screening n masks. no glass,.Office seemed to have lots of ppl walking arnd. Was asked to sit in the hallway to meet with my employement  person.  Poor careers worker was embarassed and seemed sad and disappointed their were no where else to meet. 

i think manger walked by seeming mad and bitter. didnt greet me or say nothing to my worker. 

this place was much better when i came in last year. iduno what happened or why there isnt asnywhere to meet privately.  I felt uncomfortable the whole time. my worker is rlly nice and helpful and tried her best but its obvious there are problems here now. 

I had worked YOU shelter for around 1.5years. I really liked the management and the staff. However, the job is stressful sometimes, especially when we were short staff. Also, there are 30 beds for the participants and some are of high risk.

I enjoyed working at the shelter with my great team and encouraging management.

I've worked in several different organizations and have never experienced a culture as caring, supportive and cooperative as the one at Youth Opportunities Unlimited.  Working with people who are trying to make this community better for young people is quite rewarding.  Managers go out of their way to check in with their employees and respond to any requests.  This is such a better place to be than anywhere else I've been.

Youth Opportunities is a friendly, caring place where all are treated with respect. We provide youth with support and resources they need to achieve their goals. YOU is helping youth with employment, education and basic needs.  I am over 21 years with the company and love being here, I will retired in two years and looking for a casual employment.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Youth worker 8 salaries reported	$23.54 per hour
Youth mentor 4 salaries reported	$20.24 per hour
Youth counselor 3 salaries reported	$26.27 per hour
Employment counselor 4 salaries reported	$26.27 per hour
Maintenance person 3 salaries reported	$22.26 per hour

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