Barriers to accessing mentors during adolescence
In early 2020, 2,838 young adults in Canada participated in the National Youth Mentoring Survey and reported on their mentoring experiences during their childhood and adolescence (6 to 18 years old). For the first time, we have detailed information about the barriers young people faced accessing mentors during their adolescence from across Canada.
At the national level, approximately 38% of survey respondents reported that they faced barriers accessing mentors during their teenage years.
Proportion of young adults who faced barriers accessing mentors during adolescence
| Category | % of youth who faced barriers accessing mentors during adolescence |
|---|---|
| Total Sample: All genders: All ages | 38% |
| Alberta: All genders: All ages | 39% |
| British Columbia: All genders: All ages | 39% |
| Saskatchewan: All genders: All ages | 32% |
| Manitoba: All genders: All ages | 37% |
| Ontario: All genders: All ages | 40% |
| Quebec: All genders: All ages | 34% |
| Atlantic Canada: All genders: All ages | 44% |
With a few exceptions, the top 3 barriers young adults faced accessing mentors during their teenage years were remarkably consistent in communities across the country and for different demographic groups.
Caution! The percentage for each barrier refers to the proportion among the respondents who reported facing barriers during their teenage years. It is not the percentage among all survey respondents. For example, at the national level, 598 respondents out of the 1,081 who faced barriers accessing mentors reported that they did not know how to find a mentor. That is equivalent to 55.3% of respondents who faced barriers, but only 21% of all 2,838 respondents. To understand what percentage of young adults in your province or region faced barriers during their teenage years, refer to the previous chart.
Top barriers to accessing mentors during adolescence
| Category | I didn’t know how to find a mentor | I didn’t understand what mentoring was or the value of having a mentor | There weren’t any mentoring programs available to me |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Sample: All genders: All ages | 55% | 42% | 34% |
| Alberta: All genders: All ages | 63% | 50% | 40% |
| British Columbia: All genders: All ages | 63% | 51% | 38% |
| Saskatchewan: All genders: All ages | 54% | 46% | 46% |
| Manitoba: All genders: All ages | 63% | 37% | 37% |
| Ontario: All genders: All ages | 56% | 42% | 32% |
| Quebec: All genders: All ages | 47% | 37% | 32% |
| Atlantic Canada: All genders: All ages | 47% | 39% | 34% |
Want to learn more about young people’s access to mentors growing up?
Explore the Access to Mentors Data Dashboard
Learn more about the findings from the National Youth Mentoring Survey
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