Glossary
High School
Explore Careers
- Apprenticeship
- A program or position where an apprentice learns a specific trade by working under a certified expert in the field.
- Internship
- A professional learning experience where interns do practical work related to their field of study or career interest, paid or unpaid, for a limited period of time, like a few months or a year.
- Job shadow
- Following and observing a professional at work perform their role for a short period of time, like a day or a week, to get a better understanding of what the job entails.
- Skilled trade
- A career path that requires hands-on work and specialized knowledge and training in order to build and maintain infrastructure like homes, schools, hospitals, parks, etc.
- University graduate outcomes
- Data on how students have done in different university programs including graduation and employment rates, types of jobs they found, average salaries, loan repayment statuses, etc.
- Volunteer
- The act of freely giving your time and effort to perform a community service as a social responsibility, without getting paid.
Get Experience
- Club
- A school-approved group where students meet when school is out-of-session to discuss or do activities relating to a specific interest.
- Community service
- Unpaid work that people do to support their local community and benefit society.
- Cover letter
- A formal document submitted along with the resume that allows job applicants to explain why they are interested in the position and why they would be the best candidate for the role.
- Network
- A collection of personal, professional, academic and familial contacts who can help someone with their career goals and finding opportunities.
- Portfolio
- A collection of someone’s best work that’s relevant to their academic or professional field, such as writing or design samples, that shows a prospective employer or program the applicant’s skills and accomplishments.
- Reference
- A person, such as a supervisor or teacher, who can vouch for a job applicant’s work or academic experience, skills, and character.
- Resume
- A formal document that lists and summarizes the education and experiences of a job applicant.
Navigate Cultural Differences
- Community care
- The practice of looking after the well-being of people in one’s interpersonal social network through acts of kindness and support.
- First generation student
- A student whose parents did not complete a 4-year post-secondary degree.
- Guidance counselor
- A mentor or advisor in high school who’s job is to help students make educational and personal decisions and prepare them for life after high school.
- Marginalized identity
- An identity for a group of people who collectively experience social and political inequality and exclusion because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, language and/or immigration status.
- Mental health expert
- Health care professionals, like social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc., who are trained to evaluate a person’s mental health and counsel them on how to cope with, treat, and/or improve their mental well-being.
- Self-care
- The practice of looking after one’s own physical and mental well-being through a balanced lifestyle that includes prioritizing nutrition, exercise, hygiene, sleep, socializing, spirituality, and hobbies.
Know Your Rights - HS
- Employment Standards Act
- A legislation in Ontario that sets the standards for basic conditions of employment, including wages, hours of work limits, various types of leaves, public holidays, termination, and more.
- Grievance
- A violation of the employee’s rights as defined by their contract and the law and that can be remedied by a union, the Ministry of Labour, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, or other official mediator.
- Human rights
- Ontario laws that protect people from discrimination in housing, employment, services, contracts, and membership in unions or professional associations.
- Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
- A specialized court responsible for resolving claims of discrimination and harassment that violates their human rights as defined by the Human Rights Code.
- Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development
- A government body responsible for addressing labour issues and enforcing employment standards in Ontario.
- Ontario Health and Safety Act
- An Ontario legislation that sets the standards for policies and procedures that employers must follow to prevent and manage safety hazards and risks in the workplace.
- Overtime
- The time an employee works over the limit set by an employer and the law.
- Pay stub
- A physical or digital document given to an employee with each paycheck that shows the amount of money the employee earned and the amount that was removed for taxes, employment insurance, union dues, etc.
- Public holiday
- A national or provincial holiday established by law where most people in the country do not have to go to work or school, like New Year’s Day.
- Responsibilities
- Duties or obligations that people must perform in order to uphold the values and institutions in the region you live in, like the responsibility to pay taxes, the responsibility to respect others’ rights and beliefs, etc.
- Rights
- Freedoms that are protected by laws, like the right to exercise free speech, the right to vote, the right to practice a religion of one’s choice, etc.
- Tips and gratuities
- A payment left by a customer for an employee or group of employees for their service that an employer cannot withhold or deduct.
- Union
- A group of workers who come together to collectively bargain with their employers for better wages and terms of employment.
- Wage
- A fixed or regular payment of money usually given weekly, bi-weekly or monthly to an employee for their labor or services.
Post Secondary
Exploring Careers
- Canadian Language Benchmark
- A classification system that describes your English language levels in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
- Cover Letter
- A formal document submitted along with the resume that allows job applicants to explain why they are interested in the position and why they would be the best candidate for the role.
- Entry-level
- A position intended for recent graduates or students to gain work experience and knowledge in a field or industry.
- Hidden job market
- Job opportunities that have not been advertised online, on job boards, or to the mass public, and instead promoted through employer’s contact networks.
- Resume
- A formal document that lists and summarizes the education and experiences of a job applicant.
Accessing Resources
- Career Centre
- A service provided by most colleges and universities that offers students career education, counselling, events, and/or webinars to support students in planning their career.
- Disability/Accessibility Services
- Accommodations and supports offered by colleges and universities for students with dis/abilities.
- Work study
- Part-time work offered by post-secondary institutions to students to help them earn money while pursuing higher education.
Financial Literacy
- Budget
- A plan for how to manage the money you earn using estimates of what you may spend over a period of time, like monthly.
- Investing
- A process where you put your money in a special account or resource, like a tax-free savings account or property, that may collect interest and earn profit over time.
- Loan
- Money you borrow from banks or other institutions, like OSAP, that you pay back over a set amount of time with interest.
- Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)
- The main source of financial aid, including loans and grants, for post-secondary education in Ontario.
- Scholarships and bursaries
- Monetary gifts that students are not expected to pay back, and are usually granted based on academic performance, financial need, and/or community involvement.
Know Your Rights - PS
- Employment agency
- Community organizations that help you with your job search.
- Networking
- Reaching out to personal, professional, academic and familial contacts to ask for guidance, referrals, and resources to achieve career goals and find opportunities.
Recent Graduates
Timing and Access
- Hard skills
- Specialized technical skills you learn in the classroom, through books or special training, or on the job to perform specific jobs and job functions.
- Soft skills
- Interpersonal skills that allow you to form and maintain professional relationships at work, for example through flexibility, patience, agreeability, friendliness, work ethic and loyalty.
- Transferable skills
- A mixture of hard and soft skills that are required or relevant for most jobs, like problem-solving, critical thinking, adaptability, attentiveness, math or language skills, administrative skills, computer and software skills, etc.
Job Search Prep
- Informational interview
- A meeting that you initiate with someone who works in a field or company you’re interested in to gain insight into how a company or industry operates, what the different roles and responsibilities are, and how to find opportunities.
- Elevator pitch
- A small and memorable introduction of who you are, what you do, and what you are looking for professionally that job seekers use to make a good first impression.
- Hidden job market
- Job opportunities that have not been advertised online, on job boards, or to the mass public, and instead promoted through employer’s contact networks.
- Stakeholders
- Individuals or groups that have an interest in a company or project, and who can either influence or be affected by how it’s run (e.g., external parties like clients, suppliers, unions, governments, and partners; or internal parties like: employees, managers, and board members).
Know Your Rights - RG
- Employment Resource Centre
- Organizations that offer free services to help job seekers find opportunities and prepare for hiring.
- Collective agreement
- A written contract negotiated by an employer and a union that outlines policies, terms and conditions of employment for a unionized organization.
- Reference
- A person, such as a supervisor or teacher, who can vouch for a job applicant’s work or academic experience, skills, and character.
- Union
- A legally protected group that’s formed by workers who want to collectively fight for and protect their labour interests.