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The following study explored how socio-demographic and skill indicators differed for Ontario youth (age of 16 to 24) not in education, employment, or training (NEET). By analyzing data from the 2012 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), this study extends prior research to examine how skill-based activities at home, readiness to learn, and assessed skills—namely, literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology rich environments—differ among NEET and non-NEET youth. Three primary research questions guide analyses: 1) Who are Ontario NEET youth? Specifically, do rates differ among men and women, age groups, parental education background, immigration history, Indigenous ancestry, and chronic illness status? 2) Do literacy, numeracy, and problemsolving assessment scores differ among NEET and non-NEET youth in Ontario and, if yes, do skill-based activities at home and self-reported learning strategies explain this gap? 3) Do Ontario-specific results differ from Canada-wide results? Together the findings suggest that older youth aged 20 to 24, first- and second-generation immigrants, and individuals who grew up with fewer than 25 books at home—compared to those who grew up with 100 books or more—were more likely to be NEET in Ontario. In Ontario, there were no statistically significant differences in the likelihood of being NEET for Indigenous youth who did not live on First Nation reserves and youth who self-reported a longstanding illness or disability. In terms of skill, PIAAC literacy and numeracy assessment scores were approximately half a level lower among NEET youth in Ontario when compared to their non-NEET peers. However, there was little difference in problem solving in technology rich environments scores between NEET and non-NEET youth in Ontario. Although the causal relationship between assessment scores and skill-based activities at home is difficult to disentangle given that PIAAC measured both at the same time, there is strong indication that home-based activities matter. First, NEET youth in Ontario were more likely to have fewer books at home at age 16. Second, they self-reported fewer numeracy- and literacybased activities at home while being NEET. Finally, lower assessment scores do not necessary mean NEET youth are less interested in learning. Although PIAAC assessed NEET youth in Ontario as having lower average literacy and numeracy skills, this group communicated a willingness to learn new things, figure out how ideas fit together, and relate new information to their life at a rate similar to non-NEET youth.
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