We're very pleased to announce that Rafael Gomez, a professor of employment relations at the University of Toronto, and the director of the CIRHR, has accepted the CIBC Chair in Youth Employment for a five-year appointment.
Professor Gomez, who has acted as the CIRHR Director since 2015 and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and other media, holds a BA in economics and political science from Glendon College (York University), as well as an MA in economics and a PhD in industrial relations from the University of Toronto. His previous appointments include the London School of Economics as a senior lecturer in management and industrial relations, and he has been invited to conduct research and to lecture at universities around the world, including Madrid, Moscow, Munich, Beijing and Zurich. In 2005 he was awarded the Labor and Employment Relations Association’s John T. Dunlop Outstanding Scholar Award for exceptional contributions to international and comparative labour and employment research. His book publications include The Little Black Book for Managers, which was a UK business book bestseller, as well as Small Business and the City (U of T/Rotman press) and The Everyday Leader (Bloomsbury Press). He recently acted as an expert consultant for the Employment Equity Act Review Task Force, and his current research examines the role of unions and other labour market institutions in the provision of employee voice and what this means for workers and broader democratic engagement.
A generous donation by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce established the CIBC Chair in Youth Employment in 1999, setting the mandate of the Chair as “contributing significantly to the body of scholarship on Youth Employment through the study of challenges facing young people, and the development of potential solutions.”
With past appointees including Morley Gunderson (1999-2018) and Dionne Pohler (2019-2023), the CIBC Chair has enabled the CIRHR to serve as a catalyst for mobilization research, teaching resources, and interactions with other stakeholders. While the Chair itself is held by one faculty member at a time, its impact is felt throughout the work of the entire Centre, as graduate students, alumni, and other faculty members come together to collaborate on research projects in the area of youth employment.
Since 1965, the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources has brought together professors from many different disciplines and departments at the University of Toronto to teach and conduct research on all aspects of the workplace and employment relationships.