Take Our Kids to Work Day is November 5, 2025.
Take Our Kids to Work Day is a great opportunity for trucking and logistics companies to introduce young people to the wide variety of jobs and opportunities in our essential sector and to meet future workforce needs in both driving and non-driving roles. It supports career development by helping students connect school, work, and their own futures. Students across Canada spend the day on the job with a parent, relative, friend, or volunteer experiencing and learning about work in our sector.
Take Our Kids to Work Day is an ideal way to showcase the many opportunities your organization offers the workforce of the future. It’s an ideal opportunity to open students’ eyes to the wide variety of careers available by giving them the chance to experience work in real-world settings. It can also be a fun and rewarding experience for your employees who may not get many opportunities to show their kids what they do all day. A well-organized day can get kids excited about a future in trucking and give your staff the opportunity to reflect on, showcase, and take pride in the work they do.
Additional benefits:
- Highlight the range of job opportunities in the trucking industry.
- Acknowledge and support employees who are parents.
- Boost morale, community spirit, and workplace pride among all employees.
- Build stronger relationships with schools and educators who play an important role in shaping students’ future career decisions
Use this THRC guide to plan your Take Our Kids to Work Day and ensure it’s a rewarding experience for everyone — staff, students, and your organization as a whole.
Note: local school boards, schools, or teachers may have guidance, requirements, or requests for student participation in Take Our Kids to Work Day. Remember to ask participating students/parents for that information.
Other resources:
What’s in this guide:
Planning timeline
Start with this checklist to prepare your workplace for a successful Take Our Kids to Work day.
September
- Receive approval within your company to participate in Take Our Kids to Work day.
- Establish a planning committee with appropriate representation. Identify and assign specific tasks.
- Consider how you will address workplace health and safety issues. Confirm with your insurer that the coverage you have for visitors to your workplace includes students on Take Our Kids to Work day.
- Develop a communications strategy with key messages and specific tactics to promote Take Our Kids to Work day. The strategy’s goals should include keeping your entire workplace informed and excited, as well as recruiting employees to participate.
- Use internal communication channels to announce participation in Take Our Kids to Work day and invite employees to bring their Grade 9 children to work with them or host a child in need of a placement. Ask if their schools have any specific requests/requirements.
- Encourage employees to register their children by a specific deadline. Include permission to take and share images/video.
- Promote Take Our Kids to Work day through internal communication channels: via managers and team leads, in team meetings, on your intranet, bulletin boards, newsletters, and posters around your buildings.
October
- Prepare a detailed TOKW agenda that includes a variety of activities to keep students engaged (see the example in this guide). Think about group sizes: smaller groups require more staff to run, but students are likely to be more engaged.
- If possible, set up simulations that demonstrate workplace practices.
- If doing a tour of the workplace, do a dry run to identify any potential safety issues. Plan to provide a good overview of the workplace without being too long.
- Allow time in the day for students to job shadow their parent or host.
- Book and confirm speakers, meeting rooms, and audio-visual equipment.
- Source and order supplies: refreshments, activity supplies, printed material, and giveaway items.
On Take Our Kids to Work day November 5
- Set up all rooms and supplies before the students arrive.
- Remind everyone about health, safety, and security issues.
- Take a group photo and share on social media (with permission); encourage participants to take photos (where allowed) and share on social media. Use the hashtags #TOKW2025 #KidsToWork and remember to tag @TruckingHR and @stdntscmmssn
- To stay on schedule, designate someone to be a runner/floater to check on activities and provide support or supplies as required.
- At the end of the day, gather feedback from participants (see sample questions in this guide).
After the day
- Issue internal communication about the success of the day and to thank employees.
- Evaluate the day and make recommendations for the following year.
Get employees involved
Internal communication
Use your usual channels to communicate with and engage staff: via managers and team leads, in team meetings, on your intranet, bulletin boards, newsletters, posters around your buildings, etc.
Suggested communication to get staff involved, both as hosts and activity leaders:
- Invitation for staff with children in grade 9
- Invitation for staff who want to host a student who is not their child
- Call for staff to host activities or lead tours
Suggested communication to raise awareness internally:
- Reminders about what to expect onsite
- Encouragement to welcome students, enjoy having them there
- Expectations for the day: eg. wear company gear
Downloads
Trucking HR Canada developed some resources that may help you plan and execute a successful Take Our Kids to Work Day. Feel free to use as many (or as few) as you like, and customize for your workplace. Right-click each item to save:
Tips
Here are a few tips to make your Take Our Kids to Work day successful:
General:
- Communicate with all employees so they know what is happening on Take Our Kids to Work day, what to expect, and how it contributes to a thriving workplace and sector.
- Encourage staff to wear company gear.
- Make sure your facilities, terminals, and vehicles are clean and presentable.
- Plan interactive activities that provide a good overview of the variety of roles in your organization.
- Ensure students are supervised at all times.
- If possible, supply participants with a gift bag of promotional items.
- Gather feedback from participants at the end of the day.
- Plan to issue internal communication about the success of the day and thank all employees.
Welcome and introductions:
- Greet students, sign them in, provide name tags
- Provide the agenda and highlight health and safety guidelines, any confidentiality or security issues
- Overview of company:
- Provide a brief company history (use a corporate video if you have one)
- Share basic facts: number of locations, employees, diversity of jobs, etc
- Discuss opportunities for summer employment, co-op placements if applicable
Activities and tours:
- Balance amount of info with time for questions and interaction
- Consider diversity when selecting speakers including age, level of experience, traditional/non-traditional career path, etc.
- Ask presenters to include an overview of their roles, skills required to do their jobs, length of time they have been with the company, educational background, career paths, etc.
- Think about ways to make activities hands-on, not just listening to presentations. For instance:
- a hospital used training dummies so students could use real medical tools to try suturing and casting.
- a candy company, students created their own chocolate bars.
- a bank helped students invest simulated funds in the stock market.
- an automobile company put students on a mock assembly line where they worked in teams, were assigned authentic roles, and worked on real products with quality controls
- Include time for one-on-one job-shadowing time for students and their parent or host.
- Connect to education and career paths:
- Activities and tours should help students see the connections between educational options and possible careers
- Remind presenters to talk about their own background, experiences, and career paths
- Provide lists of jobs and qualifications
Wrap-up:
- Lead a debrief so participants can discuss their day
- Ask participants to fill in a brief survey (see sample questions in this guide)
- Thank participants and distribute participation certificates and gifts if applicable
A note about local concerns
It may be difficult for students to go to work with a family member, friend, or volunteer for a variety of reasons: unemployment, distance, safety, capacity, etc.
Consider options to open Take Our Kids to Work day for others:
- Arrange visits and tours on other days for other groups.
- Suggest that parents/hosts bring more than one student on the day (a friend of their child for instance)
- Explore developing an online experience for students who live too far away to visit in person
- Think about offering transportation if required
Safety first
Liability
Each workplace and school will have its own insurance and risk management policies and coverage. Neither the Students Commission of Canada nor Trucking HR Canada are liable for damages arising from any and all actions, claims, demands, obligations, causes of actions, costs, expenses, and compensation of any kind on account of or in any way arising out of, or which in the future may result from, participation in Take Our Kids to Work Day or in conjunction with Take Our Kids to Work Day or the negligence of other people, including other participants.
Contact your provincial or territorial safety authority with any questions.
FAQ
What is Take Our Kids to Work day?
Take Our Kids to Work day is a great opportunity to introduce young people to the many possibilities in our essential industry. It is an annual initiative led by the Students Commission of Canada that supports career development by helping students connect school, work, and their own futures. Students across Canada spend the day in the workplace of a parent, relative, friend, or volunteer experiencing and learning about the world of work.
When is Take Our Kids to Work day?
Take Our Kids to Work Day this year is November 5.
Why should you support Take Our Kids to Work day?
Take Our Kids to Work day is an ideal way to showcase the many opportunities your organization has to offer the workforce of the future. It opens students’ eyes to the wide variety of careers available by giving them the chance to experience work in real-world settings. It can also be a fun and rewarding experience for your employees who may not get many opportunities to show their kids what they do all day. A well-organized day can get kids excited about a future in trucking and give your staff the opportunity to reflect on, showcase, and take pride in the work they do.
Additional benefits for employers:
- Highlight the range of job opportunities in the trucking industry.
- Acknowledge and support employees who are parents.
- Boost morale, community spirit, and workplace pride among all employees.
- Build stronger relationships with schools and educators who play an important role in shaping students’ future career decisions
How can we get ready for Take Our Kids to Work day?
Use this guide to develop a day that is rewarding and valuable for both students and employees. Remember to invite staff to invite students to participate and use the free downloadable resources to promote your participation.
Do we need special insurance for Take Our Kids to Work Day?
Each workplace and school will have its own insurance and risk management policies and coverage. Neither the Students Commission of Canada nor Trucking HR Canada are liable for damages arising from any and all actions, claims, demands, obligations, causes of actions, costs, expenses, and compensation of any kind on account of or in any way arising out of, or which in the future may result from, participation in Take Our Kids to Work Day or in conjunction with Take Our Kids to Work Day or the negligence of other people, including other participants.
Trucking HR Canada is proud to support Take Our Kids to Work Day
Take Our Kids to Work day is an initiative of the Students Commission of Canada