New Democratic Party advanced education critic David Eby says his pending provincial tour will focus on British Columbia's failure to support youth "economic engagement."

"B.C. was the second-best province in Canada just six years ago for youth economic engagement, but now Statistics Canada says that one in 10 B.C. youth between the ages of 15 and 19 are not working or in school," he said in a press release issued this morning.

"Shockingly, the rate of young people not working and not in school between the ages of 25 and 29 is double that, at one in five. We've slid from leader to last place among reporting provinces in Canada."

Eby, who will visit Kelowna, Prince George, and Surrey starting next week, says he will meet with youth to find out why they're being "shut out" from education and work opportunities. The release says he will also talk about his tour of the province's 26 public post-secondary institutions last fall.

"The BC Liberals have made it next to impossible for young British Columbians to access the training and education they need to apply for jobs in their own communities, and the results of this short sighted planning is an economic crisis among young people in this province," reads the release.

"Instead of supporting the next generation, the BC Liberals have done things like levy a secret tax on youth through a minimum 2.5 per cent student loan interest surcharge. Their policy makes no sense."

Eby added provincial student debt passed the $1 billion mark in 2011 and has increased by $100 million annually ever since.

The release also claims the province's social assistance enrollments for youth 19 to 24 increased by 55,000 people in six years, a 55 per cent increase. In comparison, 29 per cent of B.C.'s new jobs since 2006 have gone to temporary foreign workers.

In response Shirley Bond, minister of jobs, tourism and skills training and minister responsible for labour, emphasized government's commitment to youth employment.

"With over one million job openings by 2020 we are confident that a growing economy will deliver good paying jobs for our young people," Bond said in an emailed statement sent to The Tyee.

She added youth unemployment has dropped 2.3 per cent to 14.1 per cent since the Jobs Plan was launched in 2011. But according to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, that number is higher one per cent higher than it was in November 2012.

Bond also pointed out at $14.64/hour B.C. has the fourth highest average hourly wage in the country and the third highest minimum wage. But the minister acknowledged it wasn't enough.

"That is why we remain focused on our long-term goal to foster investment and grow the economy so the stable, well-paying jobs to create jobs for young British Columbians," she said.

Statistics Canada reported just before the Christmas break that despite the $15 million the provincial government had invested into the BC Jobs Plan since 2011, the province actually lost 15,500 jobs -- the majority part-time -- in 2013.

Katie Hyslop reports on education and youth issues for The Tyee Solutions Society. Follow her on Twitter.