Youth are vital to the success of rural communities and regions, however rural youth can face a range of challenges. As part of a project entitled Training, engagement, and retention: a ‘learning region’ approach to rural youth consultation was done in November-December 2015 in the West-Kootenay Boundary region to gather information specific to the local youth population in order to inform next steps related to youth workforce development. Consultation included 5 youth focus groups and 11 expert interviews focused on a series of qualitative questions related to education/training, employment, and engagement.