Creating Jobs and Investment for Canadian Youth

News Release

Government of Canada Invests $165 Million in Youth Employment Strategy, Supports Thousands of Youth Across Canada

April 22, 2016   Winnipeg, Manitoba                             Employment and Social Development Canada

The Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour today encouraged youth and employers to take advantage of Budget 2016 enhancements which will help young Canadians get the skills and experience they need to transition to the workplace.

The Government of Canada is investing over $165 million in the Youth Employment Strategy (YES) starting this year through Budget 2016. The new investment will help create thousands of new green jobs, more summer employment, participation in the Skills Link program and employment in the heritage sector.  The investments will help support young Canadians, including vulnerable youth, such as Indigenous Canadians, immigrants, youth with disabilities, single parents, those who have not completed high school and others. Investing in youth jobs and opportunities is part of the government’s plan to help the middle class and those seeking to join it.

Minister Mihychuk made the announcement at The Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre in Winnipeg. The Centre recently received over $170,000 in Skills Link funding to help break down barriers to youth employment and provide needed training and job support. Under this project, local youth will participate in a 10-week work placement to gain hands-on experience. Skills Link is part of the Youth Employment Strategy.

Each year, the government invests more than $330 million in YES. Today’s announcement is on top of the previously announced $339 million investment over three years under the Canada Summer Jobs program. The government will nearly double the number of job opportunities supported by the program to 70,000.

Additionally, Budget 2016 announced the creation of the Prime Minister’s Youth Advisory Council to provide advice on key issues such as employment and education, building stronger communities as well as climate change and clean growth. Budget 2016 also announced $105 million over five years, starting in 2016 – 17, and $25 million per year thereafter in support youth service. Finally, a new Expert Panel on Youth Employment will advise the government on innovative ways to strengthen labour market outcomes and create employment opportunities for vulnerable youth.

Quick Facts

• As announced in Budget 2016, total funding for the Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is increasing by some $278 million in 2016-2017 representing the largest investment in the YES since its launch in 1997. 
• Since 2005, YES has helped over 772,000 young Canadians get the training and work experience they need to enter the labour market.
• Skills Link has helped over 230,000 youth since 2005.
• Canada Summer Jobs will create up to 70,000 jobs across Canada this summer, twice as many jobs as 2015. Applications from employers are up by over 30 percent this year.
• Canada’s current youth unemployment rate is 13.4 % (Statistics Canada, March 2016).

Quote

“Investing in youth jobs is an investment in Canada’s future. We want to help Canada’s youth find jobs, and get the best start possible to their careers.”

 – The Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

 

Associated Link

Budget 2016

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Backgrounder

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Contacts

John O’Leary
Director of Communications
Office of the Hon. MaryAnn Mihychuk, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
819-654-5611

Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559

media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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Backgrounder

Youth Employment Strategy

The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace. YES helps youth between the ages of 15 to 30 get the information and gain the skills, job experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition to the workplace. YES includes Skills Link, Career Focus and Summer Work Experience and is delivered by 11 federal departments.

• Skills Link helps youth facing barriers to employment including single parents, youth with disabilities, young newcomers and youth in rural and remote areas to develop the skills and gain experience they need to find a job or return to school.
• Career Focus helps post-secondary graduates transition to the labour market through paid internships and helps provide youth with the information and experience they need to make informed career decisions, find a job and/or pursue advanced studies.
• Summer Work Experience provides wage subsidies to employers to create summer employment for secondary and post-secondary students. The Summer Work Experience program includes Canada Summer Jobs.

Each year, the Government invests approximately $330 million in YES to help young people gain the skills and experience they need to find and keep good jobs.

Budget 2016 builds on that amount and proposes to invest an additional $165.4 million in 2016-17 in YES to help nurture and develop underutilized and untapped talent, such as Indigenous youth, by:

• Creating new green jobs for youth;

• Increasing the number of youth who access the Skills Link program, which helps young Canadians overcome barriers to employment; and
• Supporting employment opportunities in the heritage sector under Young Canada Works.

Canada Summer Jobs

Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) provides funding to not-for-profit organizations, public-sector employers, and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees to create summer job opportunities for students.

On February 12, 2016, the Government announced that it will create up to 35,000 additional jobs in each of the next three years under the Canada Summer Jobs program. The investment of $339 million will nearly double the number of job opportunities supported by the program.

Since 2005, CSJ has helped create over 391,000 summer jobs.

Prime Minister’s Youth Advisory Council

To ensure the Government does a better job of understanding and addressing the needs of Canada’s youth, over the course of the next year, the Government will develop and establish a Prime Minister’s Youth Advisory Council, consisting of young Canadians aged 16-24 from diverse communities and from all regions of Canada. The Council will provide non-partisan advice to the Prime Minister on key issues such as employment and education, building stronger communities as well as climate change and clean growth.

In addition to being Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau is also Canada’s Minister of Youth.

Youth service

The government is committed to helping young Canadians gain valuable work and life experience while providing support for communities across Canada, Budget 2016 proposed to provide $105 million over five years, starting in 2016-17, and $25 million per year thereafter in support of youth service.

Expert Panel on Youth Employment

As announced in Budget 2016, the government will also launch a new Expert Panel on Youth Employment. This panel will advise the Government on innovative ways to strengthen labour market outcomes and create employment opportunities for vulnerable youth. The work of the panel will inform future investments in employment programming for vulnerable youth.

 

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