Northern Ontario youth learning vital job skills to eliminate barriers to employment
News Release
Young women among those benefitting under Skills Link program
March 2, 2017 Geraldton, Ontario Employment and Social Development Canada
A total of 48 Northern Ontario youth, more than half of whom are expected to be young women facing employment barriers and Indigenous youth, will learn critical skills and knowledge to prepare them for the transition to the job market or to return to school, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced today.
Minister Hajdu, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay–Superior North, made the announcement in Geraldton at MTW Employment Services. Established in 1999 with a mandate to provide local residents with bilingual assistance for employment and training needs, MTW Employment Services will receive more than $647,000 under the Skills Link program.
The project, Young Adults in Action, will help youth in Geraldton and Longlac develop a wide range of job readiness skills, teach them team work, and organization and communication skills. The program will run for 134 weeks and will bring in eight participants through six intake periods until October 2019. Participants will attend classroom sessions where they will acquire industry standard training and receive certification in Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Systems, Smart Serve, safe food handling and first aid. They will also take part in a 16-week, full-time paid work placement to help them achieve their planned career goals.
Quotes
“Young people in Northern Ontario are facing employment barriers and want to build their own future in the workforce and contribute to their communities at the same time. Skills Link projects like Young Adults in Action help at-risk youth get the training and skills they need. These skills help them to enter the workforce, strengthen our middle class and keep our economy growing.”
– The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
“We are both pleased and excited to have the Young Adults in Action (YAA) program continue here at MTW Employment Services. Since we began running the program in 2004 we have had more than 100 successful completions. With the continuation of the YAA, through the Youth Employment Strategy’s Skills Link program, we can carry on delivering these vital employment skills to the youth of Greenstone and the surrounding area.”
– Carol Mercier, Executive director, MTW Employment Services
Quick Facts
- Since its inception, the Skills Link program has helped over 296,000 youth develop skills and gain experience to find a job or return to school.
- In 2015–2016, ESDC’s Skills Link program served 6,024 youth.
- New investments from Budget 2016 will permit the Skills Link program to serve 11,000 more youth than in the previous year.
- Skills Link is delivered by three federal departments: Employment and Social Development Canada, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
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Contacts
Jean-Bruno Villeneuve
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
jeanbruno.villeneuve@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
819-654-5613
Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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