Backgrounder: Skills development opportunities for youth

Young people and students have an important role to play in supporting Canada’s economic recovery and future growth. That is why we are taking strong action to ensure that young people and students have the skills and opportunities they need for their long-term goals. A description of youth and student supports delivered by Employment and Social Development Canada, a department of the Government of Canada, is featured below.

Skills development opportunities for youth

Youth Employment and Skills Strategy
The Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) is a Government of Canada initiative delivered in collaboration with 11 federal departments and agencies, including Employment and Social Development Canada. Through the YESS, the Government of Canada helps young people, particularly those facing barriers to employment, get the information and gain the skills, work experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition into the labour market. The YESS supports organizations that provide job placements and skills development services to young people, as well as a broad range of supports such as job coaching, mental health support, clothes for job interviews, day care services for parents and subsidized Internet access to help with job searches.

Canada Summer Jobs
Canada Summer Jobs is part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help young people—particularly those facing barriers to employment—get the skills, work experience and abilities they need to transition successfully into the labour market. The program provides wage subsidies to private sector organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees, not-for-profit organizations and public sector organizations to create quality summer work experiences for young people between the ages of 15 and 30. Through quality job placements, it provides them with opportunities to develop and improve their skills. It also responds to national and local priorities and improves access to the labour market for youth, including those who face barriers.

Student Work Placement Program
The Student Work Placement Program supports partnerships between industry and post-secondary education institutions to create quality work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students so they can develop work-ready skills required to secure meaningful employment upon graduation. To build on the success and high-demand for student work placement opportunities, Budget 2019 expanded the Program with $631.2 million in funding over five years to create up to 20,000 student work placements per year by 2023–24.

The seven organizations funded under today’s announcement will provide work-integrated learning placements for students in the arts, humanities and social sciences fields.

Organization: Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council
Project title: Growing Opportunities: Work-Integrated Learning in Agriculture
Description: Create work placements in the agriculture sector, targeting students in both agriculture-related programs and disciplines not related to agriculture, with a focus on under-represented groups.
Region: All Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $675,918
Target number of placements: 125

Organization: Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council
Project title: Launching Future Careers in the Visitor Economy
Description: Create work placements with formal learning and applied experiences for students seeking careers in the visitor economy.
Region: All Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $1,721,002
Target number of placements: 350

Organization: Cultural Human Resources Council
Project title: Student Work Placement Program
Description: Deliver student work placements in the arts and cultural sector, focusing on relevant needed skill sets in the sector, including technology and business.
Region: All Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $750,000
Target number of placements: 160

Organization: Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec
Project title: Accompagnement aux entreprises pour favoriser l'accueil de stagiaires
Description: Create opportunities for work-integrated learning among the various players in the Quebec workforce development ecosystem.
Region: All Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $7,487,170
Target number of placements: 4,300

Organization: Food Processing Skills Canada
Project title: Work-Integrated Learning for the Food and Beverage Processing Industry
Description: Deliver student work placements in the food and beverage manufacturing sector, targeting 75% under-represented students.
Region: All Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $2,106,003
Target number of placements: 425

Organization: Trucking Human Resources Canada
Project title: Delivering Student Work Placements in Truck Transportation and Logistics
Description: Deliver student work placements in the truck transportation and logistics sector.
Region: All Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $1,553,029
Target number of placements: 300

Organization: Canadian Media Producers Association
Project title: Screen Content Production Mentorship Program
Description: Establish a mentoring program that provides on-the-job training and mentoring to students in the screen-based production industry.
Region: All Canadian provinces and territories
Funding amount: $148,200
Target number of placements: 29

Apprenticeship Service
To help small and medium-sized employers create more jobs, Budget 2021 committed $470 million over three years in the new Apprenticeship Service. This initiative will help 55,000 first-year apprentices in eligible Red Seal trades connect with opportunities at small and medium-sized employers. Additional supports will be provided to employers who hire those from under-represented groups, including women, racialized Canadians and persons with disabilities, to help support a more inclusive skilled trades workforce.

Skills for Success
To equip Canadians with the skills they need to get and keep good jobs in our evolving labour market, Budget 2021 committed $298 million over three years in the new Skills for Success program. The program will fund organizations to design and deliver training to help all Canadians to enhance foundational skills such as numeracy, as well as soft skills, such as collaboration. Through the program, approximately 90,000 Canadians will be able to improve their foundational and transferable skills to better prepare for, get and keep a job, and adapt and succeed at work.