Backgrounder: Youth Employment and Skills Strategy

The Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) is a Government of Canada initiative led by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and delivered in partnership with 11 other federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations. Together, these 12 partners deliver funding programs to provide youth in Canada aged 15 to 30, especially those facing barriers to employment, with opportunities to receive employment supports, gain work experience and develop the skills needed to find and keep quality jobs. 

At ESDC, the YESS consists of two programs:

• Canada Summer Jobs provides wage subsidies to employers (including not-for-profit organizations, public sector organizations and private sector organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees) to create quality summer employment opportunities for young Canadians.
• ESDC’s YESS Program provides funding to organizations to improve employment outcomes for youth. The program funds two types of projects:
  • Youth focused projects: Funded organizations deliver a range of activities that help youth overcome barriers to employment. This stream of the YESS Program supports a flexible approach that offers tailored services to ensure that individuals across the country can gain the skills and experience they need to find and keep good-quality jobs. Supports can include mentorship, coaching, training, wraparound services (such as dependant care support or mental health counselling) and paid work placements.
  • Strategic Collaboration projects: Funded organizations work to address systemic challenges in the youth employment sector. The goal is to develop and test innovative solutions to complex problems, ensuring they are scalable and sustainable. The Strategic Collaboration stream aims to support the adoption or adaptation of solutions within the Canadian youth employment sector to build organizational and sectoral capacity to improve outcomes for youth.

Strategic Collaboration projects were selected following a competitive solicited call for proposals, which ran from May 22 to July 10, 2024.

The Strategic Collaboration stream also supports projects that target youth with disabilities. Two of the six funded projects will address the unique employment challenges faced by youth with disabilities.

Funded Strategic Collaboration projects:

Organization: Inclusion Canada
Project name: Overcoming Barriers – Creating Success
Location: National project based in Oshawa, Ontario
Funding amount: $4.3 million

Organization: Inclusive Design for Employment Access
Project name: Transforming Workplace Systems to Build Sustainable Capacity for Inclusion of Diverse Youth
Location: National project based in Toronto, Ontario
Funding amount: $4.4 million

Organization: Mentor Canada
Project name: Mentoring as a Catalyst for Youth Employment
Location: National project based in Edmonton, Alberta
Funding amount: $3.9 million

Organization: Prepr Foundation
Project name: Youth Employment Skills Data Advancement and Turnkey Assessments (YES-DATA)
Location: National project based in Mississauga, Ontario
Funding amount: $4.3 million

Organization: Saint John Learning Exchange
Project name: READY: Repairing Education and Employment Achievement Debts to Youth
Location: National project based in Saint John, New Brunswick
Funding amount: $4.4 million

Organization: Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement
Project name: Advancing Youth Leadership in Place-Based Collaborations to Address Systemic Challenges
Location: National project based in Waterloo, Ontario
Funding amount: $4.4 million

Canada Student Financial Assistance Program

The Canada Student Financial Assistance Program provides Canada Student Grants and Canada Student Loans to help students pay for their post-secondary education. The Program works in partnership with nine provinces and the Yukon to deliver student financial assistance. Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut receive alternative payments from the Government of Canada to administer their own student financial assistance programs. 

Additional ESDC supports for youth

In addition to the YESS and the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program, the Government of Canada provides a comprehensive array of programming to support youth at every stage of their journey toward a bright future. Together, these programs ensure that young people have the financial supports needed to complete their studies, the ability to build their skills and leadership, and access to opportunities that can lead to long and successful careers.

• The Student Work Placement Program supports the creation of work-integrated learning opportunities for students of all ages who are enrolled in any post-secondary education program in Canada.
• The Supports for Student Learning Program funds organizations to provide students in Canada with financial and non-financial supports, including mentorship and academic preparedness, to help them stay in school, graduate on time, or pursue a post-secondary education.
• Canada Service Corps promotes civic engagement among youth aged 12 to 30. Organizations funded by the Canada Service Corps deliver service opportunities (service placements and micro-grants for youth-led projects) that equip young Canadians with meaningful life skills and experiences.
• The Canada Education Savings Program helps youth plan and save for their post-secondary education.
• The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy offers financial supports for apprentices to encourage progression and certification in the skilled trades.
• Apprentices can also access Employment Insurance benefits during technical training and up to $20,000 in interest-free Canada Apprentice Loans. These measures are complemented by the Canada Revenue Agency’s Tradesperson’s Tools Deduction, Apprentice Mechanic Tools Deduction, Tuition Tax Credit, Canada Training Credit, and Labour Mobility Deduction. 
• Apprentices may also be eligible to receive additional measures offered by their province or territory.