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ESDC-specific Terms and Conditions for the Youth and Employment Strategy

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

Introduction

Canada needs an educated, skilled and experienced workforce to sustain its productivity and its economy. Youth are one of Canada’s primary sources of new labour market entrants. The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) focuses on helping Canadian youth aged 15 to 30 (inclusive), particularly those who face barriers to employment, get the information, skills and work experience they need to prepare for and participate in the labour market.

The YES is designed to respond to a range of labour market challenges facing young Canadians by emphasizing client-centred employment services and interventions. At the same time, the YES utilizes a partnership-based delivery system with business, labour, industry, indigenous communities, voluntary and not-for-profit organizations, rural and remote communities and other levels of government that enables community needs and priorities to be met.

The purpose of these terms and conditions is to establish a horizontal framework of standard criteria for making contributions under the YES.

YES is a horizontal initiative led by the Department of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and delivered in collaboration with ten federal departments and agencies, specifically: Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; Canadian Heritage; Global Affairs Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; National Research Council Canada; Natural Resources Canada; and Parks Canada.

Participating departments and agencies may use the terms and conditions of programs consistent with their mandates, subject to consultation with Treasury Board Secretariat to determine if Treasury Board (TB) approval is required. Alternatively, the participating departments and agencies may establish, subject to TB approval, specific criteria that supplement these terms and conditions. In either case, the participating departments or agencies need to ensure that the supported activities meet the standard criteria in these terms and conditions and comply with the TB Policy on Transfer Payments and the TB Directive on Transfer Payments or TB-approved exemptions to the TB Policy on Transfer Payments and the TB Directive on Transfer Payments.

1.0 Authority

The YES is delivered under the authority of section 7 of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, which provides that the Minister may, in exercising the powers and performing the duties and functions assigned by the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, establish and implement programs designed to support projects or other activities that contribute to the development of human resources of Canada and the skills of Canadians, and the Minister may make grants and contributions in support of the programs.

2.0 Purpose, objective, outcomes and key performance measures

2.1 Purpose

The purpose of the YES is to help Canadian youth gain the information, skills and work experience they need to prepare for and successfully transition to the labour market.

The YES supports the ESDC strategic outcome of a skilled, adaptable and inclusive labour force and an efficient labour market, as stated in the departmental Program Activity Architecture. This, in turn, contributes to the overarching ESDC mission of supporting Canadians in making choices that help them live productive and rewarding lives, and improving Canadians’ quality of life.

2.2 Objectives

The YES is divided into three program streams each with specific objectives:

2.2.1 Career Focus

The Career Focus stream of YES will increase the supply of highly qualified people by promoting the benefits of advanced studies, demonstrating federal leadership by investing in the skills required to meet the needs of the knowledge economy and facilitating the transition of highly skilled young people to a rapidly evolving labour market.

2.2.2 Skills Link

The objectives of Skills Link are to help youth overcome barriers to employment, to help youth develop a broad range of skills and knowledge in order to participate in the current and future labour market and to promote education and skills as being key to labour market participation. These barriers could include, but are not limited to, challenges faced by recent immigrant youth, youth with disabilities, single parent youth, youth who have not completed high school, indigenous youth, and those youth living in rural or remote areas.

2.2.3 Summer Work Experience

The objectives of Summer Work Experience are to help students acquire employment and/or career-related skills, to support them in financing and furthering their education and to provide students with career, learning and labour market information and assistance in finding summer employment.

2.3 Expected Outcomes and Key Performance Measures

The YES has an evergreen performance measurement strategy. Progress toward the objectives of the initiative is measured through immediate, intermediate and ultimate outcomes as established in the performance measurement strategy.

2.3.1 Career Focus

Ultimate outcome: youth are employed, in education, or in further employment services and interventions

Key Performance Measures:

  • Number of clients served through Career Focus
  • Number of clients employed or self-employed
  • Number of clients who return to school

2.3.2 Skills Link

Ultimate outcome: youth are employed, in education, or in further employment services and interventions

Key Performance Measures:

  • Number of clients served through Skills Link
  • Number of clients employed or self-employed
  • Number of clients who return to school

2.3.3 Summer Work Experience

Ultimate outcome: youth are in education

Key Performance Measure:

  • Number of clients served through Summer Work Experience
  • Number of clients who returned to school
  • Average amount of money paid to youth
  • Average number of weeks worked per youth

The YES ultimate outcome – a skilled youth labour force – will contribute directly to the ESDC Program Activity Architecture strategic outcome of a skilled labour force and an efficient labour market.

3.0 Eligible recipients

3.1 Eligible Recipients

Eligible recipients include:

  • Individuals
  • Not-for-profit organizations
  • Municipal governments
  • Indigenous organizations (including band councils, tribal councils and self-government entities)
  • For-profit organizations
  • Provincial and territorial governments, institutions, agencies and Crown Corporations

3.2 For-Profit Eligibility

For-profit organizations may be eligible for funding provided that the nature and intent of the activity is non-commercial, not intended to generate profit, and supports program priorities and objectives.

3.3 Eligible Participants

"Eligible participant" means a youth between the ages of 15-30 inclusive who is legally entitled to work in Canada and is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person who has been granted refugee status in Canada.

4.0 Eligible activities

4.1 Career Focus activities:

  • Activities designed to enable stakeholders to develop and plan projects
  • Activities that support the development and use of tools and products for learning, skills development, career planning and career development
  • Service activities, which include but are not limited to outreach, client assessment, career development information, and job search and job retention assistance
  • Activities designed to enable youth to acquire and enhance skills, which include but are not limited to employability skills and advanced employability skills;
  • Activities designed to provide work experiences
  • Activities designed to provide mentoring and coaching
  • Activities designed to support youth entrepreneurs gain self-employment
  • Activities designed to help youth obtain skills acquired while participating in exchanges between post-secondary institutions, including higher education institutions in other countries where reciprocal exchange of people, knowledge and expertise will occur
  • Activities that support youth in making informed career decisions, promote the value of education, and promote youth as the labour force of the future
  • Activities designed to support research and innovative projects to identify better ways of helping youth prepare for, return to, and keep employment and to be productive participants in the labour force
  • Other activities that support the objectives of Career Focus

4.2 Skills Link activities:

  • Activities designed to enable stakeholders to develop and plan projects
  • Activities that support the development and use of tools and products for learning, skills development, career planning and career development
  • Service activities, which include but are not limited to outreach, client assessment, case management, career development information, and job search and job retention assistance
  • Activities designed to enable youth to acquire and enhance skills, which include but are not limited to pre-employability skills, employability skills and advanced employability skills
  • Activities designed to provide work experiences
  • Activities designed to provide mentoring and coaching
  • Activities designed to support youth entrepreneurs gain self-employment
  • Activities that support youth in making informed career decisions, promote the value of education, and promote youth as the labour force of the future
  • Activities designed to support research and innovative projects to identify better ways of helping youth prepare for, return to, and keep employment and to be productive participants in the labour force
  • Other activities that support the objectives of Skills Link

4.3 Summer Work Experience activities:

  • Activities supporting employers to assist them in hiring students to work in occupations that help students develop employability skills and aid their educational and career development
  • Activities providing labour market information to students including but not limited to wage rates, employment and health and safety standards, human rights, government programs and services and the benefits of returning to school
  • Activities providing job search services to students, including but not limited to résumé writing, job placement support and interview advice
  • Activities promoting and marketing the benefits of hiring students
  • Activities designed to support research and innovative projects to identify better ways of helping youth prepare for, return to, and keep employment and to be productive participants in the labour force
  • Other activities that support the objectives of Summer Work Experience

5.0 Eligible expenditures

Eligible expenditures are those considered necessary to support the purpose of the funding.

Eligible expenditures include the following:

  • overhead costs, including costs related to central administrative functions of the recipient organization that are drawn upon to support agreement activities (such as shared postage, telephones, IT maintenance and head office support)
  • the costs of materials and supplies
  • wages and mandatory employment related costs (MERCS)
  • staff training and professional development costs
  • honoraria and hospitality costs
  • printing and communication costs
  • travel costs (international travel must be specifically authorized)
  • professional fees (such as consultants, IT, technical expertise, facilitation, legal, research, audit, assessment and evaluation)
  • capital costs
  • participant costs (such as living expenses, dependant care, transportation and accommodation)
  • other costs necessary to support the purpose of the funding, as approved by ESDC

Where the recipient further distributes contribution funding to a third party organization to carry out project activities, payments by the recipient to the third party to reimburse the third party for the types of expenditures listed above incurred by the third party are also eligible expenditures.

The purchase of land or buildings is not an eligible expenditure.

6.0 Stacking limit

Where possible and appropriate, the costs of an eligible activity will be shared with the recipient and/or with government and/or the private sector. However, where the sharing of costs with the recipient and private sector are not feasible, total government funding (federal, provincial/territorial and municipal funding for the same eligible expenditures) must not exceed 100% of eligible expenditures.

7.0 Method of determining funding amount

Funding amounts for contributions are determined based on factors including:

  • scope and duration of activities to be carried out
  • validation of reasonableness and fair market value of proposed expenditures
  • importance of projected expenditures to success
  • reasonableness of overall cost given projected outcome/s
  • other sources of funding.

Proposed costs are assessed based on the department’s experience and analysis and changes negotiated where necessary to ensure that the level of funding is the minimum necessary for attainment of the results expected of the recipient.

In some instances, program support for provincial or territorial recipients or their entities may be determined based on an allocation model, rather than through proposal assessment as described above.

8.0 Maximum amount payable

The maximum level of financial support approved per project or initiative will not exceed $15,000,000 per year. The amount of the contribution will be determined by the number of eligible participants who participate or who are to be served.

The maximum duration of funding under an agreement will not exceed five years. Financial support for successful projects and/or activities may be renewed on the basis of performance and results achieved.

9.0 Basis of payment

Contribution progress payments and final payments will be made on the basis of one or a combination of the following:

1) Reimbursement of eligible expenditures

Payments to contribution recipients are made via regular progress payments based on reimbursement of eligible expenditures; or via advance payments based on a cash-flow forecast. Any unexpended funding remaining at the expiry of the funding agreement constitutes a debt due to the Crown.

2) Achievement of pre-determined performance expectations

Certain progress payments and final payments are tied to the achievement of pre-determined performance expectations.

In all cases, performance-based payments will reimburse recipients for eligible expenditures and the total amount of the contribution will not exceed eligible expenditures actually incurred. Recipients will use performance-based payments to repay amounts owing from activities.

The full cost of the contribution will only be paid to the recipient if 100% of pre-determined performance expectations are achieved. Contribution agreements will be of sufficient duration to include all performance expectations and allow for 100% recipient reimbursement.

The exact amount paid for each performance expectation achieved will be based on a pre-determined rate or percentage of total contribution amount to be negotiated prior to agreements.

Payments may be based on one or a combination of the following performance expectations:

  • Completion of skills development activities
  • Completion of work experience activities
  • Participant remains employed or self-employed or enrolled in school for 6 months
  • Participant remains employed or self-employed or enrolled in school for 12 months
  • Other performance expectations that support Youth Employment Strategy programming objectives

10.0 Information required in application and criteria for assessment

Section 10 may in some cases not apply to provincial and territorial governments and their entities.

10.1 Information required in application

Applications will, at a minimum:

  • State specific objectives, including milestones and outcomes to be achieved within the period covered by the agreement;
  • Describe the activities to be undertaken;
  • Provide an estimate of expenditures to be incurred and describe contributions from the applicant and other partners;
  • Provide information on the applicant, sufficient to demonstrate eligibility and capacity to undertake activities and attain objectives; and
  • Declare amounts owing in default to the Government of Canada.

10.2 Criteria for assessment

Assessment is, at a minimum, based on:

  • the degree to which proposed activities support program objectives and priorities;
  • the need for proposed activities;
  • the qualifications and track record of the applicant;
  • demonstration of support required for success, and
  • value for money.

11.0 Information required for financial and performance reporting

Contributions

Financial and performance reporting requirements are based on risk as determined through the Department’s Risk Assessment, Management and Mitigation strategy. The nature and frequency of reporting is specified in each contribution agreement. Recipients are required to submit progress reports that outline activities completed and demonstrate progress towards achievement of results; and financial reports (including a final financial report) that account for the use of the funding and identify contributions from all sources towards eligible costs. All contribution recipients are required to submit final reports containing information on results achieved as required for the performance management strategy and departmental reporting.

P/T recipients and their entities may in some instances have reduced reporting requirements, but in all cases will be required to account for the use of funding and to provide information on results achieved as required for the performance management strategy and departmental reporting.

12.0 Official languages act

The YES is committed to respecting its obligations under the Official Languages Act (the Act).

Transfer Payments to Recipients other than Provinces and Territories

To respect the obligations of the Government of Canada under Part VII and Part IV of the Official Languages Act, where it has been determined that

  1. the target clientele who are eligible to participate in a project to be carried out by the recipient is composed of members of both official language communities, and
  2. the anticipated demand for project assistance by the target clientele in both official languages justifies the use of both official languages,

the department requires the recipients, other than other orders of government, to:

  1. make any announcements to the public concerning the project in both official languages;
  2. actively offer project-related services to members of the public in both official languages;
  3. make available in both official languages any documents or other information for the general public relating to the project;
  4. encourage members of both official language communities to participate in the project; and
  5. provide its services, when appropriate, in such a manner as to accommodate the specific needs of both official language communities.

Transfer Payments to Provincial and Territorial Governments and their Entities

To respect the obligations of the Government of Canada under Part VII of the Official Languages Act, where it has been determined that

  1. the target clientele who are eligible to participate in a project to be carried out by the recipient is composed of members of both official language communities, and
  2. the anticipated demand for project assistance by the target clientele in both official languages justifies the use of both official languages,

the department seeks a commitment from the recipients, to:

  1. make any announcements to the public concerning the project in both official languages;
  2. actively offer project-related services to members of the public in both official languages;
  3. make available in both official languages any documents or other information for the general public relating to the project;
  4. encourage members of both official language communities to participate in the project; and
  5. provide its services, when appropriate, in such a manner as to accommodate the specific needs of both official language communities.

13.0 Redistribution of contributions

In projects involving the further distribution of the contribution by the recipient to one or more persons or entities, the agreement will make clear that the recipient has independence in the choice of those persons or entities, with minimal guidance from ESDC, and will not be acting as the agent for the government in making the distributions.

14.0 Intellectual property

Intellectual Property created by a recipient will remain the property of the recipient. Where it is to the advantage of Canadians, and not detrimental to the goals of the recipient, ESDC may negotiate the shared use of intellectual property developed by recipients or through a third party. The rights to use this material may include further use of data for research purposes and/or publishing the intellectual property on ESDC’s web site or in printed documents and publications.

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