November 14, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bathurst, New Brunswick — The Honourable Greg Thompson, Minister of Veterans Affairs, Minister responsible for New Brunswick, and Member of Parliament for New Brunswick Southwest, on behalf of the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, today announced funding to help youth in the Chaleur region improve their skills and find long-term employment.
“The Government of Canada is committed to creating the best educated, most skilled, and most flexible work force in the world,” said Minister Thompson. “Our partnership with Les Entreprises Synergie will help young New Brunswickers who face barriers to employment get the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to find work and succeed in today’s labour market.”
Through the Career Paths–Life Trails project, Les Entreprises Synergie will help youth from the Chaleur region make the transition from school to work. In partnership with the Province of New Brunswick, Les Entreprises Synergie will match 10 young people with local employers who are currently in need of employees for positions in such fields as customer service, sales and marketing, and tourism and hospitality. Employers will mentor trainees to ensure they develop positive workplace habits, acquire experience, and gain transferable skills that will help them make a successful transition to the labour market.
The Government of Canada is providing $99,857 in funding for this project through Skills Link, one of Canada ’s youth employment programs. The program involves employers, community organizations, and other levels of government in ensuring that young people have opportunities to develop their skills and become contributing members of their communities.
Service Canada brings Government of Canada services and benefits together in a single delivery network. It provides Canadians with one-stop service they can access however they choose—by phone at 1 800 O-Canada, on the Internet at servicecanada.gc.ca, or in person at Service Canada Centres across the country.
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This news release is available in alternative formats on request. Call 1-800-788-8282 on a touch-tone phone or through a teletypewriter (TTY).
Media inquiries:
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Media Relations Office
Service Canada
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Public inquiries:
1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232)
TTY: 1-800-926-9105
servicecanada.gc.ca
Youth Info Line
1-800-935-5555
youth.gc.ca
This news release is available in alternative formats on request. Call 1-800-788-8282 on a touch-tone phone or through a teletypewriter (TTY).
Backgrounder
Skills Link
The Skills Link program is one of three Government of Canada programs that help young Canadians (aged 15 to 30) obtain career information, develop skills, gain work experience, find good jobs, and stay employed. The two other programs are Summer Work Experience and Career Focus.
Skills Link focuses on helping young people who face barriers to employment. These young people include high school drop-outs, single parents, Aboriginal youth, people with disabilities, youth in rural areas, and recent immigrants. Summer Work Experience helps secondary and post-secondary students find summer jobs. Career Focus helps post-secondary graduates develop advanced skills and find careers in their fields. All three programs provide a range of activities that can be tailored to meet individual needs.
Projects funded under the Skills Link program have been reviewed to ensure compliance with the Department’s administration of its grants and contributions programs, and are subject to review under the Financial Administration Act.
