February 19, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland and Labrador— The Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Minister responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador, and Member of Parliament for St. John’s South–Mount Pearl, on behalf of the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, today announced more than $1.6 million in funding to help individuals in the Avalon Peninsula region find work.
“The Government of Canada is getting things done for people in Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Minister Hearn. “This investment will help nearly 300 unemployed Newfoundlanders get the experience they need to find and keep quality jobs.”
The Community Centre Alliance will receive $1,635,949 through the Employment Insurance Targeted Wage Subsidies program. The Community Centre Alliance will encourage employers to hire nearly 300 Employment Insurance-eligible individuals in the Avalon Peninsula region by providing local employers with wage subsidies.
“We will have three job brokers in place—in St. John’s, Mount Pearl, and Carbonear—to bring individuals and employers together in this exciting opportunity for their mutual benefit,” said Amy Percy, General Manager of the Community Centre Alliance.
The Community Centre Alliance provides supportive career, employment, and economic development programs and services to local individuals who are unemployed, living in poverty, on income support, and experiencing barriers to obtaining employment. Since it was formed in 2002, the Community Centre Alliance has developed important partnerships with a range of community agencies and governments.
This project reflects the Government of Canada’s commitment to creating a strong economy for all Canadians. Through its Advantage Canada plan, the Government is building on Canada’s strengths and developing a global competitive advantage by creating the best educated, most skilled, and most flexible work force in the world, reducing taxes for all Canadians, increasing competition in the marketplace, and building modern infrastructure.
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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Background
Targeted Wage Subsidies Program – Community Coordinators
Targeted Wage Subsidies is an employment benefit that provides funding to employers to encourage them to hire Employment Insurance-eligible individuals whom they would not usually hire without a subsidy. The Targeted Wage Subsidies program helps unemployed individuals enhance their skills and improve their employability. The expectation is that the subsidy will lead to a permanent job, either with the employer or with another employer.
Under the Targeted Wage Subsidies benefit, funding is distributed through Community Coordinators, who administer wage subsidy agreements with eligible employers. The Community Coordinator can be a business, an individual, an organization, a federal Crown corporation, a corporation, a public health and educational institution, a municipal government, or a band/tribal council.
