April 24, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAINT-MARIE-DE-BEAUCE, Quebec- The Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for Beauce, on behalf of the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, today announced funding for the Carrefour jeunesse-emploi de Beauce-Nord to help 16 young people in the Beauce area improve their employability.
"The Government of Canada is committed to creating the best educated, most skilled, and most flexible work force in the world," said Minister Bernier. "This project responds to the particular needs of young people who face obstacles to employment in Beauce and facilitates their social and professional integration, so they can find and maintain jobs or return to school."
The more than $174,000 in funding that the Carrefour jeunesse-emploi de Beauce-Nord is receiving will allow youth to take part in a unique project in which they will be immersed in a simulated small or medium-sized business operation. This project will help participants increase their self-confidence, develop independence, and adopt entrepreneurship values. In addition, the project " Les sens du papier" will offer Beauce citizens greeting cards made from recycled paper.
The Carrefour jeunesse-emploi de Beauce-Nord is a service centre where young adults aged 16 to 35 can obtain personal advice, information, and training, and can benefit from coaching throughout the process of employment integration, in collaboration with all community partners.
Service Canada is funding this project through its Skills Link program, which is one of three Government of Canada programs for youth. The two others are Summer Work Experience and Career Focus. These programs offer a range of activities to meet each participant's needs. The Skills Link program helps youth at risk overcome any barriers to employment they face and obtain the knowledge, skills, and experience they need to participate in the work force.
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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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, young 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.
