Ottawa, Ontario—The best and brightest high-school students from across the country gathered in Ottawa today for Canada’s annual bioscience competition for youth. Speaking at the awards ceremony, the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, congratulated all the competitors and highlighted recent federal support for youth.
“Our government's top priority is job creation and economic growth and we recognize that as the future workforce, Canadian youth have much to contribute to our country’s long-term prosperity.” said Minister Finley. “Through our grants, tax credits and support for training programs, we are helping youth to gain the skills and experience needed to prepare for and succeed in the workforce.”
During her address, Minister Finley announced that Bioscience Education Canada received over $93,000 in federal funding to organize the Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada competition and encourage more youth to pursue jobs in Canada's growing biotechnology sector. This investment complements other initiatives, such as apprenticeship grants that provide up to $4,000 to help apprentices complete their training and launch rewarding careers in the skilled trades.
“Employers in Canada and around the world increasingly require highly skilled workers, and competitions like this one are an exceptional way to inspire young people to explore careers in fields that are in high demand,” added Minister Finley. “By investing in our youth, we are helping contribute to Canada’s long-term growth, competiveness and overall prosperity.”
As part of our Government’s commitment to supporting youth on their path towards successful employment, Economic Action Plan 2012 will invest an additional $50 million over two years to enhance the Youth Employment Strategy (YES) so that more young people can gain tangible skills and experience.
With annual funding of more than $300 million, YES helps youth, particularly those facing barriers to employment, obtain career information, develop employment skills, find jobs and stay employed. YES includes the Skills Link and Career Focus programs and the Canada Summer Jobs initiative, which creates thousands of job opportunities for students every summer.
The Government of Canada is helping youth prepare for, find and maintain meaningful employment through enhanced online services available at Youth.gc.ca.
- 30 -
For more information, contact:
Marian Ngo
Office of Minister Finley
819-994-2482
Media Relations Office
Human Resources and
Skills Development Canada
819-994-5559
Follow us on Twitter
IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.
This news release is available online at: www.actionplan.gc.ca.
The Youth Employment Strategy is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace.
Skills Link helps youth facing barriers to employment, such as single parents, youth with disabilities, and youth in rural and remote areas, to develop the skills and gain the experience needed to find a job or the confidence to return to school.
Career Focus provides funding to employers to hire young post-secondary graduates to give them career-related work experience and help them acquire skills to transition into the job market.
Canada Summer Jobs provides funding to not-for-profit organizations, public-sector employers and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees to create summer job opportunities for young people aged 15 to 30 years who are full-time students intending to return to their studies in the next school year.
Youth Awareness complements the Youth Employment Strategy. It provides financial assistance for projects designed to promote youth as the workforce of the future and aims to expand their awareness of career and educational opportunities.
The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant and Apprenticeship Completion Grant are designed to make a career in the trades an attractive choice and encourage more apprentices to complete their training. As a result of these grants, apprentices in designated Red Seal trades could be eligible to receive up to $4,000, which can be used to pay tuition, tools or other expenses.
For more information, please visit: Youth.gc.ca.
