Winnipeg, Manitoba—The Government of Canada announced new funding to support recent graduates in Manitoba to help them gain the skills, knowledge and experience they need to enter and succeed in the job market. The announcement was made by Dr. Kellie Leitch, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.
“Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity and with the current skills and labour shortages, we need all of our talent at work, especially our young talent,” said
Dr. Leitch. “This is why our Government is investing in the national Youth Employment Strategy (YES) to help youth develop the skills and gain the experience they need to get jobs now and prepare for the workforce of tomorrow.”
Film Training Manitoba is receiving over $30,000 from the Career Focus program to help recent graduates gain on-the-job experience and apply the skills acquired through education to ease the transition to work. Career Focus is part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES).
Participants will receive on-the-job training through work placements on various film productions. They will work alongside experienced crewmembers, explore new technologies and attend workshops on topics such as set etiquette, safety awareness and the business of acting. Through this training, participants will acquire the necessary skills to obtain jobs in Manitoba’s film and television industry.
Film Training Manitoba has a high success rate with Career Focus. In a project currently underway, two of the six participants have already found jobs, and previous projects have also led to permanent jobs for a large majority of participants.
"Thanks to this important federal government program, the Career Focus participants will gain valuable career experience and learn to apply their classroom skills in the workplace," said Neila Benson, Executive Director, Film Training Manitoba.
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.
Economic Action Plan 2012 is providing an additional $50 million over two years to enhance YES through a new initiative that will connect young Canadians with jobs that are in high demand and help them develop tangible skills and gain work experience.
Youth employment programs are part of the Government of Canada’s broader strategy to create an educated, skilled and flexible workforce. The Government underscored its commitment to this strategy in Canada’s Economic Action Plan. A key component of the Plan is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development. To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit actionplan.gc.ca.
The Government of Canada is helping youth plan their careers, learn new skills and find jobs through enhanced online services available at youth.gc.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Marian Ngo
Press Secretary
Office of Minister Finley
819-994-2482
Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
819-994-5559
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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 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, including youth who are 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.
To learn more about Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy and other youth employment initiatives, please visit youth.gc.ca.
