Speaking Notes
for
the Honourable Candice Bergen,
Minister of State (Social Development),
to launch a new initiative for
Career Focus and Skills Link
August 28, 2013
Vancouver, British Columbia
Check against delivery
Merci de votre aimable présentation et bonjour à tous.
[Thank you for the kind introduction. Hello everyone.]
As the new Minister of State for Social Development, I am very happy to be here today.
I’ve been working hard to get up to speed on my portfolio and I am pleased to have this opportunity to make an announcement that will benefit youth from coast-to-coast-to-coast.
Let me start by thanking the YMCA of Greater Vancouver for hosting this event.
Now, you may have heard about the skills shortages in some regions and industries.
Skills and labour shortages are some of the biggest obstacles to our country’s economic growth.
Meanwhile, many Canadians are underemployed or unemployed - especially youth.
Our government is working to address this challenge through measures that will help Canadians get training in high-demand fields and help them acquire the skills that they need to get well-paying jobs.
It is well known that many young people are graduating into unemployment or underemployment because they don’t have the right skills.
And many young people who are looking for work aren’t immediately able to get their foot in the door, because they don’t have the right kind of experience. It’s the old impossible story: no experience, no job. No job, no experience.
This is why our government is working with organizations across the country to help young people develop the skills they need to enter and succeed in the job market, ensuring job creation, growth, and long-term prosperity for Canada’s economy.
Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of our government, it gives me great pleasure today to launch an initiative that will help young Canadians gain the skills and hands-on experience they need to work in key sectors of the economy.
Through our Economic Action Plan, and more specifically as part of our Youth Employment Strategy, we are investing over $24 million in projects across the country that will connect young Canadians to in-demand jobs and benefit our economic growth.
Our contribution to the Career Focus program will help post‑secondary graduates apply the skills they acquired at school while gaining on-the-job experience with private sector employers.
And this investment in the Skills Link program will help youth facing barriers to employment, to develop the skills and gain the experience needed to find a job, or the confidence to return to school.
I am pleased to announce that the YMCA of Greater Vancouver will benefit from this initiative, which will make a difference in helping us overcome the skills shortage.
Your organization will receive more than $1.4 million through the Career Focus program to help post-secondary graduates develop beneficial work experience through paid internships in high-demand fields such as mining, transportation and health care, which will help young Canadians get well-paying jobs.
These private-sector work placements will take place in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and Yukon.
The YMCA is also receiving more than $546,000 through the Skills Link program to provide youth in the Lower Mainland, Okanagan and Vancouver Island regions with on-the-job experience in areas such as retail and wholesale trade.
These youth employment programs are part of our government’s strategy to connect Canadians with available jobs.
This includes the new Canada Job Grant, creating opportunities for apprentices and providing support to under‑represented groups such as Canadians with disabilities, Aboriginal people and newcomers.
Our Youth Employment Strategy also includes the Canada Summer Jobs initiative, which creates thousands of job opportunities for students every summer.
In today’s environment, it’s more important than ever that all young people develop the skills they need to participate and succeed in the job market.
Our government is committed to creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity all across Canada and right here in Vancouver. These strategies are just one way we are doing that.
Initiatives like this will connect youth with high-demand jobs while ensuring that Canada’s economy benefits from the skills and talents of young Canadians.
Today’s youth are tomorrow’s workforce, so by investing in them we are helping contribute to Canada’s long-term growth, competitiveness and overall prosperity.
Merci.[Thank you.]
- 30 -
