“Our government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity. Today’s announcement will help youth in Regina get the skills needed to obtain jobs in today’s economy.”
– The Honourable Candice Bergen, Minister of State (Social Development)
“Since 2006, the Government has helped more than half a million young Canadians develop the skills they need to help them succeed in the job market. I am pleased to announce that young Canadians in Regina will benefit from our initiatives to connect young people with jobs.”
– Ray Boughen, Member of Parliament for Palliser
“Our Youth Employment Readiness Project, funded through the Skills Link program, is a critical component of the Regina Work Preparation Centre's array of services. Skills Link funding is unique in that it helps prepare youth for the job market and links them to viable long-term employment opportunities.”
– Chris Bailey, Executive Director, Regina Work Preparation Centre
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Backgrounder
The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace. With annual funding of approximately $330 million, YES helps youth between the ages of 15 and 30 get the information and gain the skills, job experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition to the workplace. 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.
Skills Link helps youth facing barriers to employment—including single parents, youth with disabilities, young newcomers 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. Skills Link has helped over 179,000 youth since 2006.
Career Focus helps post-secondary graduates transition to the labour market through paid internships and helps to provide youth with the information and experience they need to make informed career decisions, find a job and/or pursue advanced studies. Since 2006, the Career Focus initiative has helped over 26,000 youth acquire skills needed to join 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. Since it began in 2007, Canada Summer Jobs has helped over 260,000 students.
Through Economic Action Plan 2014, the Government of Canada is investing $40 million towards supporting up to 3,000 internships in high-demand fields and $15 million annually towards supporting up to 1,000 internships in small and medium-sized enterprises under the Youth Employment Strategy.
The Government of Canada also provides a range of support—including Canada Student Loans, Canada Student Grants, the Canada Learning Bond and the Canada Education Savings Grant—to help young Canadians pursue and save for their post-secondary education, so that they can acquire the skills and training they need to succeed in the job market and in the future economy.
