May 27, 2015 – Alma, Quebec – Employment and Social Development Canada
The Government of Canada is helping equip youth in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est regional county municipality with the skills and experience they need to find jobs. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Member of Parliament for Roberval–Lac-St-Jean, on behalf of the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development.
Carrefour jeunesse-emploi Lac-Saint-Jean Est (La Bivoie) is receiving over $139,000 through the Skills Link program for its project to help eight youth in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est regional county municipality gain the skills and experience necessary to make a successful transition to the job market or return to school.
Project participants will learn or improve useful jobs skills, such as effective communication and teamwork, through group workshops. They will also gain work experience with local employers in areas such as industrial mechanics, retail and agriculture.
This is part of the Government of Canada’s overall strategy to equip all Canadians with the skills and training they need to connect with available jobs.
Today’s announcement is one example of what the Government is doing to help Canadians. To help hard-working families, the Government is also enhancing the Universal Child Care Benefit, introducing the Family Tax Cut and making improvements to the Child Care Expenses Deduction and the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit.
“Our Government is helping young Canadians get the skills and training they need to find good jobs and build better futures for themselves and their families. I am pleased that youth in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est regional county municipality will benefit from our initiatives to connect young people with jobs.”
– The Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development
“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. Through Carrefour jeunesse-emploi Lac-Saint-Jean Est’s project, youth in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est regional county municipality will gain the skills and hands-on experience they need to succeed in the workforce.”
– The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Member of Parliament for Roberval–Lac-St-Jean
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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 and work experience they need to succeed in the workplace. YES includes the Skills Link and Career Focus programs, as well as 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 191,000 youth since 2006.
Career Focus helps post-secondary graduates transition to the job market through paid internships and helps to provide youth with the information and experience they need to make informed career decisions, find a job or pursue advanced studies. Since 2006, Career Focus has helped over 29,000 youth.
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 304,000 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.
Visit youth.gc.ca and CanLearn.ca for more information.
