June 5, 2015 – Pickering, Ontario – Employment and Social Development Canada
Chris Alexander, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister and Member of Parliament for Ajax–Pickering, on behalf of the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development, announced today that the Government of Canada is helping equip youth in Durham Region with the skills and work experience they need to find jobs.
Through the Youth Employment Strategy, the YMCA of Greater Toronto will deliver a project to help 150 youth in Durham Region gain the skills and experience they need to successfully transition to the job market or return to school.
Project participants will learn or improve job skills, such as effective communication and teamwork, through group workshops. They will also gain work experience with local employers in areas such as retail, hospitality and manufacturing. The YMCA of Greater Toronto is receiving over $490,000 for this project.
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 Canadians get the skills and training they need to find good jobs and build better futures for themselves and their families. 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. We are proud to work with local organizations like the YMCA of Greater Toronto so young people, including those in Durham Region, can develop the skills they need to succeed in the job market.”
– Chris Alexander, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister and Member of Parliament for Ajax–Pickering
“ The Skills Link program at our Durham Employment and Community Centre helps teach 150 young people every year about communications, problem solving and job search and presentation skills. We are so grateful for the support of the federal government, which will help us give young people across the GTA a boost as they start their careers.”
– Garth Neilson, Senior General Manager, Employment & Community, YMCA of Greater Toronto
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Employment and Social Development Canada
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media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Harper Government’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 Harper Government 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 YES.
The Harper Government 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 save for and pursue 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.
