June 29, 2015 – Haliburton, Ontario – Employment and Social Development Canada
The Harper Government is helping equip youth in Ontario with the skills and experience they need to find jobs. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board, and Barry Devolin, Member of Parliament for Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock, on behalf of the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development.
Through the Harper Government’s Youth Employment Strategy, Sir Sandford Fleming College of Applied Arts and Technology will deliver two projects to help 30 youth and post-secondary graduates in Peterborough and area through an investment of $395,000. These projects will help young people gain the skills and experience they need to successfully transition to the job market or return to school.
Project participants will take part in a range of activities to increase their employability. Some participants will learn or improve job skills, such as effective communication and teamwork, through group workshops, and some will have the opportunity to receive additional training, such as First Aid or Smart Serve certification. All participants will gain work experience with local employers in areas such as construction, retail, and information technology.
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 organizations like Sir Sandford Fleming College of Applied Arts and Technology, so young people, including those in Peterborough and area, can develop the skills they need to succeed in the job market.”
– The Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board and Member of Parliament for Parry Sound–Muskoka
“Many youth looking for work are struggling to get their foot in the door. And many have heard the tune, no experience, no job. No job, no experience. That is why our Government partners with organizations like Sir Sandford Fleming College of Applied Arts and Technology to give young people a chance to show what they can do.”
– Barry Devolin, Member of Parliament for Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock
"With funding from the Government of Canada, the programs delivered by Fleming CREW have given unemployed youth the opportunity to gain new hands-on skills in workplace experiences. The participants showed enthusiasm, gained confidence and demonstrated a strong work ethic.”
– Debby Keating, Manager, Employment Programs, Sir Sandford Fleming College of Applied Arts and Technology
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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 the Youth Employment Strategy.
The 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 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.
