July 29, 2015 Pickering, Ontario Employment and Social Development Canada
The Harper Government is helping young Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area obtain the information, skills and work experience needed to get jobs. The announcement was made today by Corneliu Chisu, Member of Parliament for Pickering–Scarborough East, and the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario) and Member of Parliament for Cambridge, on behalf of the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development.
Through the Government’s Youth Employment Strategy, four organizations will deliver projects to help a total of 112 young people in Scarborough, Pickering, Toronto and Durham Region with an investment of over $1.2 million. These projects will help youth and recent post-secondary graduates transition into the job market, return to school or advance their careers.
The 90 participants with the YMCA of Greater Toronto and Tropicana Community Services Organization of Scarborough are learning or improving job skills, such as teamwork and effective communication. Many participants have the opportunity to earn certification in specialized training, such as safe food handling. They are also gaining work experience with local employers in areas such as child care, marketing and mechanics.
The 12 participants in the project by Shouters National Evangelical Spiritual Baptist Faith International Centre of Canada are learning entrepreneurial skills, including financial management and marketing strategies. With support through one-on-one consultations and mentoring, they are developing business plans and setting up their own businesses.
The Youth Education, Arts and Health Foundation is providing career-related work experience opportunities to 10 recent post-secondary graduates. The participants are working in paid internships in a variety of occupations, such as computer programming, early childhood education and bookkeeping.
This is part of the Harper Government’s overall strategy to equip all Canadians with the skills and training they need to connect with available jobs.
“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. 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 these so young people, including those in the Greater Toronto Area, can develop the skills they need to succeed in the job market.”
– Corneliu Chisu, Member of Parliament for Pickering–Scarborough East
“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 these four to give young people a chance to show what they can do.”
– The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario) and Member of Parliament for Cambridge
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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 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 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.
The Harper Government is helping Canadian youth get the skills employers are looking for with the Canada Job Grant, apprenticeship grants and the new Canada Apprentice Loan. The Government also offers tax credits, such as the tuition, education and textbook tax credits, the tradesperson’s tools deduction and the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit.
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 save for and pursue their post-secondary education, so that they acquire the skills and training they need to succeed in the job market.
Visit youth.gc.ca and CanLearn.ca for more information.
