Youth facing barriers to employment benefit from job skills upgrading and employment opportunities
September 14, 2017 Longueuil, Quebec Employment and Social Development Canada
As part of the Government of Canada’s plan to strengthen the middle class and help those working hard to join it, young people in Longueuil are developing job skills and gaining hands-on work experience thanks to a new project supported with funding provided by the Government of Canada. Sherry Romanado, Member of Parliament for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour.
Through La Croisée de Longueuil’s “Je cultive mon avenir” project, 30 young people between the ages of 16 and 30 from the Longueuil agglomeration will be given the opportunity over the next 61 weeks to acquire the skills and abilities they need to make a successful transition to the workforce or pursue advanced training opportunities. This project will focus mainly on the creation of green job opportunities in horticulture and urban agriculture.
The Government of Canada will provide approximately $405,791 in funding for this project through the Skills Link program, which supports projects that provide hands-on work experience, job search assistance and skills upgrading resources for youth facing barriers to employment. This includes youth who are single parents, have disabilities, are newcomers, or live in rural and remote areas.
Quotes
Giving youth a strong start through this type of project will ensure that the next generation of capable workers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, innovators and tradespeople achieve success and grow our economy.
The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and LabourDeveloping Canada’s youth is a priority. La Croisée de Longueuil’s project is a concrete example of what we can achieve for youth by working in partnership with our local organizations.I am proud that this project will help give young people from Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne the chance to change their future.
Sherry Romanado, Member of Parliament for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyneLa Croisée de Longueuil is proud to partner with the Government of Canada and use its expertise to help grow opportunities for our youth.
Martha Ortiz, General Director of La Croisée de LongueuilQuick Facts
- Skills Link is one of three program streams under the Government’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES). Each year, the Government invests more than $330 million in YES to help support young Canadians between the ages of 15 and 30 to get the information, skills, job experience and abilities they need to find and maintain good employment.
- Total funding for YES was increased by $278 million in 2016–17, representing the largest investment since its launch.
- Budget 2017 is investing an additional $395.5 million over three years for YES, starting in 2017–18. Combined with Budget 2016 measures, these investments will help:
- more than 33,000 vulnerable youth develop the skills they need to find work or go back to school;
- create 15,000 new green jobs for young Canadians; and
- provide over 1,600 new employment opportunities for youth in the heritage sector.
Associated Links
Contacts
Office of Sherry Romanado
MP for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne
Sherry.romanado.c1b@parl.gc.ca
Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
Backgrounder
Youth Employment Strategy
The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace. The 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 workforce. The YES includes Skills Link, Career Focus and Summer Work Experience, and is delivered by 11 federal departments.
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 return to school.
Career Focus helps post-secondary graduates transition to the labour market through paid internships and helps provide youth with the information and experience they need to make informed career decisions, find a job and/or pursue advanced studies.
Summer Work Experience provides wage subsidies to employers to create summer employment for secondary and post-secondary students. The Summer Work Experience program includes Canada Summer Jobs. The Canada Summer Jobs program 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 who are full-time students intending to return to their studies in the next school year.
Each year, the Government invests approximately $330 million in the YES to help young people gain the skills and experience they need to find and keep good jobs.
More recently, Budget 2016 proposed to invest an additional $165.4 million in the Youth Employment Strategy in 2016–17 to:
- create new green jobs for youth;
- increase the number of youth who access the Skills Link program; and
- support employment opportunities in the heritage sector under the Young Canada Works program.
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