KENORA, ON, May 20, 2015 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is helping equip young Canadians in Kenora with the information, skills and work experience needed to get jobs. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of Natural Resources, Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario and Member of Parliament for Kenora, on behalf of the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development.
Lake of the Woods Brewing Company is receiving more than $170,000 through the Career Focus program for its project to help nine recent post-secondary graduates transition into the job market and advance their careers.
Project participants will gain work experience related to their studies and career goals through paid internships in various fields, including retail and administration, as well as in more specialized occupations such as taproom manager and graphic production assistant. Following the successful completion of their internships, participants will have the opportunity for ongoing employment with Lake of the Woods Brewing Company.
The Government is investing in youth employment, skills training and apprenticeship programs to help connect young Canadians 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.
Quick Facts
- The Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy, which includes the Career Focus program, has helped over 611,000 youth since 2006.
- Through Economic Action Plan 2014, the Government is creating up to 3,000 internships in high-demand fields and supporting up to 1,000 internships in small and medium-sized enterprises, under the Youth Employment Strategy.
- Economic Action Plan 2014 introduced the Canada Apprentice Loan, which provides apprentices registered in Red Seal trades with interest-free loans of up to $4,000 to complete their technical training. Loans are interest-free until apprentices complete or leave their apprenticeship training program, up to a maximum of six years. At least 26,000 apprentices are expected to apply annually. Since January, over 6,000 apprentices across Canada have benefited from the Canada Apprentice Loan.
- The Universal Child Care Benefit would increase from $100 to $160 per month (totaling up to $1,920 per year) for children under the age of 6, and families would receive a new benefit of $60 per month (up to $720 per year) for each child aged 6 through 17.
Quotes
"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 Kenora will benefit from our initiatives to connect young people with jobs. They join the more than half a million young Canadians who have already benefited from our Government's Youth Employment Strategy."
– 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. We are proud to work with organizations like Lake of the Woods Brewing Company, so that young people, including those in Kenora, gain the experience they need to succeed in the job market."
– The Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of Natural Resources, Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario and Member of Parliament for Kenora
Associated Links
Services for Youth
Economic Action Plan
Helping Families Prosper
Backgrounder
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 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 and/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 Government of Canada 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, tradesperson's tools deduction, and the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit.
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 acquire the skills and training they need to succeed in the job market.
Visit youth.gc.ca and CanLearn.ca for more information.
SOURCE Canada's Economic Action Plan
Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]
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