Government of Canada helps youth in La Haute-Saint-Charles acquire useful skills for the job market

QUÉBEC, Aug. 29, 2013 /CNW/ - The Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Honourable Candice Bergen, Minister of State (Social Development), announced today that the Government of Canada is providing support for youth in the Québec borough of La Haute-Saint-Charles to help them gain the skills, knowledge and experience they need to enter and succeed in the job market.

"Our government remains committed to creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity across the country," said Minister of State Bergen. "I'm pleased that our government is investing in the youth of today to make sure they are ready to become Canada's workers of tomorrow.  This investment will connect youth with in-demand jobs while ensuring that Canada's economy benefits from the skills and talents of young Canadians."

"Our government's top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity," said Minister Baird. "The Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy is helping youth develop the skills and gain the experience they need to get jobs now and prepare for the workforce of tomorrow."

Carrefour jeunesse-emploi Chauveau received more than $443,000 from the Government of Canada's Skills Link program to help youth facing barriers to employment acquire useful skills that will ease their entry into the workforce or their return to school. Skills Link is part of the Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy (YES).

Project participants acquired a number of skills through workshops on various topics, such as stress management, teamwork and financial management. They also had the opportunity to gain work experience to be better prepared to find a job.

"A feature of this project is that it helps youth transition into the workplace in a sustainable fashion by building a relationship of trust between project participants and partner employers," said Ms. Guylaine St-Pierre, the executive director of Carrefour jeunesse-emploi Chauveau. "In addition to building on their strengths and qualifications, participants develop new social and occupational skills through workshops and supervised work experience."

YES helps youth—particularly those facing barriers to employment—obtain career information, develop occupational skills, find jobs and stay employed. 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.

The Government of Canada is continuing to enhance YES with a new initiative that connects young Canadians with jobs in high demand and helps them develop tangible skills and gain work experience. As well, in its Economic Action Plan 2013, the government proposes new measures to create 5 000 more paid internships.

Youth employment programs are part of the Government of Canada's broader strategy to connect Canadians with available jobs. Economic Action Plan 2013 proposes new measures to equip Canadians with the skills and training they need. These include the Canada Job Grant, creating opportunities for apprentices and providing support to under-represented groups such as people with disabilities, Aboriginal people, newcomers and youth. To learn more about Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit actionplan.gc.ca.

The Government of Canada is helping youth plan their careers, learn new skills and find jobs through enhanced online services available at youth.gc.ca.

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Backgrounder

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The Youth Employment Strategy is the Government of Canada's commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace.

Skills Link helps youth facing barriers to employment, including youth who are single parents, youth with disabilities 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.

Career Focus provides funding to employers to hire young post-secondary graduates to give them career-related work experience and help them acquire skills to transition into the job market.

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.

To learn more about Canada's Youth Employment Strategy and other youth employment initiatives, visit youth.gc.ca.

SOURCE: Canada's Economic Action Plan

Johanna Quinney
Office of the Minister of State
(Social Development)
819-953-2350

Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
[email protected]
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IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.

This news release is available online at actionplan.gc.ca.