Government of Canada invests to help youth in Quebec's Argenteuil regional county municipality get jobs

LACHUTE, QC, March 8, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - The Government of Canada is providing support for youth in the Argenteuil regional county municipality to help them gain the skills and experience they need to enter and succeed in the job market. The announcement was made today by the Deputy leader of the Government at the Senate, the Honorable Senator Claude Carignan, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

"Our government's top priorities are job creation, economic growth and long-term prosperity," said Senator Carignan. "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."

Défi Travail Argenteuil is receiving over $97,000 from the Skills Link program to help youth overcome barriers to employment. Skills Link is part of the Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy (YES).

The project participants will take part in workshops designed to help them develop their skills in areas such as communication and conflict resolution. They will also visit various workplaces. Participants will have the chance to put their new employability skills into practice through internships with employers in the region that match their fields of interest.

"This contribution helps support our mission, which is to improve employability and encourage job integration," said Ms. Hélène Meilleur, Director, Défi Travail Argenteuil. "In concrete terms, the contribution enabled us to create a long-term employability development project in which employment counsellors offer guidance to the participants throughout the workshops and work internships."

With an annual budget of more than $300 million, YES helps youth, particularly those facing barriers to employment, obtain career information, develop employment 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.

Economic Action Plan 2012 is providing an additional $50 million over two years to enhance YES through a new initiative that will connect young Canadians with jobs in high demand and help them develop tangible skills and gain work experience.

Youth employment programs are part of the Government of Canada's broader strategy to create an educated, skilled and flexible workforce. The Government underscored its commitment to this strategy in Canada's Economic Action Plan. A key component of the Plan is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development. 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, please visit youth.gc.ca.

SOURCE: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

Marian Ngo
Press Secretary
Office of Minister Finley
819-994-2482

Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
819-994-5559
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This news release is available online at: actionplan.gc.ca.