TORONTO, July 3, 2024 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is creating generational fairness by creating opportunities for young Canadians to get the skills they need for well-paying jobs. Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) supports this strategy by helping young people to earn money over the summer, while gaining skills and experience.
Today, the Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth and the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, highlighted the impact of the CSJ program in creating over 70,000 job opportunities for youth across Canada. This initiative is part of the Government of Canada's ongoing commitment to support young Canadians, making life more affordable and providing them with the skills and experience needed to build a better future.
The CSJ program prioritizes projects that support youth who face barriers to employment. This includes youth with disabilities, Indigenous youth, as well as Black and other racialized youth. By providing all young people with equitable opportunities to develop their skills, Canada Summer Jobs can help them to succeed in the job market.
This year's budget includes a proposed $200.5 million investment for 2025–26 to continue the Canada Summer Jobs program, further demonstrating the commitment to creating opportunities for young Canadians. These job opportunities have enabled youth to gain valuable work experience, develop essential skills and earn money over the summer in various sectors, including those facing critical labor shortages such as housing construction.
Canada's success depends on the success of its youngest generations. Gen Z is a diverse group, from those who are starting to think about their future career years from now, to those who are starting their first full-time job. They have a lifetime of opportunity ahead of them—and we are empowering them to aim high.
Lifting up Gen Z by ensuring they have good opportunities to launch their career will be critical to Canada's economic growth potential in the years to come. As baby boomers are increasingly reaching retirement age, our younger workforce must be equipped with opportunities to build their skills and gain meaningful work experience. Gen Z needs the confidence of knowing they will find a good job that will help them get ahead.
Through initiatives like Canada Summer Jobs, the Government of Canada is committed to supporting youth at every stage of their journey toward a bright and prosperous future. Our focus remains on making life more affordable and providing the opportunities young Canadians need to thrive. Together, we are building a fairer generation and a stronger Canada.
Quotes
"The Canada Summer Jobs program is more than just an employment program, it's an investment in the potential of young Canadians and the economic vitality of our communities. This program gives thousands of employers the opportunity to meet their staffing needs over the summer, and it gives youth valuable work experience that will set them up for a lifetime of success in the job market. It's win-win for employers and for young people across Canada."
– The Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth
"Canada Summer Jobs helps connect employers in Toronto and across the country with the workforce of the future. I encourage young people to visit jobbank.gc.ca/youth today to find many great summer job opportunities in fields that interest them."
– The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Quick Facts
- To help younger Canadians pursue and achieve their dreams, the Government is investing to create more youth job opportunities and ensure that hard work pays off for the next generation. In Budget 2024, the Government proposed to provide $200.5 million in 2025–26 for Canada Summer Jobs to provide well-paying summer job opportunities, including in sectors facing critical labour shortages, such as housing construction.
- CSJ-funded jobs are full-time (30–40 hours per week) and have a duration of 6–16 weeks (average duration being 8 weeks).
- Since 2020, CSJ has created more than 380,000 job opportunities for youth. Last year, CSJ surpassed its job creation target of 70,000 with over 74,200 jobs created.
- In a survey of CSJ youth participants for 2023, 92% of respondents reported having more confidence in multiple skills needed for future employment than they had at the beginning of their CSJ work placement. Additionally, 89% indicated that they had developed a positive attitude about their future employment prospects.
- Youth are also encouraged to explore additional opportunities available through other federal departments under the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy:
- Every year, Parks Canada hires a large number of young people to work in spectacular locations and gain real-world experience in a wide variety of occupations, including in visitor experience, heritage presentation, conservation, biology, finance and administration, human resources and more. Candidates can apply to up to 10 work locations at once through the Summer Jobs Inventory. Visit Parks Canada student and youth jobs to find out more.
Related product
Backgrounder: Canada Summer Jobs 2024
Associated Links
Canada Summer Jobs
jobbank.gc.ca/youth
SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada
For media enquiries, please contact: Hannaan Hassan, Senior Communication Advisor, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, 873-355-0996, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]
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