BLOOMFIELD, PEI, June 12, 2015 /CNW/ - The Harper Government is helping equip young Canadians in Prince Edward Island with the information, skills and work experience needed to get jobs. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Member of Parliament for Egmont, on behalf of the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development.
PEI Career Development Services Inc. and Rural Community Learning Inc. will deliver two projects to help a total of 34 participants transition into the job market or return to school. The two groups are receiving a total of $340,000 for their projects through the Harper Government's Youth Employment Strategy.
The 22 participants in PEI Career Development Services' project will gain work experience related to their studies and career goals through paid internships in Bloomfield and throughout Prince Edward Island in various occupations including heating, ventilation and air conditioning technician and golf course manager.
Through group workshops, the 12 participants in Rural Community Learning's project will learn or improve useful job skills, such as effective communication and time management, and will gain specialty training, such as First Aid/CPR and Responsible Beverage Service. They will also gain work experience with local employers, primarily in customer service in the St. Louis area.
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 Harper Government's Youth Employment Strategy 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. 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 (totalling 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. 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 PEI Career Development and Rural Community Learning so that young people, including those in Prince Edward Island, gain the experience they need to succeed in the job market."
– The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Member of Parliament for Egmont
"PEI Career Development's mandate is to provide free, client-focused and confidential employment counselling services to unemployed Islanders. Thanks to the Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy, our Career Pathways program will not only continue to provide career-related work experience for post-secondary graduates, but we will also be able to add 22 new graduates to the program."
– Don Baker, President, PEI Career Development Services Inc.
"The Stepping Stones to Success program has provided many youth in the West Prince area with the opportunity to experience personal growth by learning and acquiring specific knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to enhance their employability and future career direction. With support under the Skills Link program, Rural Community Learning Inc. has helped more than 200 youth, and many have had success in reaching their employment and career goals, become more engaged in their communities and become well-rounded and respected citizens."
– Sharon Horne, Executive Director, Rural Community Learning Inc.
Associated Links
Youth Employment Strategy
Skills Link Program
Career Focus Program
Economic Action Plan
Helping Families Prosper
Backgrounder
The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Harper Government'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 Harper Government 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 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 save for and pursue 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 Employment and Social Development Canada
Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]
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