Youth facing barriers to employment benefit from job skills upgrading and employment opportunities
GODERICH, ON, June 5, 2017 /CNW/ - When Canada's most vulnerable youth get the support they need to find and keep good jobs, our middle class grows and our economy thrives. Today, Rodger Cuzner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced that the Government of Canada's Skills Link will invest in the Avon Maitland District School Board's Reach for Success project to help 110 youth get the skills and knowledge they will need to make a successful transition to the job market, or return to school, and to overcome other barriers they face to finding jobs. The project activities will take place in Clinton and Seaforth, Ontario.
The Government of Canada will provide $925,027 in funding for this project through the Skills Link program, which supports projects that provide hands-on work experience, job search assistance and skills upgrading resources for youth facing barriers to employment—including Indigenous youth, female youth at risk and members of a visible minority.
Mr. Cuzner made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour.
Quotes
"Projects like Reach for Success will help some of our most vulnerable youth get the skills they need to find good jobs and build a brighter future. I'm proud to be a part of a government that supports important projects like this one."
– Rodger Cuzner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
"Our Reach for Success project continues to be an important tool in our efforts to assist youth in Huron County develop the skills they need to find and improve their employment opportunities. The program encourages a different type of learning to enhance employability skills and it supports participants as they work towards a career while contributing to the local labour market."
– Megan Miller, Reach for Success lead for the Centre for Employment and Learning – Clinton
Quick Facts
- Each year the Government invests more than $330 million in the Youth Employment Strategy (YES) to help young people gain the skills, abilities and work experience they need to find and maintain good employment.
- Total funding for YES was increased by $278 million in 2016–17, representing the largest investment since its launch in 1997.
- Budget 2017 proposed an additional $395.5 million over three years for YES, starting in 2017–18.
Associated Links
Backgrounder: Skills Link Program
SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada
Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]
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