EDMONTON, July 20, 2015 /CNW/ - The Harper Government is helping equip youth in Alberta with the skills and experience they need to find jobs. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Kevin Sorenson, Minister of State (Finance) and Member of Parliament for Crowfoot, on behalf of the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development.
Through the Government's Youth Employment Strategy, the McBride Career Group Inc., the Youth Canada Association (YOUCAN), and the On Site Placement Services Association will deliver four projects to help 224 young people in Calgary,Edmonton, Okotoks and Ponoka with an investment of more than $1.6 million. These projects will help young people successfully transition to the job market or return to school.
Project participants will learn or improve job skills, including developing high-quality résumés and cover letters. They will have the opportunity to earn certification in specialized training such as forklift safety, food safety and computer programs. They will also gain work experience with local employers in areas including retail, hospitality and the oil and gas sector.
Today's announcement is one example of what the Government is doing to help Canadians. To help hard-working families, the Harper 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
- Since 2006, the Harper Government's Youth Employment Strategy has helped over 611,000 young Canadians.
- The 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, the tradesperson's tools deduction and the Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit.
- 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 will increase from $100 to $160 per month, totalling up to $1,920 per year, for children under the age of 6, and parents will receive a new benefit of $60 per month, up to $720 per year, for each child aged 6 through 17. The first payment of $3 billion dollars to 3.8 million families represents the largest single-day direct payment to families in history.
Quotes
"Our Government is helping 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 the McBride Career Group, YOUCAN and the On Site Placement Services Association so young people, including those in the Calgary and Edmonton areas, can develop the skills they need to succeed in the job market."
– The Honourable Kevin Sorenson, Minister of State (Finance) and Member of Parliament for Crowfoot
"We're very happy to see that youth in this area are getting the help they need to enter the labour market. The Government of Canada helps youth develop the skills and gain the experience needed to get jobs now and prepare for the workforce of tomorrow."
– The Honourable Laurie Hawn, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre
"McBride Career Group Inc. is proud to have been providing projects for unemployed Albertans for 25 years. A majority of our federally funded contracts have focused on youth, including youth with disabilities. These services greatly assist youth in the following areas: personal development; handling disabilities or social concerns; skills analysis; career focusing; "on-site" work experience; and placement into work, education, or training. Thus, youth move from a state of indecision into a clear occupational focus with a personalized action plan to ensure success. We are proud of the results of our interventions, made possible with Government of Canada funding."
– Shirley McBride, Owner and Chief Executive Officer, McBride Career Group Inc.
"The youth who YOUCAN Youth Services works with are very vulnerable and living in harm's way. The funding from Employment and Social Development Canada is crucial in the lives of the youth we assist, and we firmly believe this program saves lives. We are thankful for the support that Employment and Social Development Canada shows our community, our agency and, most importantly, the youth we serve."
– Kyle Dubé, Executive Director, YOUCAN Youth Services
"On Site Placement has partnered with the federal government for 34 years, assisting priority youth to increase employability skills and obtain and maintain employment. The Skills Link funding received in November has enabled On Site Placement to assist 41 multi-barriered youth to increase their employability skills and 26 others to either maintain employment or return to school.
– Katherine Macdonald, Program Manager, Youth Skills for Work program, On Site Placement Services Association
Associated Links
Youth Employment Strategy
Skills Link 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, as well as 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 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.
Through Economic Action Plan 2014, the Harper Government is investing $40 million towards supporting up to 3,000 internships in high-demand fields and $15 million annually towards supporting up to 1,000 internships in small and medium-sized enterprises under YES.
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 post-secondary education, so that they can 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
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