EDMONTON, July 31, 2015 /CNW/ - The Harper Government is helping equip young people in Edmonton with the skills and experience they need to find jobs. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Tim Uppal, Minister of State (Multiculturalism) and Member of Parliament for Edmonton–Sherwood Park, on behalf of the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development.

Through the Government's Youth Employment Strategy, the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers will deliver a project to help 84 young people in Edmonton with an investment of more than $1 million over two years. This project will help young people successfully transition to the job market or return to school.

Project participants will learn or improve job skills through workshops tailored to the needs of new Canadians, covering topics such as employer expectations and resume writing. They will also gain work experience with local employers in industries such as hospitality, construction and the trades, and oil and gas.

Today's announcement is one example of what the Government is doing to help Canadians. To help hard-working families, the Government also increased the Universal Child Care Benefit, introduced the Family Tax Cut and made 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 of Canada 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 has increased from $100 to $160 per month, totalling up to $1,920 per year, for children under the age of 6, and families are receiving 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 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 Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers so young people, including those in Edmonton, can develop the skills they need to succeed in the job market."
– The Honourable Tim Uppal, Minister of State (Multiculturalism) and Member of Parliament for Edmonton–Sherwood Park

"Many of our young people who are looking for work are struggling to get their foot in the door. Yet without experience, many of them find it challenging to find employment. That is why our Government partners with organizations like the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers—to give young people a chance to achieve their full potential."
Peter Goldring, Member of Parliament for Edmonton East

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.

 

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

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