Hazelton,British Columbia— The Government of Canada announced new funding to support youth in Hazelton to help them gain the skills, knowledge and experience they need to enter and succeed in the job market. The announcement was made by Bob Zimmer, Member of Parliament for Prince George–Peace River, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.
“Our government’s top priority is creating jobs and economic growth,” said Mr. Zimmer. “Our government’s Youth Employment Strategy is helping youth develop the skills and gain the experience they need to get jobs now and prepare for the workforce of tomorrow.”
The Upper Skeena Development Centre is receiving over $99,000 from the Skills Link program to help youth overcome barriers to employment. Skills Link is part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES).
With annual funding of more than $300 million, YES helps youth, particularly those facing barriers to employment, obtain career information, develop employment skills, find jobs and stay employed. 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.
Economic Action Plan 2012 proposes an additional $50 million over two years to enhance YES so that more young people can gain tangible skills and experience. This funding will focus on connecting young Canadians with jobs in fields that are in high demand.
The participants in the Upper Skeena Development Centre project will attend skills workshops that focus on topics such as interview preparation and teamwork, and develop action plans to reach their educational and career goals. They will also manage a community garden to gain various types of experience, including coordinating the distribution of produce to local community groups and selling their crops at a market.
“The YES funding provided by Service Canada affords a unique opportunity for our organization to assist youth with multiple barriers to employment,” said Alice Smith, Executive Director of Upper Skeena Development Centre. “With this funding, our organization helps youth reconnect with their communities, develop pre-employment and life skills and achieve successful education or employment outcomes.”
Youth employment programs are part of the Government of Canada’s broader strategy to create an educated, skilled and flexible workforce. The Government underscored its commitment to this strategy in Canada’s Economic Action Plan. A key component of the Plan is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development. To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
The Government of Canada is helping youth prepare for, find and maintain meaningful employment through enhanced online services available at Youth.gc.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Marian Ngo
Office of Minister Finley
819-994-2482
Media Relations Office
Human Resources and
Skills Development Canada
819-994-5559
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This news release is available online at: www.actionplan.gc.ca.
The Youth Employment Strategy is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace.
Skills Link helps youth facing barriers to employment, including youth who are single parents, youth with disabilities, 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.
Career Focus provides funding to employers to hire young post-secondary graduates to give them career-related work experience and help them acquire skills to transition into the job market.
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.
To learn more about Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy and other youth employment initiatives, please visit Youth.gc.ca.
