Harper Government Helps Over 535 Youth in Toronto Get Jobs

TORONTO, April 16, 2015 /CNW/ - The Harper Government is helping equip youth in Toronto with the skills and experience they need to find jobs. Today, the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development, along with John Carmichael, Member of Parliament for Don Valley West, announced that Youth Employment Services and the Toronto Youth Job Corps have received support to help more than 535 youth in Toronto gain the skills and experience they need to find jobs.

Participants in both projects will receive in-person training and critical jobs skills such as problem solving and teamwork. Some participants may also obtain specialized training, such as health and safety certification. They will be connected with local employers so they can gain real work experience in areas such as landscaping, office work, retail and manufacturing.

This is one part of the Harper Government's comprehensive strategy to equip all Canadians with the skills and training they need to connect with available jobs. 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 Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy, which includes the Skills Link program, has helped over 611,000 youth. Both Youth Employment Services and the Toronto Youth Job Corps are receiving funding under Skills Link.
• 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.
• Since January, nearly 800 apprentices from Ontario have benefited from the Canada Apprentice Loan, a total of over 5,000 from across the country. Since 2006, the Government has provided over 530,000 apprenticeship grants to Canadians across the country. Apprentices in Ontario have received over 131,000 apprenticeship grants.
• At least 26,000 apprentices are expected to apply annually for the Canada Apprentice Loan, which provides apprentices registered in Red Seal trades with interest-free loans of up to $4,000 per period of technical training, for a maximum of five periods, to complete their technical training. 
• The Universal Child Care Benefit would increase to almost $2,000 per year for each pre-schooler and extend to $720 for every child age 6 through 17.

Quotes

"Under Prime Minister Harper's leadership, the Government is helping Canadians get the skills and training they need to find good jobs and build better futures for themselves and their families. I am pleased that 535 youth in Toronto will benefit from our initiatives to connect Canadians with jobs. We are proud to work with local organizations to help young people develop the skills they need to enter and succeed in the job market, ultimately strengthening the entire Canadian economy."
- The Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development

"Preparing our youth to enter the job market is crucial to ensuring their prosperous and independent future and to strengthen the economy in our communities.  I am extremely pleased to announce that youth in Toronto will benefit from our initiatives to connect young people with jobs."
- John Carmichael, Member of Parliament for Don Valley West

"We appreciate the support of the Government of Canada for giving young adults in Toronto opportunities to improve their lives through training and employment."
- Maureen Fair, Executive Director, West Neighbourhood House

Associated Links

Services for Youth 
Economic Action Plan 
Helping Families Prosper 

Backgrounder

As part of the Government of Canada's Skills Link program, Youth Employment Services is receiving almost $1.2 million to help 275 young people get and keep jobs. Participants in this project will develop useful jobs skills such as problem solving and teamwork. They will also gain valuable work experience with local employers in the service industry, retail and manufacturing.

The Toronto Youth Job Corps will offer 263 participants training, job-search assistance, job coaching and work experience in warehouses, offices, kitchens and as general labour. The Government will provide more than $1.7 million to make this project a reality.

The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Government of Canada'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 Government of Canada 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 the Youth Employment Strategy.

The Government of Canada 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 pursue and save for their 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