Harper Government renews Skills and Partnership Fund with permanent funding

TRURO, NS, April 10, 2015 /CNW/ - The Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, on behalf of the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister of Employment and Social Development, today announced the renewal of the Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF) with permanent funding of $50 million per year starting in 2016.

The SPF encourages Aboriginal organizations to create partnerships with governments, businesses and community organizations to improve skills training and create jobs and opportunities for Aboriginal people. This partnership-based fund responds to the changing needs and priorities of the labour market, while providing opportunities for Aboriginal people to fully participate in Canada's economy, including preparing for jobs.

Funding will be awarded through a competitive process and organizations can expect a call for proposals in 2015 for projects that will begin in April 2016.

Today's announcement was made with the Native Council of Nova Scotia, which will receive $300,000 in SPF funding this year to help 20 Aboriginal people prepare for jobs in the oil and gas sector. While the SPF was originally set to expire March 31, 2015, the Government is providing $15 million of funding in the transition year (April 2015 to March 2016) for projects in priority sectors.

Today's announcement is one example of what the Government is doing to help Canadians. To help hard-working families, the 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

• Aboriginal youth are the fastest-growing demographic in Canada. These programs will help them fully realize their potential and meaningfully participate in Canada's economy.
• To date, through around 80 SPF projects, over 6,300 Aboriginal people have found jobs with 8,000 to 10,000 clients expected to be working after they complete training in spring 2015.

Quotes

"Our Government's top priorities are creating jobs and opportunities for all Canadians. As demonstrated by today's announcement, we are delivering on our commitment to help Aboriginal people get the skills and training they need to secure meaningful employment and build better futures for themselves and their families."
– The Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

"The Native Council of Nova Scotia and our Aboriginal client group are very pleased to hear of the extension year approved for the Building Aboriginal Skills for Employment Program (BASE). The BASE program will continue to assist our Aboriginal Peoples to gain employable skills to achieve long-term sustainable employment. Partnerships with industry made this a very successful program with great outcomes for our Peoples, and we look forward to the continued work with our new and existing industry partners."
– Chief Grace Conrad, Native Council of Nova Scotia

Associated Links

Aboriginal Labour Market Programs
Helping Families Prosper
Tax Savings
Canada's Economic Action Plan

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Backgrounder

Skills and Partnership Fund

The Skills and Partnership Fund (SPF) encourages Aboriginal organizations to create partnerships with governments, businesses, learning institutions and community organizations that improve skills training and create opportunities for Aboriginal people.

This program responds to the changing needs and priorities of the labour market, while providing opportunities for Aboriginal people to fully participate in Canada's economy.

Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy

The Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS) supports over 80 Aboriginal organizations with over 600 points of service throughout Canada to develop and deliver labour market programs and services targeted to the unique needs of clients in their communities. It focuses on three strategic priorities: supporting skills development; fostering partnerships with the private sector and the provinces and territories; and accountability and results.

First Nations Job Fund

The Government of Canada is also improving the on-reserve Income Assistance program.  A key component of this initiative is the $109 million First Nations Job Fund. The Job Fund provides on-reserve Income Assistance recipients in participating communities with access to employment supports and job training so that they can develop the skills they need to find a job.

SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada