January 29, 2019 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Employment and Social Development Canada
Building a strong middle class means giving Canada's youth the tools they need to find and keep quality jobs.
Today the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, along with Nick Whalen, Member of Parliament for St. John's East, announced funding that will help young Canadians develop their skills and get hands-on work experience.
Through the Skills Link program, the Government of Canada is providing over $6.6 million to Choices for Youth. Funding will support 450 youth in St. John's by creating low-barrier, high-support educational, employment and housing opportunities for at-risk and homeless youth.
Skills Link supports projects that help young people who face barriers to employment gain employability skills and valuable job experience, which helps them make a successful transition into the workforce or go back to school. Participants could include youth who have not completed high school, single parents, Indigenous youth, youth with disabilities, newcomers or youth living in rural or remote areas.
"Our communities are healthier and stronger when everyone can fully participate. Supporting youth as they transition into the workforce and giving them the training they need to succeed benefits all of us by growing our economy and strengthening the middle class."
– The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
"Creating healthy futures for vulnerable youth goes beyond simply offering young people a job. Success in employment requires success in education, mental health, housing and family stability. By investing in programming that creates support systems for youth and young parents, we are creating opportunities for young people to go back to school, to enter the labour market and to build more stable lives."
– Sheldon Pollett, Executive Director, Choices for Youth
"Not everyone gets the same fair start in life, and many need second chances. While too many youth in our province are struggling, Choices for Youth is tackling the problem of youth homelessness and the challenge of putting disadvantaged youth back in the workforce. We are proud to partner with them and congratulate Sheldon and his team on the success of their employment support and social enterprise programs."
– Nick Whalen, Member of Parliament for St. John's East
Quick facts
Canada's future prosperity depends on young people getting the education and work experience they need to succeed. Each year, the Government invests over $330 million in the Youth Employment Strategy to help young people gain the skills and work experience they need to find and maintain good employment.
Budget 2018 provided an additional $448.5 million to the Youth Employment Strategy over five years, starting in 2018–19. This funding is supporting the continued increase in the number of job placements funded under the Canada Summer Jobs program in 2019–20.
Budget 2017 invested an additional $395.5 million over three years. Combined with Budget 2016 measures, these investments will help:
- more than 33,000 vulnerable youth develop the skills they need to find work or go back to school;
- create 15,000 new green jobs for young Canadians; and
- provide more than 1,600 new employment opportunities for youth in the heritage sector.
