Edmonton, Alberta-The Government of Canada announced new
funding to support youth in Edmonton to help them gain the
knowledge they need to enter and succeed in the job market.
The announcement was made by the Honourable Laurie Hawn,
Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, on behalf of the
Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and
Skills Development, at the opening ceremony of the Alberta
Employment and Career Fair.
"Our government's top priorities are creating jobs,
economic growth and long-term prosperity," said
Mr. Hawn. "The Government of Canada'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."
Currie Communications is receiving $50,000 from the Youth
Awareness program to help youth learn about educational and
career options. Youth Awareness complements the Government
of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy (YES). It provides
financial assistance for projects designed to promote youth
as the workforce of the future.
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 is providing an additional $50
million over two years to enhance YES through a new
initiative that will connect young Canadians with jobs that
are in high demand and help them develop tangible skills
and gain work experience.
The additional funding will be delivered through two Calls
for Proposals-one for Career Focus and one for Skills Link.
The Calls opened on September 5 and will close on October
19. Organizations across Canada are invited to apply.
Information is available at servicecanada.gc.ca.
The Alberta Employment and Career Fair raises awareness of
employment opportunities available to youth within a
variety of sectors, and connects employers anticipating
skills shortages with workers. Now in its 16th year, the
event is the most comprehensive and best-attended career
and job fair in Alberta. It will feature approximately 200
exhibitors and is expected to draw over 10 000
visitors.
"With the number of exhibitors, this year's event is the
largest Alberta Employment and Career Fair to date," said
Patricia Eckley, Client Manager at Currie Communications.
"This is due in no small part to our funding partners, the
Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta. Thanks
to their efforts, thousands of Edmonton-area youth and
community members will have the opportunity to explore
career and education options."
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 plan their
careers, learn new skills and find jobs through enhanced
online services available at Youth.gc.ca.
- 30 -
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
Follow us on
Twitter
IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED
VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE,
THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.
This news release is available online at: www.actionplan.gc.ca.
Backgrounder
Youth Awareness complements the Youth Employment Strategy.
It provides financial assistance for projects designed to
promote youth as the workforce of the future and aims to
expand their awareness of career and educational
opportunities.
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.
Recommend:
