West Nipissing Ouest – Sturgeon Falls, Verner, St Charles, Field and Area News 
As part of the Government of Canada’s plan to strengthen the middle class and help those working hard to join it, West Nipissing youth are developing job skills and gaining hands-on work experience thanks to a new project “Impact 2017 & Beyond: Individuals Making Professions and Careers” supported by funding provided by the Government of Canada. Marc Serré, Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt and Anthony Rota, Member of Parliament for Nipissing – Timiskaming made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour and also celebrated the grand opening of the Alliance’s new office, located at 184 King St. in Sturgeon Falls.
Up to 51 youth will participate in the project, which will be delivered by the Literacy Alliance of West Nipissing. The “IMPACT 2017 & Beyond: Individuals Making Professions and Careers Today” project will allow 51 vulnerable youth to complete 16 weeks of work experience in the following sections: retail, food service, trades and construction, general labour, and office administration.
The Government of Canada will provide approximately $458,201 in funding for this project through the Skills Link program, which supports projects that provide hands-on work experience, job search assistance and skills upgrading resources for youth facing barriers to employment. This includes youth who are single parents, have disabilities, are newcomers, or live in rural and remote areas.
Quotes
“Giving youth a strong start through this type of project will ensure that the next generation of capable workers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, innovators and tradespeople achieve success and grow our economy.”
– The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
“On behalf of the Government of Canada, it gives us great pleasure to announce that we are investing over $458,000 in the Literacy Alliance of West Nipissing. With this Skills Link funding, up to 51 youth in West Nipissing and the surrounding region will learn, or improve, valuable job skills, such as professionalism, self-confidence, and teamwork to name a few. Today’s grand opening and announcement are concrete examples of what we can achieve for youth by working together.”
– Marc Serré, Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt
“Developing Canada’s youth is a priority. The Literacy Alliance of West Nipissing’s project is a concrete example of what we can achieve for youth by working in partnership with organizations across the country. Projects like this one can help put regular paycheques into the reach of those who need it. But more than that, they give young Canadians the chance to change their future.”
– Anthony Rota, Member of Parliament for Nipissing – Timiskaming
“The funding is a positive contribution to West Nipissing’s economy and to our local workforce. The program will offer a service to West Nipissing youths that require support and assistance with work experience, career development and will allow the service provider to achieve this objective. Thank you to our federal government , to our MP Marc Serré , for the on going support and contribution to West Nipissing.”
– Joanne Savage, Mayor of West Nipissing
“The past six years have been leading up to this moment where perseverance has paid off. Our growth has been fueled by our clients’ efforts. The clients continue to seek our services, bringing others with them. This new location is well deserved and necessary. 184 King Street provides the home we need to continue to serve our community with greater excellence.”
– Nanditta Colbear, Executive Director at Literacy Alliance of West Nipissing.
Quick Facts
- Skills Link is part of the Government’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES). Each year, the Government invests more than $330 million in YES to help young people gain the skills, abilities and work experience they need to find and maintain good employment.
- To expand employment opportunities for young Canadians, Budget 2016 invested an additional $165.4 million in 2016–17. That’s an increase of 77 percent over the year before, and the largest increase to YES since 1997.
- This new funding is on top of the $339 million investment over three years in the Canada Summer Jobs program to create up to 70,000 new jobs for youth each year.
Associated Links
Backgrounder
Youth Employment Strategy
The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace. The YES helps youth between the ages of 15 and 30 get the information and gain the skills, job experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition to the workforce. The YES includes Skills Link, Career Focus and Summer Work Experience, and is delivered by 11 federal departments.
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 return to school.
Career Focus helps post-secondary graduates transition to the labour market through paid internships and helps provide youth with the information and experience they need to make informed career decisions, find a job and/or pursue advanced studies.
Summer Work Experience provides wage subsidies to employers to create summer employment for secondary and post-secondary students. The Summer Work Experience program includes Canada Summer Jobs. The Canada Summer Jobs program 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 who are full-time students intending to return to their studies in the next school year.
Each year, the Government invests approximately $330 million in the YES to help young people gain the skills and experience they need to find and keep good jobs.
More recently, Budget 2016 proposed to invest an additional $165.4 million in the Youth Employment Strategy in 2016–17 to:
- create new green jobs for youth;
- increase the number of youth who access the Skills Link program; and
- support employment opportunities in the heritage sector under the Young Canada Works program.