Government of Canada Invests to Help Youth in Surrey Get Jobs

SURREY, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Feb. 22, 2013) - The Government of Canada is providing support for local youth to help them gain the skills, knowledge and experience they need to enter and succeed in the job market. The announcement was made by Nina Grewal, Member of Parliament for Fleetwood-Port Kells, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

"Our government's top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity," said Ms. Grewal. "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."

Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) is receiving over $96,000 from the Skills Link program to help youth overcome barriers to employment. Skills Link is part of the Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy (YES).

Participants will develop entrepreneurial skills to launch their own businesses. They will attend various self-employment training and information sessions on topics including marketing, financial planning and developing a business plan. Participants will also gain knowledge from mentors and guest speakers in areas such as developing sales strategies and building relationships with customers and the community.

"We're grateful to have the support from the Government of Canada," said Charan Gill, Chief Executive Officer, PICS. "This project provides valuable opportunities for youth to gain skills that will benefit them in the present and help them create a better future."

With an annual budget 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.

Employers may submit applications for this year's Canada Summer Jobs program until February 28th. Applications for employers are available online at servicecanada.gc.ca/csj2013 and at Service Canada Centres.

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 in high demand and help them develop tangible skills and gain work experience.

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 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.

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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: actionplan.gc.ca.

Backgrounder

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.

Source: http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=1760417&sourceType=3

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