Tilson Announces Support for Youth in Caledon

BOLTON, Ontario – David Tilson, Member of Parliament for Dufferin-Caledon, today announced $344,533 in support that will equip young Canadians in Caledon with the skills and work experience needed to get jobs.

“Since 2006, the Government has helped more than half a million young Canadians develop the skills they need to help them succeed in the job market,” said Mr. Tilson. “I am pleased to announce that young Canadians in Caledon will benefit from our initiatives to connect young people with jobs.”

Skills Link helps youth facing barriers to employment—including youth who are 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 the confidence to return to school. Since 2006, the Skills Link initiative has helped over 179,000 youth get jobs or return to school.

Participants will develop life and job skills through workshops on topics such as time management, effective communication, and conflict resolution. Based on their career plans, they will gain work experience in retail, construction, or food services through job placements with local businesses.

“Young people will benefit immensely," said Monty Laskin, Chief Executive Officer of Caledon Community Services. "The LIFE for Youth Program is a winner for Caledon youth, for Caledon Community Services and for the Caledon community. Each benefits through hands-on training in many of our programs and in many Caledon businesses. We appreciate the federal government’s support, the participants thrive in our program and the community's businesses are grateful for the value-add of LIFE for Youth trainees in their workplaces.”

The Youth Employment Strategy (YES) is the Government of Canada’s commitment to help youth make a successful transition to the workplace. With annual funding of approximately $300 million, YES helps youth 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. Since 2006, the Youth Employment Strategy has helped more than 555 000 young people develop skills, to the benefit of the Canadian economy.

Career Focus helps youth obtain the information, skills and experience they need to make informed career decisions, find a job or further their education—including providing career-related work experience. Since 2006, the Career Focus initiative has helped over 26 000 youth acquire skills to help them transition into the labour 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.