June 13, 2016

For Immediate Release

2016 Canada Summer Jobs program delivering record number of positions

June 13^th, 2016              

On the job work experience is an important way young people get the skills they need to launch their careers. This summer, more students than ever before in Labrador will have a job this year under the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program.

166 Canada summer jobs were approved for this summer, on 92 projects in every region of Labrador. That’s almost 41,000 hours of work, investing $385,857 into Labrador’s Youth, expanding their education, experience, and providing vital work for Labrador organisations.

More than 77,000 jobs are approved for funding under CSJ this year across Canada, more than double last year’s 34,000 and roughly 7,000 more than originally anticipated when the government announced a boost to the program funding in the federal budget earlier this year.

CSJ creates summer job opportunities and provides valuable work experience for youth aged 15 to 30 intending to return to their full-time studies in the next school year. The program also helps employers generate jobs that focus on priorities important to their local communities as well as on a number of national priorities that include, in 2016: the settlement of Syrian refugees, Indigenous people, small businesses and cultural and creative industries.

The Canada Summer Jobs Program is part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy to help young people gain the skills, abilities and work experience they need to find and maintain good employment.

Quote

“I’m excited that our government can provide the support so that Labrador youth can gain experience, earn money, and build their career – and Labrador organisations can get the help they need to continue to serve Labradorians well.” – Yvonne Jones, MP for Labrador

“We set an ambitious goal to create up to 70,000 jobs for youth across Canada, and we’ve exceeded it. More young people than ever before will benefit from a job this summer through this program.” – The Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

Quick Facts

• Budget 2016 included $339 million over three years in new funding for the Canada Summer Jobs program, the first funding increase since 2009
• In 2015, 300,000 students were unable to find jobs during the summer in Canada

• 13,373 approved positions across Canada are from small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, up 397% from the summer before

Associated Link

Budget 2016

Related Products

Backgrounder

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Contacts

For Yvonne Jones:

Brandon Pardy

(613)996-4632

[email protected]

John O’Leary

Director of Communications

Office of the Hon. MaryAnn Mihychuk, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

819-654-5611

Media Relations Office

Employment and Social Development Canada

819-994-5559

[email protected]

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Backgrounder

Canada Summer Jobs

In February 2016, the Government announced that it will create up to 35,000 additional jobs in each of the next three years under the Canada Summer Jobs program. The investment of $339 million over three years, starting in 2016-2017, will nearly double the number of jobs opportunities supported by the program.

Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) provides funding to not-for-profit organizations, public-sector employers, and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees to create summer job opportunities for students.

CSJ creates summer job opportunities and provides valuable work experience for youth intending to return to their studies full-time in the next school year. The program also helps employers generate jobs that focus on priorities important to their local communities as well as on a number of national priorities that include:

• employers who help welcome and settle Syrian refugees to Canada, as well as Syrian students
• Indigenous people, who are among the fastest-growing segments of the Canadian population
• small businesses working to become more innovative, competitive and successful, in recognition of their key contribution to the creation of new jobs
• cultural and creative industries looking to create jobs and to strengthen our rich Canadian identity. This latter priority will support the planning of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017.

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. YES helps youth between the ages of 15 to 30 get the information and gain the skills, job experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition to the workplace. 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 employability skills and gain experience they need 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.
• Budget 2016 builds on that amount and proposes to invest an additional $278.4 million in 2016-17 in the YES to help nurture and develop underutilized and untapped talent, such as Indigenous youth, youth with disabilities, single parents and newcomers by:
• 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.

• Creating new green jobs for youth

• Increasing the number of youth who access the Skills Link program, which helps young Canadians overcome barriers to employment
• Supporting employment opportunities in the heritage sector under the Young Canada Works.
• New investments in the Canada Summer Jobs program