MPs announce over $1,927,000 to help youth overcome barriers to employment
Today, Viviane Lapointe, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages and Associate Minister of Public Safety and Member of Parliament for Sudbury, and Marc G. Serré, MP Nickel Belt and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced an investment of $1,927,000 from the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS).
This funding will support the YMCA Employment Services – Shaping Careers for Youth through Learning & Development ($995,000), and Collège Boréal – Boréal Youth Employment Pathway program ($932,000).
The YESS Program provides funding to organizations to deliver a range of activities that help young people (aged 15–30) overcome barriers to employment. Projects provide flexible employment services and holistic supports tailored to each individual so they can gain transferable skills that will have a lasting positive impact on their careers. Funded activities can include mentoring, coaching, training, wraparound services (such as dependant care support and mental health counselling) and paid work placements in a range of sectors, all aimed at setting each participant up for success.
Through this investment, the Government of Canada reaffirms its commitment to building an equitable labour market where all youth can reach their full potential. By fostering a diverse and skilled workforce, these initiatives will contribute to Sudbury’s long-term economic growth and innovation.
Quick Fact
- Today’s additional investment of over $23 million supports the Government’s Budget 2024 commitment to create 90,000 youth job placements and employment support opportunities for the 2025–26 fiscal year.
- In July 2024, the Government announced $370 million in funding through ESDC’s YESS Program to support over 200 projects, helping 22,000 youth overcome employment barriers and secure meaningful, lasting jobs. This additional funding brings the total investment in ESDC’s YESS Program to more than $393 million for the period of 2024–28.
- ESDC’s YESS Program was designed to support all youth with an equal opportunity to find meaningful work. New to the current funding cycle is an emphasis on supporting projects that target youth with disabilities. Other priority groups include Indigenous youth, 2SLGBTQI+ youth, Black and other racialized youth, and youth in official language minority communities.
- Youth have experienced rising unemployment rates since April 2023. In 2024, youth aged 15-24 had an unemployment rate of 13.2% compared to 5.4% for core-aged adults (25-54). Youth from underrepresented groups often face additional barriers that can negatively affect employment outcomes. For example, in 2024, the unemployment rate for:
- Racialized youth was 16.2%
- Black youth was 21.5%
- Indigenous youth was 17.7%
- In 2023 (the latest available data) the unemployment rate for youth with disabilities was 15.8%.
Associated links
- Youth Employment and Skills Strategy
