May 2, 2014 – Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced significant support for paid internships for post-secondary graduates. These internships will help young Canadians get the skills and work experience they need to find jobs in high-demand fields, ensuring their full participation in the economy. The Prime Minister was joined by Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism.

The support for the internship initiative, which was provided in Economic Action Plan 2014, will help up to 3,000 post-secondary graduates take part in full-time paid internships across the country in high-demand fields such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the skilled trades. The internships, which will last between six and 12 months, will take place over the next two years and give participants the opportunity to gain the real-life work experience and skills necessary to succeed in the workplace now and in the future. This initiative will also benefit many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who are seeking qualified workers in select fields.

The internships will be offered through the Youth Employment Program (YEP) of the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), as well as by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)’s Career Focus Program.

NRC-IRAP’s YEP will provide SMEs undertaking technical research and development projects with financial assistance to hire highly skilled post-secondary graduates. This will allow the graduates to participate in research, development and commercialization of technology activities. The additional internships delivered through the ESDC’s Career Focus Program will also provide post-secondary graduates with real-life work experience in different high-demand fields.

The support being announced in Economic Action Plan 2014 for this internship initiative is part of our Government’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES).

Quick Facts:

• Our Government invests funds annually to support post-secondary education, which includes providing students with financial assistance such as Canada Student Loans and Canada Student Grants, and specific programming targeted to First Nations and Inuit students.
• Since 2006, YES has helped more than 555,000 young people develop skills, to the benefit of the Canadian economy.

Quotes:

“Our Government is committed to providing Canadians with the workplace experience and skills necessary to fill jobs in high-demand fields and succeed in the job market. Canadian employers have told us that young graduates often lack hands-on work experience and we want to address that gap. The initiative announced today will help to ensure that post-secondary graduates get the skills and experience they need to find good jobs.” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper

“Too many young Canadian graduates find themselves unemployed or under-employed, while employers are searching for workers. That is why our Government is providing significant support for internships to train Canada’s youth for the skills that are in high-demand across the country, benefiting the economy and young workers alike.” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper