The Government of Canada Helps Youth Prepare for the Job Market

Local youth who face barriers to employment will get job preparation training and work experience through the Government of Canada's support for an employment program. Mr. David Tilson, Member of Parliament for Dufferin–Caledon and Mr. Patrick Brown, Member of Parliament for Barrie, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

"For many young Canadians, making the transition to the job market is a challenge, especially in today's environment," said Mr. Tilson. "That's why our government is creating opportunities for youth to succeed through support for initiatives like the Step Up Program."

"We want Canadians to be ready and trained for the jobs that will be in demand," said Mr. Brown. "Through programs like Skills Link, the federal government is helping Canadian youth shape a stronger economy."

With assistance from the federal Skills Link program, Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology will help 72 youth develop the skills and experience needed to find a job or the confidence to return to school.

The participants will attend group workshops on employability skills that focus on topics such as effective communication, résumé writing and job search strategies. The participants will then benefit from work placements in sectors such as retail, child care or customer service, allowing them to apply their new skills and gain hands-on experience.

Skills Link helps youth facing barriers to employment, such as single parents, Aboriginal youth, youth with disabilities, recent immigrants, youth living in rural and remote areas, and youth who have dropped out of high school.

Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology will receive over $556,000 in federal Skills Link funding to support its Step Up Program.

This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.

BACKGROUNDER

As part of the Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy, the Skills Link program is one of three programs that help young Canadians, particularly those facing barriers to employment, obtain career information, develop skills, gain work experience, find good jobs and stay employed. The other two programs are Summer Work Experience and Career Focus.

Skills Link helps youth between 15 and 30 years of age who are not receiving Employment Insurance benefits develop basic and advanced employment skills. It assists participants through a coordinated, client-centred approach that offers longer-term supports and services tailored to their specific needs to help them find and keep a job.

Youth employment programs are also part of the Government of Canada's strategy to create the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world. 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 www.actionplan.gc.ca. 

The Skills Link program is delivered by Service Canada, which provides one-stop personalized services for Government of Canada programs, services and benefits. For more information about this program, visit servicecanada.gc.ca, call 1 800 O-Canada or drop by your local Service Canada Centre.

China-ASEAN education collaboration on fast track

Having studied at Guizhou University for three years, Jarunee Pourprasert from Thailand is not only fluent in Chinese, but can even use local Chinese dialects from time to time.

Preferring to be called "Pan Meimei," the tourism management major describes China as "a passionate, friendly and rapidly-developing country with a rich culture."

"I am glad to be here to see what the real China is like, as I used to watch Chinese sitcoms to learn Chinese at Siam University," she said.

Having received a full scholarship from the Chinese government, Pourpraser is one of many students from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who have benefited from closer educational cooperation between China and the ASEAN.

Official statistics released by China's Ministry of Education during the fourth China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week, an educational conference currently taking place in southwest China's Guizhou Province, showed that from 2008 to 2010, the number of ASEAN students studying in China surged from 34,000 to 49,000, registering an average annual increase of 7,420 students.

The number of Chinese studying in ASEAN member countries ballooned from 68,000 to 82,000 over the same period of time, increasing by 6,960 students each year.

Liu Baoli, deputy director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of the Ministry of Education, said that the exchange program has received "high recognition" from educational officials from both China and ASEAN countries at the conference.

"More and more youngsters in China and the ASEAN are learning about each others' languages, culture and history," said Liu.

Liu Jinghui, secretary-general of the China Scholarship Council regards the exchanges as being "particularly significant at the moment," as China and ASEAN member countries collectively make up one of the world's most dynamic economies. These regions will need to find new engines for future development after achieving rapid economic expansion over the last 20 years, according to Liu Jinghui.

"Competition in the age of globalization can be reduced to a competition of talent. Increased international student exchanges represent a general trend," Liu Jinghui said.

Misran Bin Karmain, deputy secretary-general of ASEAN, said that he hopes Asia's new generation of students can improve their abilities and gain invaluable experience through overseas studies, as this will help to to become more competitive in a rapidly changing global market.

To inspire youngsters students in China and ASEAN member countries to study abroad, the Chinese government promised to provide scholarships to 10,000 ASEAN students by 2010. It reached cooperative education agreements with Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Philippines and signed mutual diploma recognition contracts with Malaysia and Thailand to that end.

A total of 31 ASEAN universities have inked 135 cooperation agreements with 47 Chinese universities so far, according to Liu Baoli.

At Chinese institutes of higher education, students can major in all languages spoken in ASEAN countries. For students from ASEAN member countries, China has trained nearly 5,000 Mandarin Chinese lecturers and volunteers to provide the students with language instruction.

"These advancements have provided solid policy and legal support for China and ASEAN members to enhance their collaboration in higher education," said Liu Baoli.

China's Ministry of Education has planned to turn China into Asia's most popular destination for overseas students. By 2020, the number of foreign students studying in Chinese mainland universities, as well as primary and middle schools, is predicted to reach half a million. In the future, Liu said that China will continue to facilitate mutual diploma recognition programs with ASEAN member countries and establish an overseas study foundation to encourage more students to study abroad.