Governments Of Manitoba And Canada Help Virden Youth Prepare For Jobs

Virden, Manitoba, – September 29, 2009 – Local youth facing barriers to employment will receive job preparation training and work experience through a local employment project supported by the governments of Manitoba and Canada. The Honourable Nancy Allan, Minister of Competitiveness, Training and Trade for Manitoba, and Mr. Merv Tweed, Member of Parliament for Brandon–Souris, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, made the announcement today.”Knowing your career options after high school is important,” said Minister Allan. “We have a responsibility to continue to build hope for all our young people by providing opportunities for a secure and successful future right here in Manitoba.”

“In today’s environment, it is more important than ever that all youth develop the skills they need to participate and succeed in the job market,” said Mr. Tweed. “By supporting this project, we are helping Virden youth develop the skills, knowledge and work experience they need to reach their full potential.”

The Virden Employment Skills Centre will receive $73,754 from the Government of Manitoba and $9,549 in federal Skills Link funding to support employment, education and career development services for 30 youth facing employment barriers.

The Centre is an Employment Manitoba initiative that provides employment-related services to unemployed individuals in the Virden area.

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

Skills Link is 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, call 1 800 O-Canada, visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca or drop by your local Service Canada Centre.

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The Government of Manitoba is distributing this news release on behalf of the governments of Manitoba and Canada.