NLIS 2
May 10, 2001
(Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education)

The following statement was issued today by Sandra C. Kelly, Minister of Youth Services and Post-Secondary Education. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

I am pleased to rise before the House today to update honourable members on the Student Investment and Opportunity Corporation, which has an initial investment of $8.8 million that was announced during the Speech from the Throne and in this year's budget. In addition to absorbing $4.8 million in existing youth employment programs, the corporation has $4 million for new initiatives. I am pleased to announce today the allocation of the first $1.4 million for new programs and supports for our young people. We will announce other initiatives as they are developed in the coming weeks and months.

The purpose of the corporation is to help potential and current post-secondary education students gain work experience and employment which will offset the cost of their education. The corporation has now been officially established and a board of directors is in place.

Through this new corporation, my department is building on the successes of existing programs and identifying areas where new supports are needed, especially in rural areas. The new initiatives are based on recommendations and advice from the province's Youth Employment Co-ordinating Committee as well as reviews and evaluations of existing programs. 

I am pleased to provide highlights of how these new initiatives will help our young people:

We currently have a Student Work and Services Program, commonly known as SWASP, which provides work experience, paid employment and tuition vouchers for students. We are very proud of this award winning program, which was devised in this province. Similar models have now been adopted by other provinces across Canada. 

Through funding from the corporation, students employed through SWASP who have completed one year of post-secondary education are now eligible to have the duration of their work periods extended from eight weeks to a maximum of 12 weeks. The additional funding will also allow for more placements in rural areas of the province and will enable us to increase the overall number of placements available through SWASP. 

The corporation is also making SWASP a year round program, for young people who need work placements during periods other than the summer. Additional funds from the corporation will go towards work placements, counselling and career planning supports. 

We also identified a need for students in industrial training to gain work experience. Through funding from the Student Investment and Opportunity Corporation, we are developing a career-related program to provide employment opportunities for students enrolled in industrial arts programs. This initiative will be developed in consultation with the private sector as well as the College of the North Atlantic and private colleges.

Working in partnership with the federal government, we will target additional funding towards the Community Access Program, which employs youth in information technology positions.

We are also providing funding towards Increased Wage Programs for Post-Secondary Students. This initiative is aimed specifically at students from rural communities who need to live away from home in order to gain work experience that is directly related to their course of study.

Another way that we are addressing the needs of our students from rural areas is through the Memorial University/College of the North Atlantic and Community Service Council Small Enterprise Cooperative Placement Program. This program is receiving funding from the Corporation to provide opportunities for students in co-operative education programs to obtain paid work terms with not-for-profit agencies or rural businesses.

The new initiatives my department has developed are intended to provide work experience to our young people, to help reduce student debt levels, to address specifically the needs of youth in rural areas and to help young people in our province to save towards their post-secondary education. While we already have a number of youth initiatives in place, the Student Investment and Opportunity Corporation is focused on building on these existing programs and directing funding towards areas where additional supports are needed.

My department will be pleased to provide additional details to MHAs in the very near future so that young people across our province will be able to avail of these new employment opportunities. 

2001 05 10                                       2:10 p.m.