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Community agencies help youth gain access to the labour market

Julie Bettney, Minister of Human Resources and Employment, announced that her department is allocating $500,000 to the Linkages program to help employ the province's youth. The Linkages program, which is in its fourth year, helps youths achieve their career and employment goals through partnerships with community-based agencies.

"By contracting with community-based agencies, young people will benefit from greater regional access to the services they need and agencies will build and strengthen the range of employment and career support services they can offer their clients," said Ms. Bettney.

Linkages helps youths aged 18 to 24 who are experiencing difficulty making a transition into the labour market. Through the Linkages program, the department provides funding to community based agencies to place youth in a workplace environment for up to 26 weeks. The program is unique in that it combines work experience with career planning. For example, Linkages gives youths the opportunity to obtain career related employment with local employers; participate in regular group career planning workshops; and earn a bonus towards the cost of post-secondary tuition and books.

In addition, youth are offered the opportunity to return to their sponsoring agencies for one-half day every two weeks to participate in activity based career development workshops. These workshops focus on employability skills, job search and job maintenance skills, career planning and decision making.

The range of community-based agencies that are expected to access the Linkages program include: youth outreach and assessment services, literacy outreach services, extension services, agencies that represent the needs of youth with specific job entry challenges, such as single parents, and young offenders. As a sponsor, the agency is responsible for to deliver regular career planning workshops, client placement, job site monitoring, and the administration of the wage subsidy.

Linkages complements federal youth initiatives such as the Youth Employment Strategy. "It is the responsibility of both orders of government to offer a continuum of services to our young people from career planning to training, to employment opportunities. Linkages provides the youth of Newfoundland and Labrador with that link between these interventions and successful entry to emerging job opportunities," concluded Ms. Bettney.

Community based agencies experienced in the delivery of employment readiness and career development programs are encouraged to apply. Those agencies interested in obtaining further details on how the Linkages program could operate to help young people in their local area can contact the Career Information Hot Line 1-800-563-6600.

Contact: Jill Sooley, Director of Communications, Human Resources and Employment, St. John's, (709) 729-4062.