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$295 Million for Youth Jobs Strategy

The Ontario government's new Youth Jobs Strategy will help create 30,000 job opportunities for young people across the province. Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the strategy during a visit to Conestoga College in Cambridge today.
TimminsToday Staff

The Ontario government's new Youth Jobs Strategy will help create 30,000 job opportunities for young people across the province.

Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the strategy during a visit to Conestoga College in Cambridge today. The strategy creates four new funds to help young people across the province find work, build job skills and start their own business:

  • The Youth Skills Connections Fund - Available for partnerships that match up young people with industry, not-for-profits and academic leaders to help them build career skills and secure industry jobs.
  • The Ontario Youth Innovation Fund - Provides internship opportunities for graduate and post-graduate students, and helps postsecondary students launch startups by funding campus-linked business accelerators.
  • The Ontario Youth Entrepreneurship Fund - Increased funding for existing programs such as Summer Company and new programs to support the growth of youth-led companies with training, mentorship and seed financing.
  • The Ontario Youth Employment Fund - Launched in September, this fund helps employers offer four- to six-month job training placements for youth. This fund has already helped more than 1,200 young people.
Helping young people of all abilities and backgrounds succeed in the workforce is part of the Ontario government's economic plan to invest in people, invest in infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.

Quick Facts

  • Youth unemployment in Ontario is 16.4 per cent, twice as high as the overall unemployment rate (7.5 per cent).
  • Ontario is investing $295 million over two years in the Youth Jobs Strategy.
  • The Youth Jobs Strategy was announced in the 2013 Budget and was developed with input from the Premier’s Council on Youth Opportunities and a series of roundtable discussions with stakeholders.

Kathleen Wynne

It is so important to me that young people get all the support they need as they develop their skills and enter Ontario’s workforce. And I know the Youth Jobs Strategy will go a long way toward setting them up for success for years to come.”

Kathleen Wynne

Premier of Ontario