Garnett Genuis

“Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for his question. It provides another opportunity to remind Canadians of our government’s commitment to renew the nation’s workforce with targeted, dynamic investments in our young people. We are building big, we are building bold, and we are building now. We are building at a scale not seen in this country since the end of the Second World War. We are building 500,000 homes and developing major projects in the national interest, all with Canadian steel, Canadian lumber and Canadian workers. We are not just building homes and infrastructure; we are training the workforce of the future that will build it. I do not have time to speak in detail about all the programs, but knowing the interest that the member opposite has shown in youth employment, let me focus on some of the highlights. Team Canada strong, a new measure announced in the spring economic update, is a $6-billion nationwide effort to recruit, train and hire up to 100,000 new Red Seal trades workers in the next five years. This is a plan to address the concerns we heard directly from unions, employers, industry and youth themselves. We are launching the build Canada apprenticeship service to provide up to $10,000 for an apprentice’s first-year salary. This will help employers recruit new apprentices and allow us to help match apprentices to job opportunities. We are boosting training capacity and expediting certification in the Red Seal trades. We are helping hire new apprentices by providing a $400 per week top-up while apprentices attend mandatory in-class training and by offering a one-time $5,000 apprenticeship completion bonus to incentivize apprentices to finish their programs. This represents up to $16,000 in support for each apprentice, from recruitment through to training and hiring. It will help workers, whether they are transitioning to this new career or just getting started in the workforce. Similarly, Employment and Social Development Canada’s youth employment program is helping more than 25,000 youth with tailored employment supports for the period of 2024-28. An assessment of this program found that nearly 76% of participants who received skills training and employment supports were still employed the following year. That is an impressive success rate and a sign that our investments as a government are targeted and effective. Equally impressive is the success we are seeing with the student work placement program. It is not only helping post-secondary students develop work-ready skills, but also giving employers the means to recruit and develop talent through paid, work-integrated learning opportunities. Again, the statistics tell us that this program is making a difference. In 2024-25, the program placed 51,000 post-secondary students with employers. That makes more than 300,000 opportunities since 2017. The beauty of this program is that it prepares young Canadians for their careers with employers in many sectors right across the economy. As we build this future workforce, private sector employers play a crucial role. It is why we have also introduced new measures to support strategic sectors of the economy and advance major projects. We are creating good, well-paying jobs and our government is continuing to announce significant measures to help employers do just that. Let me assure the member opposite that we take youth employment extremely seriously and we are working with all of our partners to make sure that they are equipped with the skills and opportunities that they need to thrive. This is work that we are going to continue to do and work that was set out so prominently in the spring economic statement as part of a massive new investment to help our young people have the skills they need for the future.”