Canada assists graduates in securing quality jobs and gaining valuable work experience in their field of study

To facilitate the entry of post-secondary graduates in economy’s key sectors and help Canadian employers to capitalize on the skills and experience of these graduates, the federal government and the businesses in private sectors have jointly announced a total of $11.3 million in funding for the Sectoral Career Focus Program.

As a national initiative between the federal government, sector councils and cross-sectoral organizations, the Career Focus Program links highly skilled young Canadians with potential employers who can provide them with career-related work experiences. These experiences help young Canadians develop advanced skills and improve their employability.

In this Career Focus network, sector councils are well positioned to develop projects that assist graduates in finding quality employment. These councils are a national consensus-based partnership between business, labour and education stakeholders, in an economic sector (such as automotive, aviation, biotechnology), that identifies and addresses human resources and skills issues in a collective, collaborative and sustained manner.

As project managers and recipient sponsors, sector councils can not only assess potential employers and participants to ensure they meet program eligibility requirements but also assume responsibility for the overall financial management of projects. That is why the new funding announced for the Sectoral Career Focus Program will go to 13 sector councils, which will manage the program for their respective industries and provide at least 406 post-secondary graduates with the opportunity to acquire quality employment and gain valuable work experience in their chosen field of study.

In total of $11.3 million, the federal government will provide $4.2 million while $7.1 million will be contributed by the employers in cash.

Funding like this one shows Canada’s commitment to developing its human capital that is vital to maintaining country’s knowledge advantage, and ensuring Canada has the best-educated, most-skilled and most flexible workforce in the world.