Well, thanks.
As I mentioned in my speech, one of the critical challenges facing us as a country is going to be the skills gap. That's why, as a government, we've made unprecedented investments in things like universities and colleges and their infrastructure, so that they have the capacity, first of all, to provide young people with the skills they are going to need for the future jobs.
We also need to help these students, in many cases, connect with the jobs. That's why we have the youth employment strategy. I, too, was pleased with the extra investment this year.
There are three main streams of the youth employment strategy. One is the Canada summer jobs program that helps well over 30,000 students each summer get real experience that will often help them prepare for their future careers. It also helps them finance their way through further schooling.
There are two other aspects to it. One is the career focus program, which helps post-secondary students or university students who are graduating who are trying to find a job. They may have a lot of different challenges finding a job. The program is there to help them identify what to do, where to go, and how to get those jobs.
Then there's the skills link program, which has been very successful in helping young people from, let's say, challenged backgrounds. They may be from broken homes, have addiction issues, or even have some learning disabilities. It helps these young people to, first all, identify what they'd like to do and what they'd be good at, and then it teaches them how to pursue the jobs and how to do the interview. It gives them a work placement, since the lack of experience is often the single biggest barrier to getting their first real job. I've personally seen some tremendous achievements by thousands of young people in this program. It has been really great in helping young people get attached to the labour market in jobs that suit them. We're pleased with that and pleased to move forward with the additional investment in these programs.