We are very pleased to see that the results of some of the new programs that we brought in are enhanced.
As you're probably aware, there is a significant shortage of skilled tradespeople in this country. In fact, a few years ago I was invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new skilled trades college. The ribbon-cutting was put off because they couldn't finish building the college because they couldn't get enough skilled tradespeople to do the work.
That's when we decided we really had to do something about this problem. We had already introduced the apprenticeship incentive grant for people going into the trades, but also for employers. So far, some 265,000 Canadians have taken advantage of that program. We brought in the completion program for apprentices a few years later, and over 80,000 people have claimed access to it. That's a good start.
Going beyond that, we know there are a number of young people who have challenges. I've mentioned, for example, the no experience, no job—no job, no experience cycle. That's why we have programs like Career Focus and Skills Link. In fact, in Budget 2012 we put an additional $50 million into helping these young people get over the barriers of no experience, particularly helping them get experience in the areas where there is high demand so they're likely to have a much more successful and stable career.
There have been a lot of very positive results, and that's not even starting to address the other things we've done through the Canada youth employment strategy, which includes the Canada summer jobs programs.
The pathways to education program is now helping some 10,000 students who might otherwise be at risk of dropping out of high school to complete high school and go on to post-secondary education. It provides them with the full wraparound supports that they need—not just financial, but the mentoring, the coaching, and all sorts of good stuff. We really believe our future workforce is our young people, and that's the future of our country.