Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for that very important question.
One of the biggest challenges for youth who are trying to find employment is that often when they knock on the door and ask an employer to give them a job, the employer says that they would love to hire them and asks what experience they have. Sometimes they have no experience. They do not have the employable skills in their background to take on the job being offered by the employer.
That is one of the focuses of the youth summer employment program. We need to make sure that this program not only provides summer employment for students between semesters but also provides employment that will help them build the skills they need to go to work every day in their own communities after they graduate from post-secondary education or finish an apprenticeship.
We need to make sure that the youth employment program, the summer jobs program, the Career Focus program, and the skills link program have a work experience basis underpinning the fact that they are going to develop skills. It is not just a summer job between semesters; it has to provide the skills and work experience they need. It has to provide an ability to build their own skill base so that they can apply for jobs when they finish their education.
There is a continued push toward strong funding for the youth employment system and the summer jobs program, but we must also keep in mind that these programs have to include work experience that provides the skills young people need to take on the jobs of the future.