Human Resources committee  Yes, absolutely.

Human Resources committee  Exactly. Eligible expenses are included under the opportunities fund. First of all there's wage subsidy, for example. Wage subsidy is always important to give an individual a chance to show their abilities to an employer, so we provide wage subsidies. We provide workplace accommodation funding, so if somebody needs special computer software or if somebody needs the work station adapted, that is all part of the opportunities fund's eligible expenses.

Human Resources committee  Thank you for your question. For the opportunities fund, yes, there is certainly a follow-up that is being done on persons with disabilities to do a regular reporting on the data that Yves just presented in terms of how many found employment and how many returned to school. For 2011-12 there is a follow-up shortly after the intervention with service providers and individuals, but really the big follow-up is the evaluation.

Human Resources committee  Yes. Regarding our wage subsidies, under the youth employment strategy we have Canada summer jobs, for example, which is a wage subsidy program. We have career focus, which is an internship wage subsidy program. Under skills link it's the same, the work experience; it's a wage subsidy program.

Human Resources committee  I was talking about the skills link program. It's part of the youth employment strategy. It's a horizontal initiative. HRSDC's the lead, but we have nine departments and agencies participating. HRSDC's portion of skills link is just over $100 million. Skills link is a program that focuses on multi-barriered youth.

Human Resources committee  No, we're not doing that. This is something that we really need to work on with provinces. It is not something the federal government can do alone. We cannot step into grade schools and start promoting certain careers. We have heard many times from Canadian experts and experts around the world that we need to start doing this earlier, so we are looking into possibilities for working with provinces and maybe putting on an event.

Human Resources committee  I would just like to add that the Government of Canada is a supporter of Skills Canada, from whom I think you're going to hear at some point. That is an organization devoted to promoting the skilled trades and technology. As I said, we strongly support Skills Canada and the skills competitions.

Human Resources committee  Yes, I just wanted to add a few words in answer to your question about international studies. We are quite aware of some other countries that have different education systems and they are doing fairly well when it comes to apprenticeship training, vocational training. We very much focus on the idea of multiple pathways into the labour market, getting away from the idea that there is only one path to a good, well-paying job.

Human Resources committee  I want to add that under the youth employment strategy, for example, we have the skills link program. While we do not support apprenticeship training from beginning to end, the program supports youth who may have difficulty finding an employer to finish their apprenticeship. Through the program, we provide a wage subsidy to a potential employer to help the youth finish an apprenticeship and get the credential.