Human Resources committee  Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you regarding East Prince Youth Development Centre and some of the issues the youth of Prince Edward Island are facing. The East Prince Youth Development Centre is a non-profit organization located in Summerside, P.E.I. It's funded thr

Human Resources committee  I feel that the government is really putting more emphasis on post-secondary education and the high school students who have the supports to get there. I deal with a lot of youth who drop out of high school, so I feel there needs to be something, some supports in place, before th

Human Resources committee  We're not refusing to work with them with the resources we have, but we certainly can't deliver the programs they're looking for.

Human Resources committee  Are you referring to the Skills Link program that we would have had?

Human Resources committee  The cost is minimal. You would be looking at less than $10,000 for each individual who would start in a program, spend about 10 weeks in a classroom, and get the experience they need there as well as the soft skills and self-confidence to go out and apply for a job. Most of them

Human Resources committee  It was 17 weeks.

Human Resources committee  They leave the program with numerous skills, especially the soft skills that employers are looking for. They learn time management. They learn teamwork. They learn leadership. They learn budgeting. They learn how to express themselves in an appropriate way with an employer. They

Human Resources committee  I'm not aware of a study for that, but it is common sense that if you're taking someone off income support, you are actually saving money for the government.

Human Resources committee  That's right. We deal with that too. You talk about incarceration. We have some who come to us who might have a criminal record, and they think they're never going to get a job, that nobody is going to support them. At our centre, we're non-judgmental. If they have to go to court

Human Resources committee  I would like to see them come to the source. I'd like to see them out on the streets, talking to these youth and asking them what they want. There have been times when a youth forum was taking place in Charlottetown and we'd get an email to send our youth to Charlottetown. How ar

Human Resources committee  In 2015 our program went from 17 weeks in the classroom to 10, and in 2015, we were told that we could not teach any more soft skills, life skills, or parenting skills.

Human Resources committee  Yes.

Human Resources committee  It was Skills Link.

Human Resources committee  That's what we were funded under.

Human Resources committee  Definitely.