7/28/2019 The Dust Settles on Budget Season 2013- What's in
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The Dust Settles on Budget Season 2013: What's InStore for
Aboriginal Youth
With the 2013 budget season finally coming to a close, we at
OUSA have been poring over the
federal and provincial budgets to see just what theyll have in
store for Ontarios post-secondary
system. In honour of National Aboriginal Day, todays blog
outlines the commitments made to
Aboriginal youth in both documents.
Last week, the Federal Government formally announced an
investment of $241 million over four
years to address First Nations youth employment at a press
conference in Saskatoon. Included
first inEconomic Action Plan 2013, the Federal Government
elaborated on how this new funding
would be allocated, with $132 million to go towards identifying
individual employment needs and
removing barriers to employment for Aboriginal youth and the
remaining $109 million going
towards the creation of a First Nations Job Fund.
$132 million of this funding will be directed towards
overhauling the current Income Assistance
program for Aboriginal youth a program that assesses an
individuals eligibility for receiving
assistance and arranges the payment of benefits. This funding
will be used to move the Income
Assistance program towards a more personalized service delivery
model in which an individuals
job readiness is assessed and barriers to employment are
identified and addressed.
Receiving $109 million over four years, the First Nations Job
Fund will be designed to provide
Aboriginal youth on Income Assistance with improved access to
skills training and employment
services supports. Activities sponsored by the fund will include
skills assessment testing, job
coaching and mentoring, rsum and interview workshops, temporary
funding of living expenses
and transportation costs while in training, funding for training
courses and job equipment, and
wage subsidies to incent employers to hire Aboriginal youth.
Coupled with commitments to improve employment outcomes for
Aboriginal youth,Economic
Action Plan 2013 also included new funding commitments towards
Aboriginal education
initiatives that have seen comparatively less media play.
7/28/2019 The Dust Settles on Budget Season 2013- What's in
Store for Aboriginal Youth - Blog
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345-26 Soho Street | Toronto, Ontario M5T 1Z7 | t. 416.341.9948
f. 416.341.0358
strategies to support Aboriginal students transitioning from
on-reserve education facilities to
provincially funded schools.
Finally, the Province has committed to developing the Aboriginal
Children and Youth Strategy a
multi-year, community-driven plan that will identify service
needs for First Nations, Metis, and
Inuit children, encourage Aboriginal communities to design and
deliver services for children and
youth, and promote culturally based services within these
communities.
What are your thoughts on the Aboriginal youth initiatives
outlined in the 2013 budgets? OUSA
would love to hear from you! Please email your thoughts
[email protected].
Brandon SloanOUSA Director of Communications
