1 Youth Employment Fund: An Overview Presentation to AMO Economic Development Task Force Prepared by: Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities Employment & Training Division Service Delivery Branch September 13, 2013

2 CONTEXT  In its 2013 Budget, the Ontario government announced a new two-year $295M Youth Jobs Strategy, which is intended to create 30,000 new job opportunities for youth. The strategy is comprised of four initiatives: YOUTH JOBS STRATEGY Youth Employment Fund (MTCU) - $195M Creation of employment opportunities to provide 25,000 youth with an entry point to long-term employment Youth Entrepreneurship Fund (MEDTE) Mentorship, start-up capital and outreach to support young entrepreneurs Youth Innovation Fund (MEDTE) Support skills development in the area of leading and managing industrial research, development and commercialization Youth Skills Connections (MEDTE) Promoting partnerships among business, labour, educators and youth to identify and solve skills development issues

3 Youth can access YEF if they are:  Between 15 – 29 years old  Unemployed  Not participating in full-time training or education  Residents of Ontario YEF CLIENT ELIGIBILITY  Education level attained (< Grade 12)  Education/credentials from outside Canada  Lack of relevant, credible or Canadian work experience  Time out of school, work or training  History of poor work retention  Ineffective independent job search  Source of income (OW, ODSP, etc.)  Language  Labour market change  Aboriginal Person  Person with Disability All current Employment Service (ES) suitability indicators will be used to assess a client’s suitability for YEF: Added focus on at-risk youth

4  Employers will be required to meet eligibility criteria developed for job placements currently offered through the Employment Service. This includes:  Licensed to operate in Ontario  Compliant with legislation (e.g. health and safety, employment standards, privacy, etc.)  Job placements must be located in Ontario, covered by appropriate safety insurance coverage  Job placements cannot displace current or laid-off employees  Employers must also be able to commit to placements of four to six months in duration.  Municipalities are eligible employers if they are not an ES Service Provider. YEF EMPLOYER ELIGIBILITY

5 YEF DESIGN & DELIVERY  YEF is built into the Employment Service: o Network and service provider infrastructure (171 service providers, 324 funded sites) o Accessible to all communities in Ontario o Performance management framework and ability to measure and monitor results o Suitability indicators o Full suite of ES services available to all YEF clients: Client Service Planning & Coordination, Job Search, Resources & Information, Job Matching, Placement & Incentives, and Job & Training Retention o Service coordination within and outside the EO network  LBS service providers will continue to receive credit for referring clients to ES as part of the service coordination component of their current performance management framework.  The support of Local Boards, OEAS service providers, OSEB deliverers and other community organizations serving youth will be instrumental in the overall success of YEF through service coordination, linking service providers to employer networks and youth referrals to ES.

6 ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITIES UNDER YEF  Maximum $7,800 funding envelope available per YEF client o Expanded individual supports up to a maximum $1,000 for YEF clients (from the current $500 allowed under ES) o $6,800 funding envelope per client that can be used for a combination of training and employer hiring incentive as needed (plus any unused portion of the individual supports of $1,000)  ES service providers will negotiate client training and hiring incentives with both individuals and employers  Expanded eligibility to individual supports through removal of LICO for YEF clients (versus the application of LICO under ES)  Training for YEF clients to include short-term training to address job placement- related skills gaps  YEF job placements, including training, cannot exceed 6 months in duration: o The work-related component of the placement must be a minimum of 4 months o The training component must be a maximum of 2 months

7 YEF TRAINING  A job placement must be confirmed for training to occur e.g. identified by an employer as a job requirement. Training is only accessible if it is directly linked to a job placement (no training can occur without a job placement arranged).  Training can occur prior to or during the job placement.  Service providers will make the decision on what training is supported.  Eligible training could include: o Communications e.g. public speaking o Health & Safety e.g. first aid o General occupations e.g. administration, driver’s licence o Personal / Business Skills e.g. information management o Technology e.g. web design and word processing  Training should not duplicate what is available in other EO training initiatives e.g. Second Career, apprenticeship.

8 EVIDENCE-BASED ALLOCATION FRAMEWORK  Based on community need (LMI data) and service provider capacity (performance data). Sources include: o Administrative data from the Ministry of Community & Social Services (MCSS) on the number of youth who have applied for social assistance o ES program data on youth clients i.e. % of youth served and/or placed o Census data on youth unemployment by region o Capacity assessment of service providers based on performance indicators i.e. SQS  Youth unemployment data at the CMSM and DSSAB level will be incorporated into the framework in Fall 2013 once available.

9 ALLOCATION FRAMEWORK  Determined using LMI data for the province and region.  Derived from averaging the region’s proportion of provincial: o Unemployed youth o ES Youth served o ES Youth placements  Determined using LMI data.  Derived using the CMSM/DSSAB’s proportion of regional: o Youth OW Population (proxy for unemployed youth population) o ES Youth served  Determined using the SDS’s demonstration of youth service capacity.  Derived using the SDS’s proportion of CMSM/DSSAB: o ES Youth served REGIONAL ALLOCATIONSCMSM/DDSAB ALLOCATIONSSDS ALLOCATIONS Data is based on FY CMSM: Consolidated Municipal Service Managers DSSAB: District Social Services Administration Board  Regions have flexibility to adjust the SDS allocation according to local analysis

10 FUND LAUNCH  YEF will be available on September 23, but Municipalities, OW offices and other community organizations serving youth can begin to refer clients to ES Service Providers now.  Service Providers will: Assess clients for eligibility Develop service plans for clients Begin arranging job placements/training for YEF clients  Municipalities and other community organizations can also begin to think about potential placements within their own organizations.  Local MTCU offices are reaching out to local OW offices to facilitate youth client pathways to ES and YEF.  Service Providers are also working with employers to increase awareness of the fund.

11 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES