Posted: 25 Aug 2010 05:49 AM PDT

Local youth who face barriers to employment will get job preparation training and work experience through the Government of Canada's support for an employment project. Mr. Greg Rickford, Member of Parliament for Kenora, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

"In today's environment, it is more important than ever that youth develop the skills they need to participate and succeed in the job market," said Mr. Rickford. "By supporting this project, we are helping Timmins youth develop the skills, knowledge and work experience they need to reach their full potential."

The Ontario March of Dimes will receive $193,565 in federal Skills Link funding to support its Achieving Success program, which will help 18 youth facing employment barriers develop life and job skills to ease their transition to work or return to school.

"The Government of Canada's funding of the Achieving Success program provides youth at risk in the community an opportunity to explore and develop skills to assist them in entering the workforce," said Ms. Lesley Smith, Employment Services Coordinator, Ontario March of Dimes. "The program enables participants to discover their abilities, providing them with career exploration opportunities and establishing work placements where they can further enhance their knowledge through hands-on learning."

The federal government is working with the provinces and territories, community organizations and other stakeholders to provide Canadians with the training, skills and opportunities they need to get jobs and contribute to their communities.

Through the 2010 "Jobs and Growth Budget," the Government of Canada committed an additional $60 million to the Skills Link and Career Focus programs. This additional one-time investment will enable more young Canadians to gain the experience and skills they need to successfully participate in the labour market while the economy recovers.

Skills Link is part of the Government of Canada's strategy to create the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world. The Government underscored its commitment to this strategy in Canada's Economic Action Plan. A key component of the Plan is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development. To learn more about Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

The Skills Link program is delivered by Service Canada, which provides one-stop personalized services for Government of Canada programs, services and benefits. For more information about this program, visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca, call 1 800 O-Canada or drop by your local Service Canada Centre.

Backgrounder

The Ontario March of Dimes is one of the largest service providers for people with physical disabilities in the province of Ontario, delivering a wide range of programs and services to maximize their independence and community participation. The 18 youth participating in the program will attend employability workshops, as well as take part in work placements. The workshops will focus on such topics as communications, thinking and problem solving, teamwork, and job preparation skills. The work placements will allow the participants to put into practice the knowledge and skills gained during the workshops.

As part of the Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy, the Skills Link program is one of three programs that help young Canadians, particularly those facing barriers to employment, obtain career information, develop skills, gain work experience, find good jobs and stay employed. The other two programs are Summer Work Experience and Career Focus.

Skills Link focuses on helping youth facing barriers to employment, such as single parents, Aboriginal youth, young persons with disabilities, recent immigrants, youth living in rural and remote areas, and youth who have dropped out of high school. It offers a client-centred approach based on assessing an individual's specific needs. The program supports youth in developing basic and advanced employment skills. Eligible participants between 15 and 30 years of age—who are not receiving Employment Insurance benefits—are assisted through a coordinated approach, offering longer-term supports and services that can help them find and keep a job.

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The Government of Canada Helps Youth in St. Stephen Prepare for the Labour Market - Melodika.net

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 04:13 PM PDT

Thanks to support from the Government of Canada, Charlotte County Can and Bottle will provide job preparation training and work experience to a local young person. The Honourable Greg Thompson, Member of Parliament for New Brunswick Southwest, made the announcement today on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

"In today's environment, it is more important than ever that youth develop the skills they need to participate and succeed in the job market," said Mr. Thompson. "By supporting projects like this one, we are helping local youth develop the skills, knowledge and work experience they need to reach their full potential."

Charlotte County Can and Bottle will receive $10,326 in federal Skills Link funding to support its youth work experience project, which will help a young person facing employment barriers develop life and job skills to ease his or her transition to work or return to school.

Skills Link focuses on helping youth facing barriers to employment, such as single parents, Aboriginal youth, young people with disabilities, recent immigrants, youth living in rural and remote areas, and youth who have dropped out of high school.

"These projects give young people the real skills they need to be productive employees and the confidence that only comes with experience," said Mr. James Peters, owner of Charlotte County Can and Bottle. "Sometimes, we forget these are skills we all had to learn. This project will enable the gentleman who will be working for us to get the job he wants."

This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.

BACKGROUNDER

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Library does commendable job of promoting literacy - Olympian

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 12:04 AM PDT

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published August 14, 2010

Thumbs up: Literacy

A big thumbs up to the Child Care Action Council for hosting Raising A Reader Family Literacy Nights at Timberland Regional Library branches in Olympia, Lacey, Yelm and Shelton. About 450 children and parents participated, learning about library services and enjoying story time with the librarians. The events were sponsored locally by L&E Bottling through a "Pepsi Refresh" grant. The South Sound Reading Foundation provided free books for the children who attended. The Child Care Action Council's Raising A Reader program operates in approximately 34 local child care centers, licensed family homes and Head Start classrooms. Child care providers weekly rotate bright red book bags filled with high-quality children's books, enabling each child to take home around 100 books each school year to share with their parents. Reading should be a year-round habit, and introducing children to the joys of reading at a young age makes perfect sense. Well done.

Thumbs down: Mom

Some people, apparently, are incapable of parenting. A Thurston County woman has pleaded guilty to two felonies and faces up to four years in prison for putting a Percocet pill in her 9-month-old daughter's formula bottle. The woman, who was arrested late last year, said she drugged her daughter because the infant was "cranky as hell and would not sleep," according to court papers. Aliese Marie Gatlin, 20, pleaded guilty recently and was put into custody in the courtroom of Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy. Gatlin pleaded guilty under an Alford plea to second-degree assault of a child and first-degree criminal mistreatment. Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt, but it is equivalent to a guilty plea in the eyes of the law. Gatlin's daughter has recovered and is in the custody of an aunt. The infant had been hospitalized for a short time after ingesting the drug. Judge Pomeroy ordered Gatlin into custody after hearing from prosecutors that Gatlin had been expelled from a parenting-accountability group that Child Protective Services had ordered her to complete. She was expelled because she failed to take any responsibility for her daughter's hospitalization. Gatlin's daughter was flown to a Tacoma hospital on Oct. 22 because she had stopped breathing. Medics had to insert a line into the baby's bone marrow because her veins had collapsed. Gatlin initially told medical professionals that someone else must have drugged her baby. In November, Gatlin admitting to giving her child Percocet, a narcotic pain reliever that contains oxycodone. She "stated she did not think about whether or not the medication was harmful to a baby."

Thumbs up: Fair

Oh, what a difference a year and much milder weather made for the Thurston County Fair. Nearly 10,000 more people attended this month's five-day fair than last year when South Sound was suffering through a record-tying heat wave. On the opening day of last year's fair, the temperature at the fairgrounds hit 107 degrees, fair manager Rick Storvick said. "It was awful," he said. "We in Western Washington just aren't built for playing in that kind of weather." With much cooler temperatures this year, attendance soared and so did revenue, Storvick said. Fair vendors, too, credited the cooler weather with increased sales. Old Time Photos, a vendor that takes pictures of people in Western-themed clothes, props and hats, did more business in one day this year than during all of last year's fair, manager Racheel Linville said. During last year's fair, the business took a total of six pictures — almost one per day — compared to 15 on the first day of this year's fair, she said. The farm animals must have appreciated the cooler temperatures too. A sow gave birth to 11 piglets and a goat birthed two kids during the fair. With the rides, mouth watering concessions and excellent displays, this year's Thurston County Fair was a real hit.

Thumbs up: School supplies

Thursday is a big day for The Little Red School House. It's the day to distribute clothing and school supplies to needy Thurston County school age children. The distribution will take place from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. at Jefferson Middle School, 2200 Conger Ave. The school house will be providing new school supplies and backpacks, and gently used clothing to struggling families that might not be able to afford school supplies. The giveaway is open to all Thurston County families who need help getting their children ready for school. Children must be accompanied by an adult to receive supplies. More than 3,400 children are expected. Community resourse representatives also will be in attendance to provide additional support.