Ottawa Journal – helping students succeed

September 5, 2013 · 0 Comments

Our Government understands that in order for Canada to achieve prosperity, we need to ensure our children have access to high-quality education. At the same time, we also understand that we must do our best to help make sure this education is affordable and will help students land a quality job after their studies are completed.

One of the ways our Government is accomplishing these tasks is through sizable investments in financial assistance for students. Through numerous loan and grant programs, our Government is working hard to help ensure students and their families are able to afford post-secondary education and training.

For example, we recently took steps to increase the affordability of post-secondary education by adjusting the income thresholds for Canada Student Grants, allowing more students to qualify for the program and get money for their schooling. We’re also providing enhanced support for part-time students by making it easier for students who work part-time while attending a post-secondary institution to qualify for financial assistance.

These measures are just a few of the ways our Government is helping make education more affordable. Each year we invest over $10 billion in grants and programs that assist students and their families in paying for their education or training.

While education is a good thing in itself, it’s also important that it helps students land a job or career after their studies are completed. This is why our Government has made a series of investments to help promote internships, apprenticeships, and summer jobs for students.

As a part of our Economic Action Plan, our Government funds the highly-successful Graduate Enterprise Internship. This program supports mentorships and internships to promising students studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. By developing relationships with businesses in the students chosen field, they are able to gain networking and job opportunities before graduation and stay on the right track for future success.

Our Government is also introducing and implementing measures which support young Canadians going into apprenticeship programs. We’re accomplishing this by offering a series of grants to students who enroll in these programs, by promoting the use of apprentices in federal construction projects, and by working with the provinces and territories to harmonize requirements for skilled trade apprentices.

Enrolling in an apprenticeship program is a good way to learn skills for in-demand jobs and will help put students on the right track for a rewarding career.

We’re also helping students gain real world jobs experience through our Canada Summer Jobs initiative. In 2013, this program helped create almost 36,000 jobs for full-time students across the country. These summer jobs help students earn money for the upcoming school year and offer meaningful work experience.

Helping young Canadians get access to high-quality education and job opportunities will help grow our economy and help keep Canada a strong and prosperous nation. Our Government will continue to support initiatives that help educate and train young Canadians.

By David Tilson, MP Dufferin–Caledon