Brockville - October 27, 2010—Post-secondary graduates will get an opportunity to enhance and develop their employment skills through an Employment and Education Centre project sponsored by the Government of Canada. Mr. Gordon Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds–Grenville, 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. Brown. “Our government is proud to support projects that offer post-secondary graduates the opportunity to develop the skills and gain the experience that will help them reach their full potential.”

The Employment and Education Centre will receive over $90,000 in Career Focus funding to support its project entitled On Your Way. This project will help 10 recent postsecondary graduates apply the skills they acquired through their education.

“This is a great program to give graduates added employability skills and experience, especially during this economic climate,” said Ms. Sherri Simzer, Executive Director, Employment and Education Centre.

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.

Career Focus 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 this commitment 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 Career Focus 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 OCanada or drop by your local Service Canada Centre.