Youth Employment Services (Canada)

Canadian not-for-profit organization

Youth Employment Services

Company type| Not-for-profit organization
Industry| Employment
Founded| 1968
Headquarters| Toronto, Canada

Key people

| Timothy O. E. Lang, President & Chief Executive Officer – YES[1]
Website| yes.on.ca

Youth Employment Services YES (also known as YES) is a Canadian not-for-profit organization established in 1968 with the objective of providing employment services to young people. YES is primarily funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, and various other organizations and foundations.

## History

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The Youth Employment Services (YES) was established in the late 1960s in Toronto. The founding of the organization is associated with employment in Canada.[2]

In 1998, YES opened Canada's first Youth Business Centre to provide young entrepreneurs with individual business skills training and help them secure start-up loans.[3]

In 2016, under Timothy O. E. Lang's lead, YES together with minister of youth Justin Trudeau announced a doubling of funding for the Canada Summer Jobs program, which will provide opportunities for an additional 34,000 youths. This means an increased funding of $113 million annually for the next three years. Previously, the program received $106 million, supporting over 34,000 summer jobs.[4]

In 2019, YES has developed a specialized mental health curriculum thanks to the Counseling Foundation and with support from CITI Bank Foundation to create YES-On-Demand (YOD).[5]

In April 2021, Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program and Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) provided financial assistance to young people during the pandemic.[6]

In July 2021, YES reported in its research that youth employment for ages 15 to 24 increased by over seven percent, but this surge, influenced by summer job-seeking and pandemic recoveries, may be short-lived as many return to school in the fall.[7][8][9]

In May 2022, the Canadian agency Youth Employment Services (YES) introduced a cybersecurity course for disadvantaged youth aged 15 to 29. The program was developed in partnership with IBM and received funding from the Government of Ontario's Skills Development Fund.[10]

The range of services offered by YES programming related to IT, entrepreneurship, trades, apprenticeship and empowerment, employment assessment and professional counseling, pre-employment training,[11] job placement, job retention and training, future skills’ development, mental health and entrepreneurial programming,[2] financial literacy, mentorship, cloud computing training, and workforce development. Also, youth in the region can participate in YES' online programming.[12]

## References

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1. ^ Pittis, Don (2022-04-14). "Canadians too anxious about the future to enjoy the vibrant present, say economists". cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
2. ^ a b Swift, Julian (2021-08-03). "Charitable Choices: With Youth Employment Services (YES)". Toronto Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
3. ^ Gallant, Paul. "This ain't the Dragon's Den: BizStart helps young Toronto entrepreneurs kick start their companies". YongeStreet. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
4. ^ Reporter, Ben Spurr Staff (2016-02-12). "Liberals expand summer job program for youth". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
5. ^ "YES Program". Winnipeg. 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
6. ^ Ricci, Talia (2021-04-15). "Students having trouble finding work during pandemic hoping for help in federal budget". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
7. ^ "'War for talent:' Retail, restaurants offer perks to lure workers in hot job market | CityNews Toronto". toronto.citynews.ca. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
8. ^ "Canadian retailers, restaurants offer perks to lure workers in hot job market". The Globe and Mail. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
9. ^ "'War for talent:' Retail, restaurants offer perks to lure workers in hot job market - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. The Canadian Press. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
10. ^ "Cybersecurity course for disadvantaged youth now offered by Canadian agency | IT World Canada News". www.itworldcanada.com. 2022-05-02. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
11. ^ "Summer Student Job Hunt | Watch News Videos Online". Global News. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
12. ^ "Job market more complicated for youth". SooToday.com. 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2023-11-22.