Overhaul summer jobs program, panel urges

LABOUR

• The federal Liberals should overhaul the government’s summer jobs program to help young people who aren’t in school find work and do so at any time of the year, a new report says.

The final report of the government’s expert panel on youth employment says the Canada Summer Jobs program, which helps businesses and non- profits hire students for the summer, should expand eligibility to those who are not in postsecondary studies and be accessible throughout the year.

The panel envisions changes as part of a wider overhaul of federal youth employment services to make it easier for employers to access, and support entrepreneurship as a valid career path for young people.

Above all, the government needs to do more than just provide lip service to youth about helping them find work, the panel writes in its long-awaited final report.

The government should consider hiring more young people for the federal public service, the report says. It should also put a generational lens on budget provisions to explain how decisions could affect youth today and in the future.

“We heard that young people feel as if governments make decisions without considering how present- day trade- offs may affect the younger generation,” the panel wrote in the report, released Thursday. “By viewing policy analysis and budget decisions through an intergenerational lens, the government would demonstrate that youth are a priority group and invite more mindfulness of the future.”

The report also puts a heavy emphasis on helping indigenous youth improve their skills and get a foothold in the job market.

“Young people want to work. They want to gain independence and contribute to society,” the report says.