A re-elected Liberal Government will permanently double its investment in the Youth Employment Fund, the experiential learning program that it first created in 2015.

In 2015, the Gallant Government created the Youth Employment Fund, which has allowed 6,000 young New Brunswickers to gain valuable experience here at home instead of leaving the province. Today’s commitment will double the Youth Employment Fund’s original budget of $10 million in 2015, increasing the fund to $21.7 million per year from 2018 to 2022.

The Youth Employment Fund currently provides a job placement for 26 weeks with a New Brunswick employer and a subsidy for 100 percent of the minimum wage for 30 hours a week. By giving young New Brunswickers opportunities to stay in New Brunswick, they gain practical and valuable on-the-job training experience to help them land a permanent job.

“Experiential learning opportunities, such as internships and job placements, are such a crucial aspect of the education we offer our youth,” said Gallant.

By providing an entry point for long-term employment, the Youth Employment Fund is specifically designed to provide young New Brunswickers with an opportunity to develop their skills and find jobs in New Brunswick.

The Liberal Government also recognizes the critical value of a free or affordable public education, both to individuals and to the province as a whole. This is why the Gallant Liberals have invested more in early childhood, education, and training than ever before in the history of the province. Since taking office in 2014, the Liberal Government has cancelled the cuts planned by the previous Conservative Government and has increased the overall Education and Early Childhood budget by 15.9 percent. Along with new 10-year education plans, the Liberal Government has implemented the following transformational changes in education:

• More affordable and higher quality early childcare, including free childcare for lower-income parents and financial support for middle-income earners;
• The addition of 3,000 new childcare spaces and a commitment to expand the total number of spaces in New Brunswick to 30,000 by 2020;
• A free tuition program that over 6,000 New Brunswickers benefited from in just its first year of existence;
• A tuition relief program for the middle class;
• Hiring over 100 teachers for schools and classrooms;
• Investments in literacy that have already generated improved test results;
• The return of trades to the New Brunswick school system and the addition of new programs like coding.