Youth Employment Experience

The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) has secured Government of Canada funding via the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) Program to support job placements for youth, particularly those facing barriers to employment. Officially entitled the CPRA Youth Employment Experience, this program will provide direct financial support (via 100% wage subsidies) to local governments, allowing them to offer placements that will focus on youth gaining a broad range of skills, knowledge and experience in the community parks and recreation sector. Not only will this program provide hands-on training, but each youth will be paired with a mentor at their place of employment to provide an immersive experience. Via this program, local governments will be able to hire additional youth to advance their parks and recreation priorities.

Over the course of this three year program, which ends December 2023, over 350 youth will be engaged in the CPRA Youth Employment Experience program. The final call for applications is happening now. Applications are due February 17, 2023.

OBJECTIVES

The goals of the CPRA Youth Employment Experience are to:

provide job placements for youth, particularly those facing barriers, allowing them the opportunity to gain skills and build experience in the community parks and recreation sector
enable youth to connect with a mentor, allowing them to gain hands-on experience in a workplace setting
build skills, expand networks, and increase knowledge of the parks and recreation sector for both youth and mentors
engage a diverse group of young Canadians in the program
increase the recruitment and retention of youth facing barriers to employment in Canada
provide much-needed support to communities to hire additional youth to advance their parks and recreation priorities

IMPORTANT DATES

This is an open competition, and eligible organizations are invited to apply in English or in French.

February 17, 2023: Application deadline
March 24, 2023: Notice of Decision letters released
November 30, 2023: Final eligible day of employment
December 31, 2023: Program end date

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES

CPRA encourages applicants to submit proposals in English or French and commits to ensuring high quality review of applications submitted in either official language.

MENTORSHIP

Mentoring is the pairing of an experienced or skilled person (mentor) with a person who would like to improve his or her skills (mentee). The mentor acts as a role model and supports the mentee by sharing knowledge, resources and advice to help them improve their skills. Mentoring can happen in different ways. For example, it can be as simple as an employee showing another how to complete a particular task.

Mentoring is an effective way to help employees improve their essential skills, support a learning culture in the workplace, and increase productivity. There are also many benefits for the mentee and mentor.

BENEFITS FOR THE MENTEE INCLUDE:

improved skills
increased self-confidence
increased motivation
increased job satisfaction
increased productivity
expanding networks

BENEFITS FOR THE MENTOR INCLUDE:

increased opportunities to share skills and knowledge
increased opportunities to develop leadership skills
increased job satisfaction
increased sense of value in the workplace
expanding networks

The CPRA Youth Employment Experience will provide release-time-allowances to successful applicant organizations (up to $4,000) to support the mentor-mentee relationship. Funding will be paid to the hiring organization, to cover the mentor’s time as they support the youth through their job placement. Further financial support is also available for training, adaptive technologies and other supports on an as-needed basis.

MENTORSHIP GUIDE

This mentorship guide was created to ensure mentors and mentees develop a mutual understanding of expectations from the beginning of their relationship. Additionally, it creates a series of identifiable benchmarks and goals to work towards and evaluate progress. Materials in this guide were developed in collaboration with Recreation North and Mentor Canada.

ELIGIBILITY

APPLICANTS

The following Canadian local governments are eligible to apply to this Program:

Municipalities
Cities and Towns
Villages
Regional Districts
Indigenous Communities
Indigenous Governments

In addition, non-profit organizations who deliver recreation programming on behalf of the local government are welcome to apply with a letter of support from the local government. The letter must clearly articulate the partnership between the two organizations in the delivery of recreation to the local community.

YOUTH

Eligible youth who will be engaged in this program must be:

between 15 and 30 years of age when employment begins (inclusive)
a Canadian citizen, or permanent resident or a protected person as defined by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
legally entitled to work in Canada
legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial/territorial legislation and regulations

CPRA strongly encourages the hiring of youth who experience barriers to employment. These include, but are not limited to, those who self-identify as:

Residing in a rural or remote location
Youth who belong to a visible minority group
Indigenous youth
Involuntary NEET (Not in Education, Employment, Training) for at least 6 months
LGBTQ2+
Living in a low-income household
Living with family care responsibilities
Living with a disability
Living with low levels of literacy and numeracy
Recent immigrant and/or refugee
Affected by substance use
Currently in, coming out of, or who have had involvement in the justice system
Early leavers from high school
Homeless or at risk of becoming homeless
“In or ageing out of care”
Individuals at risk of or experiencing mental health issues

FUNDING

CPRA will administer wage subsidies (up to 100%) to support more than 350 job placements for youth. The maximum wage subsidy offered through this program is $10,000 for each youth.

In addition, CPRA will support employers by providing release-time allowances of up to $4,000 per mentor to the organization. This funding will support the applicant organization in ensuring that the mentor’s regular duties are performed while their efforts are focused on supporting youth.

Employers are welcome to set their own wages, following provincial and territorial minimum wage guidelines.

Work terms can be variable, lasting a minimum of four weeks, and a maximum of six months in duration. Full-time, part-time or casual hours are eligible.

CPRA reserves the right to fund fewer jobs than the number requested based on budget constraints and the quality of applications received.

Youth employment experiences can take place in both the parks and recreation sectors.

ALLOWABLE COSTS

The following expenditures are eligible for funding and included in this amount:

Financial Support for Youth

1. Wage Subsidy (100% subsidy up to $10,000 per youth)

Salary support
Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERC)

Employers are required by law to pay the MERCs for their employees. These costs include Employment Insurance premiums, Canada or Quebec Pension Plan contributions, vacation pay, Workers’ Compensation premiums or equivalent liability insurance (if applicable), health insurance and parental insurance premiums in Quebec and Ontario, the Health and Post-Secondary Education Tax in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Health and Education Levy in Manitoba.

2. Other Supports (as needed)

Additional financial support is available for disability support, dependent support (ex. childcare), housing and transportation accommodations (more than 150km from residence to job location), adaptive technology, etc.

Financial Support for Employers

3. Release-time allowance (up to $4,000 per mentor)

This funding will support the applicant organization in ensuring that the mentor’s regular duties are performed while their efforts are focused on supporting youth.

DURATION

Successful applicants may engage youth in their job placement as soon as a signed contract with CPRA is established.

Work terms can be variable, lasting a minimum of four weeks, and a maximum of six months in duration. Full-time, part-time or casual hours are eligible.

AFTER YOU APPLY

REVIEW PROCESS

The CPRA will assemble an Adjudication Team to review and score the applications.

Each applicant may submit up a maximum of two applications (one application per work experience).

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The priority areas for adjudication are:

Demonstration that the applicant organization has the ability and intent to offer a fully supportive mentorship environment
Demonstration that efforts will be taken to reach youth facing barriers
Demonstration that the jobs will align with the CPRA Youth Employment Experience goals to:

provide job placements for youth facing barriers, allowing them the opportunity to gain skills and building experience in the parks and recreation sector
support educational career experiences by enabling positive mentorship environments that allow experienced staff members the ability to mentor youth and offering additional skills and training opportunities beyond the job setting
generate much-needed support to local governments to hire additional youth to advance their parks and recreation priorities

Additionally, applicants must:

Confirm that they have not already received any federal funding to support the same positions
Demonstration that they will comply with reporting and follow-up evaluation requirements

FUNDING DECISION

All applicants will be notified by CPRA of their funding decision. Successful applicants will be notified by March 24, 2023.

CONDITIONS OF FUNDING

Successful candidates must:

Confirm their use of funding within five (5) working days of the date of offer or the offer will be withdrawn
Confirm that they have not already received any federal funding to support the same positions
Confirm that every effort will be made to engage youth who face barriers to employment

REPORTING

Per Government of Canada requirements, successful applicants will be required to complete a final program report. This will include a report from the employer and from each youth employee supported by the Program. Details regarding this report will be communicated to the recipients when the funds are released. Failure to submit the final program report will render the organization ineligible for future funding through the CPRA.

COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS

Successful applicants must acknowledge the CPRA and the Government of Canada (Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program) financial support in any communications.

CONTACT

For more information about this program, please contact your Regional Project Manager:

Western Canada (BC, AB, SK)

Noelle Virtue
[email protected]

Central Canada (MB, ON)

Emma Austin
[email protected]

Québec and Francophone Communities

Rémi Doucet
[email protected]

Atlantic (NB, NS, PEI, NL)

Heather Beaton
[email protected]

North (YT, NWT, NU)

Robin Young
[email protected]

National Program Manager

Erin Love
[email protected]

HOW TO APPLY

All applications must be submitted online through the link on the CPRA website
To download a PDF copy of the application form to plan your application, please see here
Incomplete applications, applications submitted by email or late applications will not be accepted
For assistance with completing your application, please contact your Regional Program Manager

PARTNERS

The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) is a national organization dedicated to realizing the full potential of parks and recreation as a major contributor to community health and vibrancy. Membership includes the 13 provincial and territorial parks and recreation associations and their extensive networks of service providers in over 90% of Canadian communities. CPRA collaborates with a host of other national organizations operating in the recreation, physical activity, environmental, facilities, sport, public health, crime prevention and social services arenas. Over the course of its 60-year history, CPRA has become a credible and strong national leader in our sector.

In addition to our advocacy on the benefits of parks and recreation, we provide our members with the information, resources and professional development they can use to make a difference in their own community. Through broad-based community involvement, we find solutions to social challenges, influence policy direction and generate momentum towards community quality of life.

This CPRA effort is part of the overall Government of Canada commitment (as led by Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program under Employment and Social Development Canada) to provide funding to organizations to deliver a range of activities that help youth overcome barriers to employment and develop a broad range of skills and knowledge in order to participate in the current and future labour market.

YEE Success Stories

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