The Premier Announces $25 Million Investment To Boost Youth Employment
MONCTON – Premier Brian Gallant announced his government will invest $25 million to increase youth employment in the province at a luncheon Monday hosted by the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce (GMCC).
“We believe there are too many young people who are leaving this province looking for work,” said Gallant. “We believe there are many young people who are perhaps looking to come back.”
The investments will go into existing and new programs meant to retain youth and train them for the labour market. They seek to create:
- Additional positions for the Youth Employment Fund, which is targeted at experiential learning opportunities;
- More and longer placements for the Student Employment Experience Development program;
- A paid internship program with the government for new graduates;
- New measures for post-secondary education student loan debt avoidance; and,
- An awareness campaign targeted at high school students about the opportunities in New Brunswick’s labour market and financial support for post-secondary education.
Gallant told reporters after his speech that the private sector has seen higher retention rates for workers hired under the Youth Employment Fund.
The premier says he’s anticipating a labour shortage down the road due to an aging population. The anticipated wave of retirements will leave New Brunswick with an estimated 10,000 job openings annually through 2026. Yet, only 6,500 young New Brunswickers will enter the labour force each year.
Meanwhile, Gallant says the province has experienced negative net interprovincial migration of young people, aged 18-29, for 33 years in a row, a trend Gallant hopes to reverse in the next few years. Youth unemployment has also remained at 13.5 per cent, he said, higher than the national average which hovers around 11 percent.
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John Wishart, the interim CEO of the GMCC, said the latest member survey reflects this challenge. While the top responses are usually related to issues of tax burden, red tape and access to capital, this year was different.
“Maybe for the first time, the top response is difficulty finding employees with the right labour skills,” Wishart said.
The $25-million investment is part of Gallant’s plan to grow the province’s population, which also includes repatriating New Brunswickers, bringing new people from outside the province, and international immigration.
“It’s not either/or,” he said. “We have to do every single one of those things at the same time to grow the population.”
Gallant also called on the private sector to help with the process by lowering the barrier to entry for employees.
“So once in a while, when you’re looking for an employee and you’re asking for five years experience, maybe take off the five and try to put it a little lower,” he said. “Try to take some chances on some of the youth here in the province, giving them their first chance to get into the workforce.
“Try to find ways to mentor them. Try to find ways to ensure that once we do give them that job, which is a crucial first step, we do everything we can to support their development so they would want to stay here for many years to come,” he said.
Wishart was happy to address labour force issues. But he noted that the overall tax environment remains high for businesses. Although real estate and cost of goods are considered cheap, some federal and provincial taxes remain high. This is making it difficult for businesses seeking to invest in the province.
“We’re big supporters of what we call private sector growth. In other words, government – you set the conditions, and then let the private sector actually create the jobs. Government doesn’t or shouldn’t create jobs. We’re never in support of funding for jobs, really,” he said.
“It’s more about attractive tax regimes. Right now it’s iffy in the province. The premier mentioned small business taxes are down, and that’s good. But there are a series of other taxes that create a high tax environment in New Brunswick.”
Wishart said although the new investment would help, there’s no magic solution to close the employment gap.
“It’s especially prevalent in things like the business service sector, healthcare, IT, manufacturing. And unfortunately, it’s causing businesses to go further afield to get those employees, including immigrants, which is great. It’s part of the mix and we should support that.”
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He used the example of call centres that are struggling to find workers with $11-$12 pay, while those paying $17 and above have found loyal employees. Although the GMCC doesn’t advocate hiking the minimum wage to $15 an hour like in Ontario, a higher wage for some job opportunities would make New Brunswick more attractive, he said. And it has to begin to do that to attract youth.
“That’s part salary, part the type of opportunity that’s out there, quality of life and cost of living. I think those four things together could make a difference.”
The investment didn’t fully check any of these boxes, but “the pen has started to make a mark” in each of them, Wishart added.
“I would say changing the narrative is really important,” he said. “We need to spread the message that it’s not a dying province, there are, as [Gallant] mentioned today, 10,000 opportunities a year coming up and we don’t have the people now to fill those [positions].”