November 14th, 2017
Toronto, ON - The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) welcomes investments made in the employment of young people in today’s 2017 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review. The Minister of Finance announced $124 million to support the hiring and retention of young workers in small businesses through incentives.
“Students are increasingly recognizing the value of experiential learning, and employers are increasingly expecting entry-level applicants to have prior work experience,” said OUSA President, Andrew Clubine. “We are excited to see this investment in providing work opportunities for young people, that will help them in their studies and beyond.”
OUSA will continue to recommend that the government prioritizes up-front subsidies for employers to receive when hiring students, rather than tax credits. As the Minister of Finance stated today, “Our economic growth also depends upon our highly skilled workforce. It’s estimated that about 70 per cent of tomorrow’s jobs will require a postsecondary education.” Students hope that the government consider meaningful work-integrated learning and experiential learning opportunities when spending this investment to support students studying in post-secondary education.
OUSA also welcomes the proposal of recognizing Indigenous Institutes as a third pillar in Ontario’s post-secondary education system. The Institutes are an important component of our post-secondary education system and OUSA supports investments in Indigenous learners in the province.
Sophie Helpard
Executive Director
416-341-9948