Youth Employment Initiatives Terms and Conditions for Grants and Contributions
1. Introduction
Youth employment is a high national priority. The Government of Canada strives to create job opportunities for young Canadians in partnership with governments, employers and community-based organizations. The Youth Employment Initiatives build on a broad array of measures to meet the full spectrum of youth employment needs. The initiatives are flexible enough to create a climate of opportunity for youth in all regions, and they ensure full access by employment equity groups while helping meet the unique labour market needs of Aboriginal youth and youth at risk, including homeless youth and youth with disabilities.
2. Objective
The objective of the Youth Employment Initiatives is to assist youth in preparing for, obtaining and maintaining employment, and in making a successful transition into the labour market, thereby resulting in increased employment.
3. Interpretation
In these Terms and Conditions,
"Eligible activity" means an activity described in section 4 of these Terms and Conditions;
"Eligible participant" means a youth who is legally entitled to work in Canada and who is participating in an eligible activity.
"Minister" means the Minister of Human Resources Development;
"Youth" means a person normally between 15 to 30 years of age.
4. Activities
The Youth Employment Initiatives will fund activities that contribute to the objective, while being reflective of local realities. Activities may be delivered through a third party, such as an employer or a private or public organization or directly by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC). The following are some of the key activities included under the Initiatives.
- Youth Information
Activities designed to address the information needs of youth, by mobilizing community partners to stimulate awareness on youth related issues and/or activities designed to ensure that information such as that needed to find jobs, build skills, explore career options and plan for the future is readily available and accessible to youth. - Youth Internships
Activities designed to enable youth to gain work experience and to reach their potential as productive members of the society through the implementation of internships in such streams as science and technology, international trade and development, entrepreneurship, sectoral and community-based partnerships. - Youth Service Canada
Activities designed to enable youth to gain work experience and to reach their potential as productive members of society through teamwork involvement in community service projects. - Student Summer Job Action
Activities designed to help secondary and post-secondary students prepare for future entry into the labour market by facilitating access to summer employment. - Special activities for youth at risk including:
- Activities that help youth at risk to obtain skills, ranging from basic to advanced skills, through direct assistance to individuals;
- Activities that provide a continuum of services or interventions tailored to meet the needs of youth at risk in order to facilitate their preparation for, obtaining and maintaining employment.
5. Guidelines
Activities under the Youth Employment Initiatives will be carried out in accordance with the following guidelines:
- harmonization with provincial youth employment initiatives to ensure that there is no unnecessary overlap or duplication;
- cooperation and partnership with other governments, employers, community-based organizations and other interested organizations;
- flexibility to allow significant decisions regarding implementation to be made at the regional/local level;
- utilization of an evaluation framework to measure the success of activities designed to assist youth to participate in the labour market;
- availability of assistance under the Youth Employment Initiatives in either of Canada’s official languages where there is a significant demand for access in that official language.
6. Class of Recipients
Businesses, including federal crown corporations found on Schedule III, Part II of the Financial Administration Act and comparable provincial crown corporations, organizations, individuals, public health and educational institutions, band/tribal councils and municipal governments are eligible to receive funding and act as employers or coordinators/sponsors for activities. Eligible participants are eligible to receive funding.
Provincial and territorial government departments or agencies are eligible to receive funding and act as employers or coordinators/sponsors of activities if specifically approved by the Minister.
7. Types of Financial Assistance
Financial assistance may be provided to eligible recipients in the form of Contributions or Grants.
8. Eligible Expenditures
Contributions
The following types of expenditures may be reimbursed to eligible recipients.
Participants Remuneration and Related Expenditures
Financial assistance may be provided to employers or coordinators/sponsors to cover wages for participants and the ensuing employers share of employment related costs.
Support to Individuals
Living allowances, allowances for dependent care, special costs for persons with disabilities, transportation and accommodation costs may be reimbursed to employers or coordinators/sponsors to support their payment to eligible participants.
Living allowances, allowances for dependent care, special costs for persons with disabilities, transportation and accommodation costs may be paid directly to eligible participants by HRDC. For youth at risk, assistance may also be provided directly to participants to cover all or part of the cost of tuition and related costs, for a course or program of instruction which assists eligible participants to obtain skills for employment.
Overhead
Financial assistance may be provided to employers or coordinators/sponsors to cover all or a portion of costs associated with planning, organizing, operating, delivering and evaluating eligible activities. Overhead may include costs such as: wages and employment related costs for staff, licenses, permits, fees for professional services, bank charges, utilities, material, supplies, travel, insurance, disbursement for research and technical studies, disability needs, rental of premises, leasing or purchase of equipment, audits, assessments and evaluations.
Assistance may be provided in consideration of central administrative functions of the employers or coordinators/sponsors that are drawn upon to support agreement activities.
Capital costs for the construction of a building (other than small repairs or renovations) or the purchases of land or buildings are not eligible.
8. Eligible Expenditures (continued)
Workers Compensation
The costs associated with the workers compensation actual costs or assessment paid directly to the provincial/territorial workers compensation authority on behalf of employers or coordinators/sponsors for eligible participants or administrative staff, are eligible costs. Payments may be made with respect to any activities under the Youth Employment Initiatives operating within a specific province or territory.
Grants
A completion and transition grant of up to $10,000 per participant can be made to an individual as part of the cost per participant and as support to individuals who successfully complete a project and provide proof associated with one of the three following transitions:
- continuing or completing their education;
- entering the regular workforce;
- starting a small business (self-employment)
9. Proposals
Proposals from eligible recipients must:
- demonstrate that their implementation would support the objective of the Youth Employment Initiatives;
- outline the activities to be performed in pursuit of the objective;
- provide an estimate of expenditures to be incurred, including any share to be borne by partners;
- describe the results to be achieved and the evaluation guidelines.
- disclose the involvement of former public servants who are under the Conflict of Interest and Post employment Guidelines.
- identify all sources of funding for the project, including those from other government programs, in order to demonstrate the need for funding.
10. Agreements
Each approved proposal will be the subject of a formal agreement specifying the responsibilities for each party, the items for which expenditures are anticipated, the conditions under which payments will be made and mutually agreed upon measures designed to assess the success of the activities in attaining their objectives. A clause will be included in the agreement which would allow for a reduction in the amount of financial assistance specified should funding made available to HRDC be reduced. Agreements will also include appropriate termination clauses indicating that agreements may be terminated upon notice by either party. Termination notices cannot exceed one year.
11. Basis of Payment
Contributions may be paid as follows:
- Normally on a biweekly basis where assistance is paid directly to participants by HRDC. Lump-sum payments may be made to cover costs such as special costs for persons with disabilities and for tuition and related costs for youth at risk. These payments should be made based on agreed upon estimates, followed by proofs of purchase.
- Other payments may be made as follows:
Monthly or quarterly progress payments may be made based on expenditure claims and final payment of any sum due following receipt of the final claim, or if considered necessary by HRDC, following completion of a financial audit.
Advance payments will be provided in accordance with Treasury Boards cash management policies on transfer payments.
Payments which exceed the amounts to which the recipient is entitled are debts and must be repaid to Canada.
Grants may be paid as follows:
In one installment following receipt of monitoring reports supporting entitlement.
12. Maximum Financial Support and Duration
There is no maximum agreement value. The value of agreements will be determined by the number of clients who will participate or be served. For internship activities, the maximum HRDC financial support in one agreement will not exceed an amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying $10,000 by the number of eligible participants for the technology and sectoral council streams and $15,000 for the international stream. Assistance will be negotiated to obtain best value money. Generally, the federal support will leverage some cost sharing from recipients. For the science and technology and the international streams, cost sharing by recipients is required in all cases.
The maximum agreement duration will vary from one to three years, depending on the activity contracted for. Renewals will be made based on performance and results achieved.
13. Authority to Approve Proposals
The final approval of proposals may be delegated by the Minister as per HRDC’s delegation instruments.
14. Authority to Sign Agreements
Authority to sign and subsequently to amend agreements may be delegated by the Minister as per HRDC’s delegation instruments.
15. Authority to Approve Payments
Authority to approve payments by certifying compliance with the terms of the agreement may be delegated by the Minister as per HRDC’s delegation instrument.
16. Discretionary Authority
Notwithstanding the criteria stated in this document, the Minister or delegate may authorize adjustment payments of up to $5000 on conclusion of an agreement and upon satisfactory proof that legitimately incurred expenses exceeded the contracted amount and that the recipient is unable to obtain funds from other sources to cover the shortfall.
17. Disposal of Capital Assets
Any capital asset costing $250.00 or more and purchased with HRDC funds and which has not been physically incorporated into the project or premises of the employer or coordinator/sponsor must be disposed of in a manner determined by the local HRDC office. The governing consideration is to encourage the continued use of the assets in support of the employability needs of individuals.
18. Audits
Each agreement will specify that HRDC retains the right to audit the records of the recipient and, if it is determined that the amounts paid exceed the amounts payable, the difference will be considered as a debt to the Crown.
19. Evaluation
Youth Employment Initiatives will be evaluated from time to time based on an evaluation framework established in consultation with the Treasury Board Secretariat. The framework specifies that the effectiveness of Youth Employment Initiatives will be measured in terms of:
- Youth clients employed or self-employed
- Youth clients returning to school
A third measure will be added to address activities for youth at risk.
In consultation with the Treasury Board Secretariat, a process evaluation was completed in 1999. A summative evaluation will be completed by June 2001 and will be incorporated in the Report to Cabinet on the effectiveness of the Youth Employment Strategy.
20. Duration of Terms and Conditions
These Terms and Conditions will expire on March 31, 2005.
