The Manitoba government says it will spend more than $25 million in an effort to help create job opportunities for young people this summer.
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says $15 million will be used to give employers a 50 per cent subsidy on wages paid to eligible employees working between May and September this year, with a maximum pay out of $25,000 per business.
He said the initiative, called the Manitoba Youth Jobs Program, is expected to support more than 2,000 Manitoba employers and provide job opportunities for more than 6,000 young people looking for work.
The remaining $10 promised Thursday will go to Green Team grant programs to help an estimated 2,000 young people find summer employment, Pallister added.
The money for Green Team programming includes $9 million for the Urban and Hometown Green Team Program and more than $1 million for the Manitoba Parks Green Team, according to a release from the province.
The Urban and Hometown Green Team Programs allow communities to hire youth aged 15-29 to work on community projects between May 1 and Sept. 30. Under the program non-profit organizations can apply to receive 100 per cent of wage costs and $250 per position hired.
Municipal governments in rural Manitoba receive 50 per cent of wage costs and $125 per position, through the program.
Last summer the province launched an online tool, called Student Jobs MB, to help businesses and students connect for summer employment.
The site complemented the province’s 2020 youth summer jobs programs, which provided businesses with a $7/hour subsidy to hire up to five summer students.
The new money promised maintains 2020 funding levels, which were doubled over 2019 numbers in an effort to stimulate youth job creation during the pandemic, the province said Thursday.