Creating Job Opportunities for People on Social Assistance
Innovations Fund Encourages Ontario Businesses to Get Involved
Government
of Ontario Release
June 14, 2006
TORONTO, June 14, 2006 - The McGuinty government is calling on the Ontario business community to help social assistance recipients get into the workforce and on the path to a brighter future, Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Community and Social Services, announced today.
"We're on the side of Ontarians who are trying to improve their lives by finding meaningful jobs and we're tapping into the creativity of the business community to make it happen," said Meilleur. "Ontario employers should be benefiting from the potential, skills and talents of all Ontarians - including those who face social, physical or economic barriers. It just makes good business sense."
The government is launching a new Employment Innovations Fund to engage employers in expanding employment opportunities for people on social assistance, including people with disabilities. Organizations such as employer associations, municipalities and not-for-profit organizations are invited to submit proposals for new programs that will create sustainable job opportunities and help businesses tap into this pool of willing, job-ready people.
"This funding
gives municipalities and community groups an opportunity to develop strong
partnerships with local businesses that can make a real difference in
our communities," said Ross Fair, General Manager of the Community
Services Department for the City of London. "I'm confident that employers
will be able to benefit from the diverse abilities of our clients."
The fund builds on existing employment programs and is just one of many
government initiatives aimed at helping Ontarians enter the workforce,
including:
- Launching JobsNow,
a job retention pilot that has, so far, helped over 2,000 Ontario Works
clients find and keep meaningful employment
- Introducing a refundable
apprenticeship training tax credit for employers
- Eliminating barriers
to employment for social assistance recipients by providing straightforward
incentives and extra support to help people find and keep jobs.
"We have worked hard to break down barriers to employment in the social assistance system - now we are asking businesses to work with us and find new opportunities to build success," said Meilleur. "By helping businesses to grow and people to reach their potential, we're investing in the future prosperity of our province."
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Backgrounder
ONTARIO'S
NEW EMPLOYMENT INNOVATIONS FUND
As part of the 2006 provincial budget, the government established the Employment Innovations Fund to engage Ontario's employers in creating and expanding job opportunities for people receiving financial assistance from Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program.
Organizations that
can engage employers in developing sustainable job opportunities for people
on social assistance - such as municipalities, not-for-profit organizations
and employer associations including chambers of commerce and boards of
trade - are eligible to submit proposals for funding.
Individuals and individual employers are not eligible for funding in their
own right, but may be eligible to apply as a group. Proposals will be
evaluated and selected based on the applicant's ability to successfully
complete the initiative, as well as meet five key criteria:
- A plan to create
longer-term, sustainable employment opportunities targeted to people
on social assistance
- Active employer
sponsorship or co-sponsorship of the project, including promotion of
the initiative to the local employer community
- The use of innovative
employment development approaches, and a plan that considers the economic
diversity of Ontario and the diversity of social assistance recipients
- The use of measurable
short- and long-term employment targets and the ability to measure results
and report on achievements
- Ideas for creating
partnerships within the community (e.g., with community groups or local
organizations), showing how linkages will contribute to creating sustainable
employment opportunities for social assistance recipients.
Applications must be submitted in writing using the Employment Innovations Fund Application Package, which is available online at www.mcss.gov.on.ca. Priority consideration for funding this year will be given to proposals submitted by September 1, 2006.
The Employment Innovations Fund is funded entirely by the provincial government and is one of the many ways the McGuinty government is helping people on social assistance get into the workforce and on the path to a brighter future.
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