The province is funnelling $4.3 million into employment strategies for young people.
The bulk of money, $3.5 million, will go towards wage subsidies for businesses hiring Manitobans aged 18 to 29.
One stream of the new program, called NextMB Jobs for Youth, will target students, apprentices and recent graduates.
Another stream will assist youth not in education or training. The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce will manage the program.
“Some part of the solution for the labour force needs in our society has to come from hiring our own kids,” Premier Wab Kinew said after announcing the initiative Tuesday morning.
The wage subsidies will pave the way for co-operative programs, paid internships and work-integrated learning, Kinew said. The funding should cover 300 young Manitobans.
Another $800,000 will go towards connecting youth to jobs and training — largely carpentry- and construction-focused — at the Boys and Girls Club of Thompson in an initiative called Dreambuilders.
A government news release says Dreambuilders will support people leaving the child welfare system.
“Hopefully this will be the first step towards many, many young people finding a future,” Kinew said.