Plan For The Future You Want

Under jobsHere, the provinces plan to create good jobs and grow the economy, Nova Scotians are now benefitting from opportunities to educate, innovate and improve productivity.

Through a variety of programs outlined in the jobsHere Plan, Nova Scotians can access workplace training and skills development and businesses can seek investments to innovate and improve their productivity and competitiveness to reach new markets. Following the Irving Shipbuilding announcement, in a environment of new opportunity, now is the time for employers and workers throughout the province to consider their future and prepare for tomorrow’s job opportunities.

Nova Scotia’s Workforce Strategy -a key component of jobsHere- describes a number of actions under three priority areas: increasing the amount of learning and skills development in the workplace; helping Nova Scotians to prepare for and connect with good jobs; and growing the workforce, both in numbers and skills.

"Nova Scotia's working-age population will decline by 47,000 people over the next decade, creating a situation in which there are jobs without people and people without jobs," said Labour and Advanced Education Minister Marilyn More. "The workforce strategy calls on all of us -- every worker, potential worker and employer, as well as every business, industry sector and government -- to think about what we can do now to be more competitive in tomorrow's labour market."

The strategy provides supports to help young people and their parents make informed decisions about career options, and expands adult learning and online learning opportunities. It provides programs for Nova Scotians who are unemployed or underemployed and returning to the workforce or looking for their first job.

It also targets groups that are under-represented in the workforce: women, African and Aboriginal Nova Scotians, people with disabilities, older workers, low-skilled individuals and those who may face other barriers to finding work.

The Productivity and Investment Program is one of the new programs under jobsHere. The program will have an annual budget of $25 million and focuses on productivity in two ways: skill development for existing employees through the Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive component and the purchase of advanced technology and advanced equipment through the Capital Investment Incentive component.

The program also provides increased funding of $350,000 to expand the province's post-secondary co-operative education program to provide meaningful workforce experience to students, and $300,000 to increase the capacity of the Department of Labour and Workforce Development's Workplace Education initiative.

To learn more about jobsHere visit jobshere.novascotia.ca.