FPSYIP Objectives, Requirements and General Information

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• Objective
• Principles
• Basic Program Elements
• Eligibility
• Duration of Internships
• Security Clearance
• Submitting Applications
• Recruitment Methods
• YMCA services for non-graduates and secondary school graduates

Objective

Created in the spirit of the Youth Employment Strategy, the Federal Public Sector Youth Internship Program's ( FPSYIP) main objective is to enable unemployed or under-employed young Canadians to acquire the experience and skills they need to enter and fully participate in the labour market. Young people acquire this experience through internships of 6 to 9 months duration, in federal public sector workplaces.

Principles

Program activities reflect the following principles:

• encourage active partnership between the federal public sector and youth-serving organizations in Canadian communities;
• provide leadership for other tiers of the public sector;
• provide additional support to youth at risk, including youth with incomplete high school education, single parents, Aboriginal youth and street youth;
• provide support to participants to help find employment or self-employment after their internship;
• encourage the development of employment experience and transferable skills;
• ensure a fair distribution of internship opportunities across Canada;
• promote employment equity in a manner consistent with federal government policy;
• respect the principles and requirements of the Official Languages Act;
• respect the voluntary nature of mentoring.

Basic Program Elements

The program is funded and managed by the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and administered through a partnership with the YMCA, a national, non-denominational charity and a pioneer in youth programs, including youth employment programs.

Under the program, federal government departments, agencies and Crown corporations develop and offer internships lasting 6 to 9 months.

An internship is not a specific position, and the intern does not replace a federal employee. An internship is a flexible, practical assignment, geared to providing a young person with meaningful opportunities to develop employability skills in preparation for subsequent employment or self-employment at the end of the internship. The concept of internship implies structured learning experiences and coaching by a mentor.

Mentoring is an essential component of the Program. No internship application will be approved unless a mentor has committed to working closely with the intern, sharing knowledge and experience on such matters as occupational opportunities, workplace culture and personal effectiveness. It is important to respect the voluntary nature of mentoring.

The YMCA is the legal employer of the youth interns. Its responsibilities include processing intern pay and expenses related to their employment (employment insurance, pension plan, etc.). Interns are not federal employees and are not entitled to the same benefits. This being said, managers and mentors are encouraged to integrate young interns into the workplace as much as possible, thereby enabling them to derive maximum benefit from the internship experience and to feel they belong to the work group.

Eligibility

Participants must be between 15 and 30 years old, and legally entitled to work in Canada (they may be permanent residents of Canada). They must be unemployed or under-employed and no longer attending an academic institution on a full-time basis.

The following persons are NOT eligible for the Program:

• young people who have already participated in the Federal Public Sector Youth Internship Program or in another program under the federal government's Youth Employment Strategy;
  
• persons awaiting permanent resident status;
  
• persons holding only temporary work permits.

Duration of Internships

Internships normally last 9 months for non-graduates and 6 months for secondary school graduates and post-secondary school graduates. The first four weeks of internship for non-graduates is spent in preparatory training provided by the YMCA.

Security Clearance

The host organization may require an intern to meet security requirements. The host organization must make the necessary arrangements for a security check or investigation.

To reduce the delays and costs involved in investigations, host organizations are asked to limit themselves to a minimum clearance level requirement, to the extent possible. Organizations must, however, balance this principle with the consequences of a minimum clearance level, and make certain that the intern can acquire beneficial work experience.

Submitting Applications

Host organizations submit applications by fax to the Federal Public Sector Youth Internship Program, at (819) 934-7613. Applications are studied in terms of criteria related to the quality of the internship (for example, the possibility of acquiring significant learning experience that will give the young person useful skills and experience).

The FPSYIP management ensures equitable distribution of internship opportunities among the provinces and territories on the basis of the youth unemployment rate and the presence of federal public sector institutions. The program also reserves 50% of the internships for non-graduates, 30% for secondary school graduates and 20% for post-secondary school graduates. In this way, we ensures that the Program benefits the groups of young people who need it most and who have the highest unemployment rate.

Recruitment Methods

Non-graduates and Secondary School Graduates

• Once the internship application is approved, it is sent to the YMCA, which recruits and selects the candidates. The YMCA contacts the host organization directly.

Post-secondary School Graduates

• Once the internship application is approved, the description of the internship will be posted on the Program Web site under "Internship Opportunities". Candidates send their résumés directly to the host organization. The mentor selects the candidates he/she would like to meet for an interview, and informs the YMCA of the choice and provides the name and address of the young intern.

* Selected candidates may not be members of the mentor's immediate family or that of another person in the work unit where the internship is to take place.

YMCA Services for Non-graduates and Secondary School Graduates

Many non-graduate young people are not immediately ready for the workplace and need counselling and support services in order to get off to a good start in the host organization.

The YMCA therefore provides assessment and counselling service for non-graduates, and at least four weeks of preparatory training. Throughout the internship, a YMCA counsellor will visit the intern regularly, and will also support and assist the mentor on request.

Secondary school graduates also benefit from assessment services by the YMCA and visits by the YMCA counsellor. Mentors of secondary school graduates can also receive support and assistance from the counsellor.