The federal government is launching a campaign to help Canadians find well-paying jobs, with the aim of reducing the country’s unemployment rate.
The “Upgrade Your Skills” campaign targets 18- to 24-year-olds just starting out in their careers, as well as adults ages 25 to 54 who want to improve their abilities and change their jobs. The government will place ads on social networks, digital radio, public digital displays, and national broadcast media. All spots will drive viewers to a website where they can check out financial supports and programs available. Cossette Media handles media buying, while Tank Worldwide is handling creative.
Some of the benefits being promoted include financial aid for students, such as loans and scholarships, youth volunteer services, job placement opportunities and search tools, such as a platform with thousands of job listings that match specific skills and knowledge.
“We must provide for workers so they have the right skill sets to find higher paying jobs, protect our standard of living and build a stronger, more resilient Canadian economy,” said Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, Randy Boissonnault, in a statement.
Government data show that the country’s unemployment rate remains high – there were 706,000 job opportunities in Canada last December, with 1.2 million people unemployed. Some reasons leading to unemployment include a shortage of highly competent workers and that those who are qualified are of retirement age (55 to 64 years old).
Additionally, six out of 10 young immigrants with work experience who came in Canada within the last five years have struggled to find work. According to the data, the most common problems are lack of work experience in Canada (22.7%), lack of contacts in the labor market (20.3%) and lack of Canadian references (18.5%).
The federal government launches this campaign after having made significant purchases in TV and radio advertising in recent weeks. According to AdEase, it ranked as the second most active marketer on radio during the week of Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, with 5,121 combined occurrences. And the week before it made 1,247 TV occurrences, most of them in Toronto.
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