The Canadian Jobs Strategy Program (CJS) was introduced by the Mulroney Government in September 1995. It represented a new approach to government involvement in labour market programs and a shift in Canadian vocational training orientation from piecemeal, short-term programs to longer-range training strategies and objectives. Rather than focusing on short-term, expedient job creation or training solutions, the CJS Program sought to utilize government sponsored training and job experience as a springboard to permanent employment. CJS was an umbrella program that consisted of vocational training, job creation, employment counselling, labour market services and labour market planning and adjustment. In addition, the CJS Program targeted women, natives, the disabled, visible minorities, social assistance recipients, youth and other groups encoutering difficult employment barriers to specific labour market needs. By focusing on job development, job entry, skills investment and skill shortages, the CJS Program attempted to use scarce federal labour market resources to reintegrate unemployed and underemployed Canadians into the labour force. The CJS Program administered fifty programs, which were overseen by the department's headquarters office as well as its regional and district offices and Canadian Employment Centres across the country.
The records in this accession consist of central registry files from the department's 7000 series. These files were created by headquarters and document Employment and Immigration's numerous employment policies and involvement in the Canadian labour market during the 1980s. Some of the labour market areas that are covered by this series include: regional development, youth employment, federal/provincial relations, agricultural employment, industrial training and affirmative action. The records are in the form of policy reports, program overviews, internal memoranda, correspondence between the department and the individuals involved in the program, directions for the regions, policy and program procedures, briefing notes to the minister, statistical reports, strategic reports, inquiries relating to certain programs or grants, program proposals, formal agreements, press releases, guidelines and activity reports.
The two earlier central registry file series for the employment programs were the 3000 series and the 6000 series. The records from these earlier series have also been transferred to the National Archives and are available in accessions 1989-90/039, 1989-90/041 and 1989-90/040.
