Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As this is Education Week, I would like to take this opportunity to speak on a very successful program that is in danger of being cut in the Beaufort-Delta. The Youth Entry Level Skills, or YELS program, was started by the Beaufort-Delta Education Council in 2001 and provides students between the ages of 17 and 29 with exposure to the trades and the oil and gas industry while encouraging them to stay in school and graduate. Mr. Speaker, by exposing students to the trades and oil and gas industry, we are expanding students' horizons. Students see that to get a good job, even in trades, you need a good education. Industry has supported this program since its inception. Students are offered job placement for two weeks where they can get some hands-on experience and can get a sense of whether a particular career or field is of interest to them.

Mr. Speaker, the statistics speak to the success of the YELS program. Program completion rates are around 96 percent of students enrolled in the YELS oil and gas program in 2003. All but two of them came back to regular school in 2004. Finally, in 2001, only one student out of six tested drug-free and, in 2004, 10 of the 12 students tested drug-free. This shows that the message on drugs in the workplace is getting through.

I have also heard good things from parents, educators and students and two other school boards are looking to set up their own version of the YELS program. Sadly, Mr. Speaker, in these times of economic restraint, the Beaufort-Delta Divisional Education Council may no longer have the funds to administer and run this very valuable program and will have to make a decision on whether the program will continue.

Mr. Speaker, it is a good program. Industry and the regional aboriginal governments also provide support to the program because they, too, recognize that YELS provides opportunity and encouragement to students to succeed in life. I strongly encourage the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to work with the Beaufort-Delta Divisional Education Council and examine ways that the YELS program could continue to be funded. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause