March 13, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GATINEAU, QUEBEC - A summer job, an experience for life; this is the message of the Summer Work Experience 2006 program being launched today in Québec City and Kitchener by the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development. Summer Work Experience 2006, in partnership with other departments and agencies, businesses, non-governmental agencies, communities and other levels of government, will provide funding to create meaningful summer employment opportunities for more than 75,000 students. Additionally, it will fund the operation of approximately 320 Service Canada Centres for Youth to help students across Canada find summer employment.
"Our government is committed to helping young Canadians get career-related work experience while earning money to support their education," said Minister Finley. "Employers are encouraged to invest in Canada's future and hire a student this summer-by doing so, we can build a stronger economy, stronger communities, and a stronger society."
Summer Career Placements, delivered by Service Canada, is a key component of the Summer Work Experience program. This initiative offers wage subsidies to employers in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors to create summer job opportunities to students aged 15 to 30 . The initiative also provides special provisions for employers who hire students with disabilities.
The deadline for employers to submit an application for a wage subsidy under the Summer Career Placements initiative is MARCH 31, 2006, except in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, where the deadline is APRIL 7, 2006 .
Service Canada Centres for Youth provide an essential service to students and employers in the summer. Approximately 320 centres across Canada are open from May to August to help students find summer jobs and to help employers find summer assistance. Both employers and students receive information on wage rates, labour laws and federal and provincial/territorial programs as well as on health and safety in the workplace.
Employers and students interested in participating in the Summer Work Experience program should contact the Service Canada Centre in their region, visit youth.gc.ca or call the toll-free Youth Info Line at 1 800 935-5555 (TTY 1 800 926-9105) for a free copy of the Summer Work Experience 2006 brochure.
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Media inquiries:
Media Relations Office
Service Canada
(819) 994-5559
Public inquiries:
1 800 O-Canada (1 800 622-6232)
servicecanada.gc.ca
TTY: 1 800 926-9105
Backgrounder
Summer Work Experience
Summer Work Experience is a Government of Canada program that includes initiatives designed to create summer employment opportunities for secondary and post-secondary students. Summer Work Experience includes Summer Career Placements; Service Canada Centres for Youth; and other federal department and agency initiatives.
For the summer of 2006, the Government of Canada will invest over $120 million to create job opportunities for more than 75,000 students through the Summer Work Experience program. Of these, more than 50,000 will be helped through Summer Career Placements and more than 25,000 will be helped through other federal department and agency initiatives. Moreover, we expect to help Canadian employers fill more than 183,000 job vacancies through Service Canada Centres for Youth. These centres will also provide job search assistance to more than 489,000 young people. In addition, the centres will employ more than 850 students to help their fellow students find summer jobs.
Summer Career Placements
A large number of students who will find career-related jobs this summer will do so as a result of the Summer Career Placements initiative. Summer Career Placements,delivered by Service Canada, is a major component of the Summer Work Experience program . This initiative offers wage subsidies to private, public and not-for-profit employers to create career-related summer jobs for secondary and post‑secondary students aged between 15 and 30 inclusive with little or no work experience . Public and private sector employers may be eligible for up to 50% of the provincial/territorial adult minimum hourly wage and not-for-profit sector employers may be eligible for up to 100% of the provincial/territorial adult minimum hourly wage. Last year, almost 58% of employers funded under Summer Career Placements were from not-for-profit organizations, almost 10% were from the public sector and almost 32% from the private sector. Approximately 70% of employers funded under this initiative were identified as small businesses with no more than 50 employees.
Employers hiring students with a disability through Summer Career Placements may be eligible to receive up to 100% of the provincial/territorial adult minimum hourly wage. In addition, up to $3,000 per student may be available to accommodate students with a disability, to cover costs such as personal tools and adaptations that students need to perform their job.
Other Federal Department and Agency Initiatives
Other federal departments and agencies also offer specialized initiatives to students under Summer Work Experience.
Industry Canada
Student Connections hires university and college students as Student Business Advisors. Assisting small and medium-sized businesses, students provide customized, hands-on electronic commerce and Internet training. For more information, call 1 888 807-7777 or visit www.studentconnections.ca.
Canadian Heritage and Parks Canada
Young Canada Works is a joint initiative of Parks Canada and Canadian Heritage .
Parks Canada's Young Canada Works program offers secondary and post-secondary students summer employment and hands-on work experience in Canada 's national parks and national historic sites. Parks Canada has also initiated an innovative pilot project to offer employment opportunities to deaf or hard-of-hearing students. For more information on these Parks Canada initiatives, visit www.pc.gc.ca/jct-ycw.
Canadian Heritage's Young Canada Works is an employment initiative to help secondary and post‑secondary students find summer work in Aboriginal and Heritage organizations, or work that will help them to acquire skills in both official languages. For more information on Canadian heritage initiatives, call 1 800 935-5555 or email at ycwcoordinator@pch.gc.ca.
Indian and Northern Affairs
First Nations and Inuit Student Summer Employment Opportunities supports work experience opportunities during the summer months for First Nations and Inuit secondary and post-secondary school students. For more information, visit www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/jeunesse-youth.
First Nations and Inuit Science and Technology supports science and technology related activities that will provide First Nations and Inuit youth with first-hand experience in various science and technology disciplines, which can include the enhancement of traditional knowledge. For more information, visit www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/jeunesse-youth.
Service Canada Centres for Youth
Service Canada Centres for Youth (formerly called Human Resource Centres of Canada for Students) are another key component of Summer Work Experience. Located across Canada , these centres are generally open to the public from May to August. These centres form part of the Government of Canada's network of Service Canada Centres, which provide year-round programs and services to students and employers.
Service Canada Centres for Youth offer students assistance in the form of job postings, group information sessions, résumé preparation and interview techniques, as well as advice on career planning. They are also a good place for both students and potential employers to obtain up-to-date information on wage rates and labour legislation, to learn about health and safety in the workplace and to get more information on other federal and provincial/territorial initiatives.
For more information
For more information on initiatives and services offered under the Government of Canada's Summer Work Experience and on other programs and services for youth, and to obtain information on the opening dates and hours of operation of the Service Canada Centres for Youth, please contact the Service Canada Centre in your community. You can also call the Youth Info Line toll free at 1 800 935-5555 or visit either youth.gc.ca or the Government of Canada Web site at canada.gc.ca .
CP - Kitchener - March 13, 2006
[ The Honourable Diane Finley, (second from right) Minister of Human Resources and Social Development helps launch the Summer Work Experience 2006 program, at the Service Canada Centre in Kitchener, Ontario, on March 13, 2006, by cutting a cake, with the help of Terri-Lynn Langdon, a SWE student, Darren Deneumoustier, director of Service Canada Centre of Kitchener-Waterloo, Harold Albrecht, the Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Waterloo, and Anne MacKay, vice-president of United Way Kitchener-Wasterloo area. ]
