SIMCOE, ONTARIO, July 3, 2009—The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, today launched Odd Job Week in Ontario, July 6 to 10. To mark the week, 94 Service Canada Centres for Youth (SCCY) throughout Ontario will host events to create networking opportunities for students and employers.
“The centres provide student employment services, and the Odd Job Squad is one of the most popular services offered,” said Minister Finley. “It’s designed to help young people find temporary work that ranges from a few hours to a few weeks. Odd jobs in traditional businesses can provide extra staff during busy seasons or provide temporary staff to cover employee holidays. Typical positions include distributing flyers, working at local festivals, clerical roles and farm work.”
Service Canada Centres for Youth have been providing employment services for young people and employers in communities since 1968, with more than 300 locations across Canada.
The centres offer a number of in-house and community outreach services specially designed to help students find a job, including detailed job postings in a variety of fields, links to employers, useful information on workplace health and safety, new student financial assistance measures and other government programs and services.
Employers, homeowners and youth are encouraged to visit their local SCCY. Please consult servicecanada.gc.ca or call 1 800 O-Canada to find the location nearest you.
To further help students and their families, the Government of Canada is introducing measures to make post-secondary education more affordable and accessible. Beginning this August, the new Canada Student Grants Program and the Repayment Assistance Plan will come into effect. These new measures replace existing programs to address priority needs of Canadian students and their families.
The Government of Canada is committed to helping young people become part of the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world. The Government underscored this commitment in January when it introduced Canada’s Economic Action Plan, a key component of which is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers. For students, this included providing an additional $20 million over two years for the Canada Summer Jobs program, and an additional $20 million over two years for the federal public service student employment program. To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
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This news release is available in alternative formats on request.
For further information (media only):
Michelle Bakos
Press Secretary
Office of Minister Finley
819-994-2482
National Media Relations Office
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
819-994-5559