Summer Jobs for More Than 2,500
More than 2,500 students and unemployed Nova Scotians will find work this summer through the Provincial Employment Program (PEP), an initiative of Economic Development and Tourism.
"We're helping to put people to work so that they can build careers for themselves," said Manning MacDonald, Minister of Economic Development and Tourism. "The work experience they'll get through this program will be invaluable as they compete for job opportunities in the future."
Employers benefit from the latest knowledge and skills available, while receiving wage subsidies for students hired under PEP. Jobs are distributed across the province based on population and unemployment for each county.
Almost half of the $6,382,000 PEP budget is administered directly by Economic Development and Tourism through five employment programs. The Nova Scotia Employment Program for Students will provide career-related positions for 850 students in government funded and non-profit organizations, and municipal government.
Funds of $650,000 are available to employ up to 210 post-secondary cooperative education students through the Cooperative Employment Program.
"This program represents what we're trying to do throughout PEP," said Mr. MacDonald. "Giving students the opportunity to put their educational skills to work results in marketable and employable graduates."
Follow up studies of this program show 87 per cent of co-op students get work after they graduate.
Reinforcing the theme of job creation, 70 post-secondary students can create their own summer jobs. The Student Loan Employment Program enables students to offer their career-related services to a non-profit organization. Instead of receiving a salary, the students receive an allowance while building up student loan credits which are applied directly to their tuition at a Nova Scotia post-secondary institution. This program is administered by Economic Development and Tourism in partnership with the Department of Education and Culture.
The University Partnerships Program, introduced last year with Dalhousie, will be expanded to include other Nova Scotia universities. Funding for this program has increased from $25,000 to $160,000, creating jobs for 128 post-secondary students. This program, administered jointly by the department and the universities, matches students in the Arts and Social Sciences with businesses for a summer work term.
Recognized visitor information centres across Nova Scotia will provide 283 jobs to students and the unemployed. The Provincial Public Sector Internship Program, being delivered in partnership between the Nova Scotia Youth Secretariat and the Department of Human Resources, will also receive funding through PEP. This program was announced in the Speech from the Throne.
Another 1,017 Nova Scotians will be hired through other government department programs using funds from the remaining PEP budget. Economic Development and Tourism has budgeted $2,250,000 to employment programs that will be announced by other government departments.
In conjunction with the announcement, Mr. MacDonald launched a new departmental publication called Career Connections, a newsletter containing a series of success stories about last summer's employment programs.
Program applications and guidelines are available from Economic Development and Tourism offices, Business Service Centres, Access Nova Scotia Centres or any Human Resource Development Canada Centres, and on the Internet at: http://www.gov.ns.ca/ecor/ced/pep .