Student Interns Learn Outside the Classroom

While most students return to the classroom this fall, Nova Scotia Links student interns will find themselves in a new environment: inside the world of work.

The interns hired this fall will join the ranks of more than 3,000 post-secondary students hired through NS Links. The program continues to offer internship opportunities beyond its original expectations.

Nova Scotia Links employers are now hiring post-secondary students for 12-to 18-week internships. Students receive 30 to 40 hours of employment with a guaranteed minimum wage of $8 per hour, or $10 per hour for graduates. NS Links positions are now posted on the program's website at http://nslinks.ednet.ns.ca .

"The win-win benefits of Nova Scotia Links are experienced in all regions of the province," said Education and Culture Minister Robbie Harrison. "Nova Scotia Links provides students with opportunities to apply their knowledge in the workplace. At the same time, employers tap into an educated workforce and train interns to become knowledgeable and valuable employees."

The program provides eligible employers with a 40 per cent wage subsidy to hire post-secondary students as interns in positions related to their field of study.

"I was fortunate to find a job, especially one that's in my field," said Danny Allain, a pharmacy student returning to Dalhousie University this fall.

Mr. Allain is a student intern with Shoppers Drug Mart at Quinpool Centre in Halifax. He works 35 hours each week alongside experienced pharmacists.

"This is giving me the opportunity to learn the positives and negatives of this type of work and to help me determine, Is this what I want to do?'" he said. Mr. Allain now knows that this is definitely what he wants.

To be eligible for the NS Links program, a student must be attending a post-secondary institution -- university, community college, or private trade school -- or have graduated within four months of the start of the internship.

Eligible employers are Nova Scotian companies within the private sector, and not-for-profit companies partnered with a private sector partner. Employers apply to NS Links and hire the student of their choice.

NS Links has partnered with the Black Educators Association to create the Links-BEA, a program designed to help African Nova Scotian post-secondary students find quality job placements with employers throughout the province. Another program is the Links Multicultural Facilitation program, which focuses on finding work placements for Mi'kmaq students.

Nova Scotia Links has played a critical role within the broader framework of Success Nova Scotia 2000 to establish a learning culture. It continues to accomplish this by encouraging self-sufficiency in the Nova Scotia economy by defining the role of entrepreneurship and lifelong learning in career and life planning.

The Nova Scotia Links website -- http://nslinks.ednet.ns.ca -- contains helpful information for employers and students who are interested in the program. NS Links staff can be reached at 1-888-466-3111.

NS Links is a partnership involving the Department of Education and Culture, Human Resources Development Canada, Economic Development and Tourism, and Nova Scotia businesses.