2,600 Summer Jobs Announced
More than 2,600 post-secondary students and unemployed Nova Scotians will find work this summer through the Provincial Employment Program, or PEP. The jobs will be distributed across the province based on population and unemployment for each county.
"Career opportunities right here in Nova Scotia are unlimited, and through the Provincial Employment Program, we continue to invest in our young people and Nova Scotia's future," Manning MacDonald, Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, said in making the announcement today. "This on-the-job work experience builds on the education these students are getting at school. It gives them an edge competing for full-time jobs when they graduate.
"Employers benefit, too, by experiencing firsthand the talents of Nova Scotia's future workforce and their leading-edge training. And, in many cases, the wage subsidies available under PEP allow organizations to offer job opportunities that would not otherwise be possible."
The $6.096-million PEP budget, administered directly by Economic Development and Tourism, supports five employment programs. The Nova Scotia Employment Program for Students will provide career-related positions for 1,400 students in government-funded and non-profit organizations, and municipal governments. This is up from the 1,065 jobs created under the program last summer.
Funds of $500,000 are available to employ up to 180 co-op education students through the Co-operative Employment Program. A followup study of this program showed 87 per cent of co-op students find work after graduation.
Seventy post-secondary students will have the opportunity to create their own summer jobs under the Student Loan Employment Program. They can offer their career-related services to non-profit organizations. Rather than taking a full salary, the students receive an agreed-upon living allowance while building up student-loan credits. In the fall, these credits are applied directly to their tuition at a Nova Scotia post-secondary institution. Economic Development and Tourism administers the program in partnership with the Department of Education and Culture. Under a similar tuition credit program, the University Partners Program will provide 50 jobs.
Visitor centres across the province that are accredited under Tourism Nova Scotia's Award of Quality program will provide 250 jobs to students and the unemployed.
Another 650 Nova Scotians will also be hired through other government department programs using funds from the remaining PEP budget.
Employers can obtain applications and guidelines at Nova Scotia Business Service Centres, Access Nova Scotia locations, Human Resource Centres, or campus placement offices. They are also available on the Internet at http://www.gov.ns.ca/ecor/ced/pep . The deadline for employers to submit project applications to Economic Development and Tourism is March 12, 1999. The work term this year runs from May 25 to Sept. 4.
Approved jobs will be posted for students by the end of April at Human Resource Centres and on Economic Development and Tourism's website.