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Summer gigs aren't easy for students

"You have to go out there and work your ass off to get a job"

TINA ROSE

Sarah White serves customers at the Apex Road Quick Stop until she can get a better summer job to help pay her way through university. (PHOTO BY TINA ROSE)

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Sarah White, a third year sociology major at University of New Brunswick, has been looking for a job in Iqaluit for three weeks. She describes the student job situation in Iqaluit as "brutal."

"Every place possible that said that they might be even, on a tiny chance, hiring a summer student, they have my resume," says White, who is trying to pay her way through university without piling up a punishing amount of student loan debt.

Students who have found work say it wasn't easy. The job market is tight and they had to push to find jobs.

Human Resource's Summer Student Employment Equity Program hired about 130 students from 500 applicants in the summer of 2004, according to deputy minister Kathy Okpik.

This summer brought new changes to the eligibility requirements for the summer student program. To be eligible for the program you must be a Nunavut student enrolled in Grades 10-12, or in a post-secondary college or university.

A brochure published by HR promises "the opportunity to gain valuable experience working for the Government of Nunavut." Students can "be part of our team, get on-the-job training, earn excellent pay, and discover new skills to last you a lifetime."

With a budget increase to $950,000 from $700,000, even more students across the territory will be finding work with the GN this summer.

"I'm pretty sure we have about 100 students hired right now all across the territory," says Okpik.

The budget increase will benefit some students, but there are still students who are desperately looking for jobs, especially if they didn't meet HR's application deadline.

HR set a May 1 deadline for students to submit their applications for employment. Although students were able to continue applying for work after that date, students who met the May 1 deadline were dealt with first.

A student's skills are matched with the requirements of the job identified in staffing memos submitted by government departments.

A fourth year sociology major at Carleton University, Elissa McKinnon met the May 1 deadline but had to wait three weeks after returning home before she was hired.

McKinnon says she visited HR every other day hoping they would find a position for her within the GN. "You have to go out there and work your ass off to get a job."

In the meantime, White works part-time at NorthMart's QuickStop until she can find a full-time job. "It's just really frustrating and annoying because I know that time is money, and the more time that I'm sitting around waiting for people to call me or sitting around trying to find a job... that's money, and it's money that I need. It's just not a fun situation."

The budget increase and eligibility criteria weren't the only changes to the Summer Student Employment Equity Program.

"Last year's summer student program we had a purely training component. It was for students to train on the job. This year we've given the option for the departments to either train a student or it's purely employment," says Okpik.

HR has also created an appeals process. "If there are any cases on eligibility or any concerns it would be taken to the appeals committee," explains Okpik.

As well, HR launched a promotions campaign that included posters and a brochure.

Daniel Young has been working for three weeks. A third year physical sciences student, he submitted his application online in March. Young says that HR is disorganized and it was difficult to find answers. Being hired by the GN ensures that Young will be financially secure for his next school year at Guelph University.

Okpik is confident about the program. "If you look at almost 500 applicants last year and 130 jobs then you know that not everybody is going to get a job, right? So of course we want students to apply so the program is a success every year."

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