News Release Archive
ECONOMIC RENEWAL--ERA CREATES 2,300 SUMMER JOBS ------------------------------------------------------------ Economic Renewal Agency Minister Robbie Harrison said today the ERA will help create 2,300 jobs for students, and the unemployed, through summer employment programs, including an innovative program where the student loan gets paid, instead of the student. The largest program administered by ERA includes the Nova Scotia Employment Program for Students. ERA will help create 900 jobs within non-profit and public sector organizations, by offering a wage subsidy to employers. Another 280 jobs will be added in recognized tourist bureaus around the province. ERA will create an additional 400 jobs at its provincial resorts; Keltic Lodge, Digby Pines and Liscombe Lodge under a separate budget. The Municipal Works Program will allow municipal units in areas of high unemployment to hire up to 300 workers this summer. The province will cost-share up to 50 per cent of wages, to a maximum of five dollars per hour. The Economic Renewal Agency, in partnership with the Department of Education and Culture, is continuing last year's successful pilot Student Loan Employment program, offering 100 employment opportunities in non-profit organizations to post-secondary students. Instead of receiving a salary, the student would build up student loan credits, equivalent to minimum wage but applied directly to their tuition at a Nova Scotia university or community college. Mr. Harrison said, "In its pilot year last summer, the Student Loan Employment program was very popular among employers and students alike. The program required the students to be proactive, finding an employer who would give them the kind of work experience that would lead to jobs after graduation." The Economic Renewal Agency and the Department of Education and Culture are combining their financial resources to provide one summer employment program aimed at the private sector. NS Links will create 300 jobs for students preparing for careers in firms using new technologies and techniques. "We listened to business owners and simplified the process so that applications are only made to one department instead of two," said Mr. Harrison. This is the only component of the Provincial Employment Program where the private sector is eligible to participate. ERA expects to create another 1,775 jobs in financial partnerships with other provincial government departments, once those departmental budgets are approved. The deadline for employers to submit project applications to ERA is March 8, 1996. The summer work term runs from May 21 to Sept.7. Program applications and guidelines are available from any ERA office, including Business Service Centres, Access Nova Scotia Centres or any Canada Employment Centre. The information is also available from ERA's web site at https://novascotia.ca/ecor/request.htm. The Provincial Employment Program has been providing summer jobs for Nova Scotia students since 1978. -30- Contact: Linda Laffin 902-424-6810 jlw Feb. 13, 1996 3 p.m.