Government Announces Summer Jobs for Students

Government announced today, March 4, it will hire more than 150 students across the province this spring and summer.

More than 80 positions will be posted online today. Other students will be hired through internships and co-op placements directly with schools and some will return to summer positions they successfully competed for in the past.

"We want young Nova Scotians to know there are good opportunities here at home," said Nova Scotia Public Service Commission Minister Labi Kousoulis. "These jobs help them gain valuable work experience and earn money for school. They benefit and so do we – through the creativity, new ideas and enthusiasm they bring to the workplace."

The 80 open positions are based throughout the province, and include a wide variety of jobs from camp counsellors and forest resource workers to an aircraft maintenance engineer.

All of the jobs are student positions. University, college and high school students are encouraged to apply.

This another step in ensuring that more young workers are hired into the Nova Scotia public service. In November, more than 70 public service positions were posted requiring little-to-no experience. In each of the next five years, five per cent of new provincial government hires will be young workers.

This is all part of the Make it Here initiative that connects young workers with government programs for education, training and entering the workforce. It also connects employers with supports to hire or train young and less experienced workers.

"We want more young people living and working in Nova Scotia," said Minister Responsible for Youth Kelly Regan. "We have programs that are helping hundreds of young people get a foot in the door to land good jobs here at home. We're leading by example and encouraging employers to hire recent grads, mentor apprentices, and give students more opportunities to learn on the job."

Among the speakers at today's announcement was Jennifer West, a corporate payroll technician with the Department of Internal Services, who started her career in the public service as a summer student in 2012.

"Working in government while I was a student allowed me to gain hands-on, practical experience," said Ms. West. "I was able to apply what I learned in class directly in a working environment. That experience helped me earn a full-time position in the public service a couple of years later and still helps me today."

To view the positions announced today, as well as other public service opportunities, visit http://makeithere.novascotia.ca/ .