Summer jobs bloom for students

Many Canadian students have with summer and after-school jobs, but what are the opportunities in this area for those who don’t.
“There is a lot of jobs out there but if you’re picky, you don’t really have a chance,” warned Fort High OAC student Tyson Storkson. “If you don’t want to work in a gas station, restaurant, or big store, there is nothing out there.
“I am just looking for a job that keeps me interested and that seems to be hard to find,” Storkson added.
There are services students can use, one of which is NCDS Career Works here. It helps students with many tasks, including job searches and listings, creating a résumé, job counselling, and much more.
“We try to offer as much support as we can to the students and the businesses as we can,” said Kelly Veniot, a job developer at NCDS Career Works.
There also is the HRDC office here, which often works with NCDS in order to help students the best way they can. They also are heavily involved with the school, as well as having a student job centre open in order to help kids find work.
“Fort Frances often offers mainly seasonal employment,” said Myron Hawrylak of the HRDC. “Some students do have jobs during school but for those who don’t, they are best to start looking soon and not wait for the summertime or they will regret it.”
Fort Frances High School also assists its students as much as possible.
“We often direct them to HRDC and anything else we can do,” said Mary-Jane Gushulak of FFHS guidance department. “During the summers, the students have a much better chance if they are able or want to move away for the summer.
“Often camps and lodges in the area are willing and want to hire students,” added Gushulak.
The Town of Fort Frances also can assist you with job listings for students returning from university and college, which tend to pay more. There also is job listings for students which have completed at Grade 10 and are going into Grade 11.
Listings and descriptions can be viewed at the town’s Web site at
www.fort-frances.com
Another thing that must go through a student’s mind is how much money they would be making. The current student minimum wage is $6.40 per hour.
“I do not believe this is a fair wage,” said Jon Baron, a grade 12 student at FFHS. “It would be nice to get paid more since we drop all other tasks we may have to work for the local businesses and we should be recognized for it.”
“We work all the time,” said OAC student Dan Gibb. “You can work the same after-school job forever but since fees for students are high, you won’t ever make a lot of money.”