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Posted: Jul 5, 2011 12:29 PM Last Updated: Jul 5, 2011 1:19 PM
Only 5 jobs in Cape Breton available in student job bank
Students looking for a summer job in Cape Breton are facing a short list of opportunities.
There were only five jobs listed in Service Canada's student job bank as of July the fourth. Many of them were for volunteer organizations.
"Camp counselling, special event co-ordinating, office jobs and that kind of thing," said David MacDonald, lead youth services officer.
"We really promote volunteer opportunities. Last week all of our offices went about finding a lot of volunteer organizations, and then they can find many different skills that could be used for the jobs," he said.
MacDonald said the number of jobs is down this summer, though he didn't know by how much.
There are other places to look for job postings in Cape Breton, such as websites and classified ads. There aren't many, however, and most temporary jobs posted on sites like Kijiji are for babysitting or cleaning.
The YMCA and its partners quickly filled all 14 jobs they had available for students this summer.
"There was a lot of almost desperation, people almost sounding rehearsed like they had been to a lot of interviews and having a tough time finding anything suitable," said Blair Duhamil, a Y supervisor who was on the hiring committee.
"Many of our applicants were people that didn't even have any real experience with children or interest, really. It was just people looking for a job - anything that's possibly out there."
Richard Dunn, a spokesman for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, had warned of bleak summer job prospects for students.
In May, Dunn told CBC News that increasing fuel and energy costs, along with rising minimum wages, could lead to fewer summer jobs in the Maritimes.
In Cape Breton, where the overall unemployment rate is 18 per cent, students should consider volunteer positions to gain experience, MacDonald said.
MacDonald said the Service Canada centre will help students hone their job-hunting abilities.
He has a number of tips.
"If it's a job that you can actually find a manager going into a store, get them and try to have them put a name to a face. Making that connection right away is a key," he said.
