Canada Axes Student Summer Jobs Centers

Canada is shutting down its summer student jobs centers run by the federal human resources department after nearly 40 years in operation, saying more students prefer Internet job searches.

The human resources department will expand the online resources available to students at youth.gc.ca. The move will reportedly save the government $6.5 million (Cn) a year, according to published reports.

Canada’s youth unemployment rate is above 14%, double the unemployment rate for all Canadians. Youth unemployment in Canada has risen into double digits for during the past few summers.

The unemployment rate for full-time students aged 20 to 24 grew from 6.9% in Aug. 2008 to 10.1% in Aug. 2011, according to Statistics Canada. The unemployment rate for full-time students aged 17 to 19 grew from 13.2% in August 2008 to 15.8% in August 2011.

Canada Unemployment Rate

Canada’s overall unemployment rate in January 2012 was 7.6%.

The youth.gc.ca website will be redesigned to provide them with a more interactive experience, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley announced in January.

The website directs students to resources including the government’s own job bank and a student job bank.
However, both job banks have been unavailable for two weeks due to an unspecified security breach.

“The number of students visiting the seasonal Service Canada Centres for Youth in person has decreased significantly over the last few years, making them less effective and relevant for today’s youth,” the minister’s spokesperson Alyson Queen said in an email to the Toronto Star newspaper. “By enhancing the online features on youth.gc.ca, there is no longer the need for these seasonal, temporary locations to be established.”

The job centers provided employment for university students who were hired to staff them. The Canadian Federation of Students, which represents more than half a million students at 80 colleges and universities, said the decision to cut the program is worrisome.

Canada’s youth job centers program began in 1968 as a pilot project to help match students and employers fill summer jobs. The service was free and centers were open from May to August, but some in Ottawa, Winnipeg, London, and Windsor were open year round.