Manitoba Government Press Release–The Manitoba government is reminding employers of the various supports available to hire students to help rebuild the provincial economy, Economic Development and Training Minister Ralph Eichler announced today.
“Students play an important role in Manitoba’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Eichler. “The Student Summer Jobs Recovery Program is providing a wage subsidy for employers and helping create thousands of jobs for students this summer. We want to encourage more employers to take this opportunity as we move toward Phase Three of the government’s Restoring Safe Services plan.”
Eichler provided an update on the Student Summer Jobs Recovery Program, which launched April 24. Since then, more than 1,300 employers have applied for $14.8 million in supports for nearly 3,000 student positions with numbers consistently climbing daily.
The Student Summer Jobs Recovery Program assists private and non-profit employers to hire students to help meet organizational needs during the pandemic. Organizations can apply for up to $25,000 in support to hire up to five summer students aged 15 to 29. The program provides a $7 per hour wage subsidy for each student hired, to a maximum of $5,000. In addition to working in traditional summer roles, students can help organizations and businesses adapt their workplaces and public spaces to the public health requirements of COVID-19 this year.
The minister also shared the latest numbers from the Student Jobs MB online tool. The province launched this simple, free-to-use app May 28 for students to apply for and match with multiple jobs in all sectors. To date, more than 5,800 students have registered. More than 360 employers have posted approximately 700 available jobs for students.
“Students have indicated interest in areas such as retail, food and beverage, construction and the not-for-profit sector, all of which are ramping up operations as we restore services across the province,” said Eichler. “Many employers have work to do, and many students are looking for work experience and opportunities to develop their skills. Employers are finding qualified applicants daily through Student Jobs MB, and we hope to continue this pace of growth and make 2020 a banner year for student employment.”
To promote awareness of the suite of employment supports available, including those for students, the Manitoba Economic Support Centre has made 136,000 contacts with businesses, charities, not-for-profit and community organizations and fielded more than 16,000 calls.
In the coming days, the province will launch a further direct outreach campaign to encourage employers in the private and not-for-profit sectors to hire students. It will engage a team of post-secondary students to lead the campaign, and utilize both traditional and modern outreach strategies to increase student hiring. The students will also contribute to broader strategies to support continued student hiring into the fall and winter months.
To learn more about the Manitoba Summer Student Recovery Jobs Program and apply online, visit www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/business/summerstudentjobprogram.html.
Students and employers can use the easy online matching tool at:
https://studentjobsmb.ca.
A comprehensive list of Manitoba government COVID-19 measures can be found at:
https://manitoba.ca/bg/2020/04/covid19.html.