WINNIPEG -- The Manitoba government is launching an online tool to help match students with summer employment.
The premier made the announcement at a news conference on Thursday, urging local businesses to give summer jobs to students.
The program, called Student Jobs MB, is a free resource that allows students to match and apply to a number of jobs. Private-sector employers, non-profits, and government organizations will also be able to use the tool to post jobs and connect with students.
“This tool will expedite connections between employers and students and it will encourage student summer employment,” said Premier Brian Pallister.
According to the Manitoba government, this will be its primary tool to link students to summer jobs offered through the Student Temporary Employment Program, the Conservation Green Team, and the Urban/Hometown Green Partners.
“With this announcement today, we’re demonstrating our commitment to students in our province, to businesses and to other employers who can further support giving students a chance to get a job and getting all of us and our economy back going again,” the premier said.
This tool is an expansion of the Summer Student Recovery Jobs Program, which was launched in April to support employers in hiring post-secondary students. The province put aside $120 million for an hourly $7 wage subsidy, up to a maximum of $5,000 per student. This program is open to students aged 15 to 29, and the employment period is May 1 to Sept. 4. Employers can be subsidized for up to five students.
The province noted the technology used for Student Jobs MB has been designed to protect people’s privacy.
Jerin Valel, the province’s director of technology and transformation, said Student Jobs MB provides a simpler solution to larger job search websites that could be overwhelming for students.
“Students Jobs MB requires no download, no app store. It is device agnostic, and is designed for mobile phones and tablets alike. It also works on desktops with modern browsers, like Chrome,” he said.
“This tool allows Manitoba students to create one profile, add an optional link to their personal website, and upload a resume. And from that one profile, they can apply for as many jobs as they’d like.”
Students will have the ability to search for jobs and will receive notifications when the jobs they’re interested in become available or when new ones are posted.
“After all, for a student, finding a job shouldn’t feel like a job,” said Valel, noting that employers will also be able to create company profiles to provide information about their workplace.
Currently, there are 136 jobs across 24 communities on the site.
