Canada Summer Jobs Program
By: Davin Caratao
The CSJ Program seeks to provide youth aged 15-30 with high-quality work opportunities in communities like ours, with NGOs, the public sector, and small businesses counting among the employers. The program, which also seeks to provide opportunities for young people facing various barriers to typical employment, is tasked with developing useful skills for youth in Canada. Employers, who are subsidized up to 75% of the wages paid under the CSJ Program, pay students above minimum wage or guarantee lasting employment with their firm. This wage subsidy was increased by our government this year to encourage economic renewal after COVID, and I am happy to say it has also led to a record 150,000 summer jobs being available this year.
How to Apply for a Canada Summer Job
If you live in Milton and are between the ages of 15 and 30, there are plenty of great opportunities for you in and around our riding! Just google “Canada Summer Jobs” and click on the Youth Job Bank, fill in the type of work you’re interested in, where you live and search. The CSJ job opportunities will be shown with a small yellow sun symbol to the side. Milton has plenty of great opportunities for youth, but apply as soon as possible because placements have already begun to fill! Some examples of high-value, skill-enriching summer jobs in Milton come from employers such as the Milton Community Resource Centre, Milton Hydro, and local retailers and professionals. Job opportunities include graphic designers, trades apprentices, camp counsellors, retail workers, and administrative positions.
More Opportunities for Youth
Our government has more opportunities for young people in this country beyond the Summer Jobs Program, all available for young people who need them. Our recent budget proposals will commit $5.7 billion over the next five years to ensure that thousands more youth can find gainful employment all across Canada, with over 100,000 jobs in the next 2 years alone. Additionally, funding is being increased for the Canada Student Loans and Grants program, where for the next two years, grants for each student will double, providing, on average, $2,600 moreto the 580,000 students who rely on federal grants and loans. This investment should cover over 90% of the tuition of low-income students and help young people continue their studies in security. Student loan repayments will be cancelled for 2021, and Repayment Assistance will be enhanced so most low-income students will not need to make any payments to federal loans.
I’m glad that the Federal government has committed themselves towards supporting youth across Canada, and I hope the next generation of Miltonians can take advantage of these opportunities. I encourage everyone who reads this article to go out and reap the benefits from these federal programs. Find well-paid jobs for the summer or more permanently or rest safe in the knowledge that you can study without as much fear in paying back your student loans.