ST. THOMAS, Ontario — Joe Preston, Member of Parliament for Elgin-Middlesex-London, today attended the official opening of the St. Thomas Student Employment Office, a joint venture between the federal and provincial levels of government to benefit youth in the Elgin and St. Thomas areas. Co located in the St. Thomas Student Employment Office are the federally funded St. Thomas Service Canada Centre for Youth (SCCY) and provincially funded Elgin/St. Thomas Youth Employment Counselling Centre. The office is ready to assist businesses and young workers with their summer employment needs.

“The Government of Canada is committed to helping young people get the skills and knowledge they need to improve their employment opportunities,” said Mr. Preston. “By working with local employers, we can make sure that young people get valuable summer work experience, and that our community has a strong and vibrant work force for the future.”

SCCYs link young people with employers and provide young people with access to job postings, interview advice, assistance with résumé writing, and job-search strategies, and they give employers a location to post notices for job openings.

The Elgin St. Thomas Youth Employment Counselling Centre delivers the Summer Job Services Program in Elgin County. This service intervention focuses on providing students with work experience during the summer months. This provincially funded program provides students with the information, knowledge and skills to find a job; it enables employers to post positions and access youth who are ready and willing to work in the summer and year round; and it provides employers with a $2/hour hiring incentive to employ youth in the summer.

“Whatever the job—big or small, short or long term—we can help you fill it,” said Jacqueline Allan, St. Thomas’ Youth Services Officer. “In the coming weeks, youth services officers and student outreach workers will be contacting local employers to make them aware that our SCCY is now open and ready to assist them in any way it can.”

“We encourage students to come in and register with Summer Jobs Services, have their résumé reviewed and look at job postings,” said Bianca McCallum, Student Outreach Worker. “There are lots of resources here for job seekers and we’re here to help!”

This year, employers interested in using our services and youth looking for summer employment can visit the St. Thomas SCCY and the Youth Employment Counselling Centre at the St. Thomas Student Employment Office in person between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, at 745 Talbot Street. They can also call the office at 519-631-8820 or send a fax to 519-631-8389. Job postings are available online at www.jobbank.gc.ca under “Student Job Search,” “Ontario,” “London and Area” or at www.jobselgin.ca.

For more information on Service Canada services for youth, call 1 800 O-Canada or visit servicecanada.gc.ca.

For more information on Ontario’s employment and training network, contact Employment Ontario at 1-800-387-5656 or visit www.ontario.ca/employmentontario.