Service Canada Centres for Youth posted more than 11,000 jobs last spring and summer

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Thanks to its outreach programs, the Service Canada Centres for Youth are gaining a higher profile in the community -- to the benefit of young job-seekers and employers alike.

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Greg Agnew/Times & Transcript

Stephanie Leger, community services with the Service Canada Centre for Youth, and her staff are ready for the influx of young people looking for summer jobs.

SCCYs act as the bridge between young people looking for work and employers looking for temporary help during the summer months. Many employers say young people who are looking for a job should most definitely turn to their local SCCY office -- and there can be no better endorsement than that.

"We've probably used it about a half-dozen times," says Mike McClure of Akita Basement Systems.

McClure gives the service top marks.

"We're in a construction-related business. Our peak time when we need these extra hands is in the summer months, and I would hate to bring on a full-time man where in the fall I'd only have to say farewell," McClure says. Besides that, it's a great way for companies to help out students who most often are struggling to finance their educations.

"I do remember my own university days when we had to struggle for every dollar."

McClure seeks out engineering students from the Université de Moncton so that they can gain hands-on experience directly related to their training, but also because those students are nearby should one or two be needed for a day here or a day there during the off-peak season. Everybody wins, McClure says.

You don't have to be a student to take advantage of SCCY's services. If you are a young person looking for work, they can offer you job-searching tips, resume-building suggestions and even give you mock interviews which they will critique. They also have all their jobs posted on line at www.jobbank.gc.ca. Click on the words Student Job Search.

Randy Dinan was a first-year university student when he first walked into a SCCY office to deliver paperwork for his boss who had hired him through a SCCY job posting.

"I'd never even heard of the Service Canada Centre for Youth at the time," Dinan recalls. "I really wasn't even sure what it was."

Now, Dinan is the lead youth-services officer in charge of all southeastern N.B. centres for youth.

That's one of the key selling points of SCCYs: they are operated by young people, for young people, so it almost eliminates any intimidation someone might feel at a young age.

So many times, a young person feels they can't get a job because they don't have any experience.

Or they don't know how to properly compose a resume. Or they shake in their boots at the thought of having to go through an interview.

Dinan and the staff at SCCY will show you that no matter your background or experience, there is very likely a job for you just waiting to be filled.

"I've had employers call me and I've gone to get their job posting and we've posted it and then filled it that very afternoon," Dinan says.

The service is free, even for employers. And they emphasize "one-on-one service," where someone can sit down with you, get to know your skills and assets and help guide your way to a summer income.

New Brunswick Community College Student Josée Cormier has used the on line job bank two years in a row to land her summer job.

"There are really a lot of jobs on it," Cormier says.

"You only have to go on line and all the information is there, the educational requirements, if you need experience, how to apply and where to apply. It's not too complicated."

Greg Cormier (no relation to Josée) of Coastal Cottage Rentals needs a landscaper to help maintain his clients' properties and so he posted the position in the job bank. He, too, has praise for SCCY's services and the summer help they've guided towards his company.

In fact, he wishes they would open their offices earlier in the spring, so companies like his could hire help sooner, even before students get out of school for the summer.

"But I've used it a few times," Cormier says, "and it's a pretty good system. The people have many resources there."

SCCY offices opened for the season on Monday and are already busy. Last year, for example, they served more than 16,000 people directly, gave presentations on their services to more than 10,000 students and posted more than 11,000 jobs.

Employers and homeowners looking to hire someone, and young people seeking work, can dial 1-800-0-CANADA to reach any SCCY office in New Brunswick.

You can also drop in to their offices between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Their web site can be found at www.servicecanada.gc.ca.

You'll also find them in the community, at job fairs and various events, to be determined, where young people congregate.

Quick facts

Here’s how to reach the sccY offices in eastern new Brunswick:

Bathurst: 120 Harbourview Blvd. 548-7970

Caraquet: 20-e st. pierre Blvd. Ouest, Bellevue place 726-5211

Miramichi: 150 pleasant st. 627-2044

Moncton: 95 Foundry st., Heritage court, suite 310 851-7440

Richibucto: 25 cartier Blvd., Unit 139 523-4625

Sackville: 170 main st., Unit c1 364-5008

Shediac: 342 main st., centreville mall 533-5018

Shippagan: 196-A J-D Gauthier Blvd. 336-4929

Sussex: 10 Gateway st. 433-7703

Tracadie-Sheila: 3409-17 principale st. 393-3103