SUMMER EMPLOYMENT FOR STUDENTS

Released on June 11, 2001

Three students at Gabriel Dumont Institute are gaining valuable experience

and earning a good wage as they start work under the provincial Centennial

Summer Student Employment Program (CSSE).



The program will help over 200 students at all Saskatchewan post-secondary

institutions connect to the future, including 22 students at Aboriginal

institutions. The provincial government will subsidize the wages by 75 per

cent to a maximum of $4,000 per job.



Post-Secondary Education and Skills Training Minister Glenn Hagel met

participating students today and congratulated them.



"The experience and skills young people gain will be valuable in securing

full-time careers when they graduate," Hagel said. "Post-secondary

institutions also benefit directly because they are getting important

research and other work done which would not have happened without this

program."



This year the CSSE Program will help 1,500 Saskatchewan students prepare

for their future through work experience projects in their field of study.

Student opportunities are available within post-secondary institutions,

urban and regional parks, community-based organizations and the public

service.



"This program offers a wide variety of positions, and shows our youth that

they can have exciting career opportunities and futures right here in

Saskatchewan," Culture, Youth and Recreation Minister Joanne Crofford

said. Culture, Youth and Recreation administers the program.



Employment income was identified as their top priority by Saskatchewan

students in the 1997 Student Task Group Report and was frequently raised

during the public consultations on improving financial access to higher

education held last year. Hagel also encouraged participation by

Aboriginal youth, noting that the province has a natural, competitive

advantage in our young, growing Aboriginal population that can help meet

our changing labour market needs.



"The Gabriel Dumont Institute is thrilled to have the opportunity to

support and benefit from the Centennial Summer Student Program," Executive

Director of the Gabriel Dumont Institute Calvin Racette said. "The

students will be experiencing many different avenues of learning and this

project provides another means for our young people to play a leadership

role in community-based projects."



The CSSE Program, along with previously existing government programs, will

offer over 10,000 summer jobs over the next five years.



More information on participating post-secondary institutions is available

on the government web site at http://www.gov.sk.ca/psc/student/.



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For more information, contact:



Brent Brownlee

Post-Secondary Education and Skills Training

Regina

Phone: (306) 787-7027