By Jennifer Ross
Students looking for summer jobs won’t have to search too long thanks to a booming tourism industry and improved job-hunting services for students, says a federal employment officer.
“The job market in Ottawa for students is pretty hot right now,” says Marie-Claude Ruest, the lead student employment officer at the Human Resources Centre Canada for Students on Laurier Street West.
The centre offers free Internet access, phone, fax and photocopy services as well as counsellors to help high school and post-secondary students improve their resumés and learn about workplace safety issues.
The number of job postings at the centre has skyrocketed since it started operating year-round three years ago with only 254 listings. Last month, there were 1,561 job postings which was more than double the number of postings it had a year before.
Most of the jobs available for students are in the booming tourism and service industries at retailers and restaurants. But the fact that they tend to pay an average of only $8.50 per hour deters some students from applying, says Ruest.
For some graduate and upper-year university students, the jobs posted at the centre are disappointing because they don’t pay well and won’t lead to a career, says Ruest.
“The low paying jobs are a concern among older students. The older the student, the harder it is for us to help them find something suitable at the centre,” says Ruest.
Jennifer Davies, an environmental science graduate from the University of Western Ontario, has come to the centre every day for the past 10 months and still hasn’t found a high-paying job.
“There’s been a big boom in low paying jobs so that’s a drag. I have my choice of low paying waitressing jobs or nothing,” says Davies.
Increasing tourism is bittersweet news for some local businesses. While they are excited about the upcoming summer profits, they are also desperate to attract enough student workers to their low paying jobs.
“One of the challenges for us is finding and retaining strong candidates because they are in high demand,” says Natalie Wright, a spokesperson for the National Capital Commission, which hires students for the Capital Infocentre.
The tourism industry generates about $1 billion in Ottawa each year. About six million people visit the city annually, pouring money into the economy, especially during the summer, according to the Ottawa Economic Development Corporation.
This should translate into more summer jobs for students, says Wright, if only she could fill them. “There has been a general decline in the number of applicants over the years,” he says.
But the hot job market has made some younger students looking for work in Centretown optimistic about their summer employment prospects.
“It’s quite easy to get a summer job here,” says 21-year-old Arden DeMarsh. “I dropped off resumés one day and I was offered a job that day and got an interview at another place too.”