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Few additional hires for GNWT's summer student program, minister confirms

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Hiring capacity of the GNWT's Student Summer Employment Program would not be increased this summer, said Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek on Wednesday. screengrab image

The GNWT's Summer Student Employment program will provide work for less than one-third of the students hired last year, Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek confirmed last week.

That program normally runs from April 15-Aug. 30, and last year it resulted in 351 students being hired. But, as a result of the the Covid-19 pandemic, the GNWT has drastically scaled back the program, with only 93 students currently employed by the GNWT and an additional 25 job offers pending, said Todd Sasaki, spokesperson for the Department of Finance. Eighteen students are expected to work in the health-care sector. Hiring for on-site roles, such as field technicians and labourers, was greatly decreased. More students might be hired for the program on a case-by-case basis.

RELATED REPORTING: GNWT summer student hires slashed amid pandemic

The students will work in administrative roles, data entry, communications, policy research and other tasks that can be done remotely.

Frieda Martselos, MLA for Thebacha, asked Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek what options the GNWT has for students seeking employment through government channels this summer. NNSL file photo

Thebacha MLA Frieda Martselos asked in the Legislative Assembly whether the hiring situation would change as the NWT enters the second phase of the Emerging Wisely Covid lockdown recovery plan in the summer.

RELATED REPORTING: Phase Two of Covid-19 recovery expected within weeks: chief public health officer

Wawzonek responded that it wasn't the right time to hire more students when "our own employees are struggling to adapt to the current conditions and now are having to be asked to slowly return to their workplaces."

"It’s not just about supporting them financially. (It’s also about) giving them a meaningful and positive experience. For now the priority has to be on the safety and well-being of staff and the people we serve," the minister said.

Wawzonek pointed out that even though the formal summer program won't hire more students, the Department of Finance was receptive to other government departments, boards or agencies that might want to hire them.

"If there is a match then students can still be hired. There is also the casual pool (that students can apply to)," she said.

Martselos said that a positive message is important for NWT students, and asked what the Department of Human Resources would say to students who have missed out on summer job opportunities with the government.

Wawzonek said there should be a positive message despite the pandemic situation but acknowledged that it is a "unique and unprecedented challenge."

She reiterated that casual positions are an option and added that the GNWT "has strong programs in place to hire students when they do return back to the NWT after their schooling."

"The federal government (also) has a program in place to encourage students to go out and firstly to have private hiring with companies and do works and public works and volunteer services," Wawzonek said. "I encourage students to look into that.

"The last option, go out and build your resume in a way that maybe doesn't involve formal employment. There are a lot of people out there who need help right now, I know that’s not the kind of funding students want to get. But it’s just not the right time for human resources to be rolling out those programs," she said.

NNSL Media asked the GNWT for more details on those programs and job options and is awaiting a response.

Martselos' final question on the issue was whether the GNWT would make a contingency plan for the future that is more mindful of summer student employment.

The finance minister responded that the Department of Human Resources would examine all of its programs to see how they were supporting employees, but said that it was "beyond simply looking at students but looking at the way in which Human Resources is responding to the pandemic... in order to be even better prepared for whatever emergencies we face going forward."

Phase two of Emerging Wisely theoretically allows a wider range of work roles to be done since it permits outdoor gatherings of up to 50 people, some types of indoor day functions and some businesses like dine-in restaurants and theatres to open with limited capacity.

Office environments where up to 25 people are present on the same floor would also be permitted to open in the second phase, which might happen in mid-to-late-June.