More than 3,000 student jobs have been funded by the Alberta government through the Summer Temporary Employment Program (STEP), a program which provides subsidies to employers who hire students.
The program, which was axed in 2013 by the former Progressive Conservative government, was reinstated last year at a price tag of $10 million.
“Our government recognizes the importance of youth employment in a challenging economy,” said Labour Minister Christina Gray in an email to the Airdrie City View. “We reinstated (STEP) to help open doors for students to gain the valuable skills and on-the-job experience they need to get good jobs here in Alberta.”
The Airdrie Public Library (APL) is among local organizations utilizing the $7-per-hour wage subsidy this year. Lori Miller, department head of customer service at the APL, said the program subsidized a summer student who will do an inventory of the approximately 80,000 items at the APL.
“It helps us, because a lot of stuff we don’t have time for. We can dedicate a person to doing that,” she said. “We like the students because they are young, they bring in a different take on things. The present student is going to be a really good fit here.”
Alyssa Brown, who is studying library information technology at SAIT, said her four-month job at APL will help her develop skills for future employment.
“It’s been great. Everyone here is really nice,” she said. “Eventually, I’d like to work in a public library or a school library program.”
Brown will also help with APL’s Summer Reading Program, a free program designed to keep kids reading throughout the summer months.
“It’s going to be super fun,” Brown said. “They’re doing a space day, and that’s going to be (great). I really love space and kids.”
More than 1,100 employer applications were approved from more than 2,600 applications, according to a press release. Small businesses, municipalities, not-for-profit groups and post-secondary institutions were all eligible for the subsidy.
“STEP proved to be a popular program and has been extremely well-received by employers across the province,” Gray said. “Unfortunately, we received more applications than we could approve with the $10 million allocation. We are extremely pleased with the uptake and will be reviewing this program to look for opportunities in the future.”
