Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Human Resources today. He spoke today about our positions in getting students jobs. Obviously, it’s a priority of mine. I’ve had questions before in the House. Obviously, the Minister’s statement says we’re going to have the students research GNWT departments and agencies to find units related to their field.
The first question I have is: Is the department going to be proactive and go to the students and make contact? From what we know, they now have the ability to make contact with them. Are they going to contact the students and tell them the positions they have vacant and the positions that are coming up?
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard. Minister of Human Resources, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The department had an initial open house in December when the students were back. We let the departments know that they were to post any of the positions that they had that would be available for students, and the students would do a little bit of work getting on to the website and finding jobs that match their field of study. That’s how we’re hoping to match them, not only here in YK but throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, maybe I’m oversimplifying it. It seems like we have a set amount of students. I would say we have maybe 1,000 students. Are we not able to contact those students and tell them that these are the positions we have available, we’re interested in you coming back and doing an internship, so that they’re not looking for jobs in the South and they’re not looking to go anywhere else except come home to the Northwest Territories? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Last year, just on the campaign that we’ve always launched with departments, we had 598 applicants and we were able to hire 312 students for summer work. This year we’re hoping to widen that and increase that number. We’re hoping that more people can apply and that the departments are looking to place the students.
Right now it’s contingent upon how much money each department has to allocate to the Summer Student Program. Based on that, we target at least 300. If possible, if departments are able to do more, we will do more. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I’m not looking for the summer students, I’m looking for students who are in their third and fourth year, so they have an opportunity to come back. We have a goal to have 2,000 more people come to the Northwest Territories, and I think getting our students back to the Northwest Territories is key.
Is the department willing to go and talk to those students and tell them we have certain jobs, we have some internship jobs for you, so that they’re not looking to go? I’m not looking for summer jobs where we just say, well, you just apply. I want to know that we’re getting our students who have a degree, who have business certificates, who have trade entrance-type stuff coming back to the Northwest Territories.
Yes, that’s a good point. I was answering the summer students, but in general, we are going to target the third and fourth year students that are finishing their studies. Part of the plan is to recruit those students back to the territory as part of the overall plan to bring more people to the territory. Bringing our own people back, ensuring that our own people come back to work in the Northwest Territories is part of our plan.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Bouchard.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know I’ve stated in this House before that that’s how I came back to the Northwest Territories after my degree. I had a job coming back.
Are we doing that type of internship where you actually have an employee who is basically finishing up their degree and coming back to the Northwest Territories?
In addition to the internship that we have, the plan is to certainly connect with the people who are university students or college students who are graduating, other students who are in post-secondary who are finishing up their post-secondary education to come back and work for the NWT. I can ensure that the deputy minister of Human Resources is in touch with other deputy ministers from all of the departments to see what jobs are available that would match with students who are currently finishing up their post-secondary studies.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
