John Dutton (right), owner of Nelson Whitewater Rafting Co., was able to hire student Cathy MacNilage (left) thanks to the Trust’s Summer Works program.
Popular Summer Works program opens February 15
(Columbia Basin) – If you own a small business, you can get financial help to hire a student over the summer through Columbia Basin Trust’s Summer Works program.
Administered by College of the Rockies, the program helps small businesses in the Trust region hire high school and post-secondary students for summer jobs. It offers a wage subsidy of $7/hour for entry-level jobs and $8/hour for career-related jobs.
There is a new online application process to apply to Summer Works this year. The program will start accepting applications on a first-received, first-served basis on February 16, 2017, at noon PT/1 p.m. MT. Learn more at ourtrust.org/summerworks, email summerworks@ourtrust.org or call 1.877.489.2687, ext. 3644.
“For seven years, we’ve helped small businesses hire summer students, enabling owners to accomplish additional duties and grow their business, and helping students to gain new skills,” said Lisa Kilpatrick, Senior Manager, Delivery of Benefits, Columbia Basin Trust. “We’re pleased we can again support local businesses in this way—plus are making it even more efficient to apply through a new online system.”
The Nelson Whitewater Rafting Co. was one of the businesses that benefited from the program last summer.
“Hiring a summer student works very well for my business and fits perfectly with the seasonal nature of a whitewater rafting and paddleboard/kayak rental business,” said owner John Dutton. “Having a summer student who could work regular hours at the rafting and rentals office gave me more time to work on the business from a broader perspective than I had in the past, and this helped my company have it’s best season ever.”
Student Cathy MacNilage said, “Working at Nelson Whitewater Rafting has taught me how to become an effective customer service representative and problem solve on the spot. Communication and organization are two components that are essential in succeeding in a career. Therefore, I am grateful for the time I spent with this company as the skills I learned and developed are useful and will continue to be helpful in the future.”
Cranbrook’s Delamont Jewellers also benefited from the program.
“Having a student on our team helped bring new ideas, an energetic attitude and a positive perspective,” said owner Gord Delamont. ”A summer student allowed our business to focus on customer satisfaction due to the fact that they were always helping. We were able to achieve reliable, effective and quick customer services in ways that we could not perform on our own.”
Economic development is a high priority across the Basin. It’s one of our 13 strategic priorities. Enhancing employment opportunities and supporting the business community are at the core of our work in economic development. View our economic development strategic framework at ourtrust.org/economic.
