by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WHITEWATER REGION (Cobden) — Karin Vlaming has no regrets participating for the first time in Canada Summer Jobs.
Ms. Vlaming is the customer service and sales representative for Gary & Rons Cabinets in Cobden, a business owned by her parents, Ron and Joanna Vlaming.
This federal program provides financial assistance for companies who are hiring summer students.
Ms. Vlaming received information in November about the program and decided to apply for the funding. She received notice in February that funding was approved to hire a student for eight weeks.
“It’s good to have extra help, especially in the summer,” she said. “We can catch up on jobs.
“It gives him a chance to learn what it’s like in the work world.”
The help provided by student Michael Zvinga has been much appreciated, she said.
This week, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant visited some of the businesses in Cobden who hired a summer student with financial assistance from the Canada Summer Jobs.
“I like to see the students are actively learning,” she said. “They are getting useful experience, whether it’s in the line of work they are going to do for the rest of their lives or not, it doesn’t matter.”
This program helps young people learn a good work ethic, MP Gallant said.
Canada Summer Jobs provides funding to help employers create summer job opportunities for students, the website said. It is designed to focus on local priorities, while helping both students and their communities. It provides funding to not-for-profit organizations, public-sector employers and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees to create summer job opportunities for young people aged 15 to 30 years who are full-time students intending to return to their studies in the next school year.
MP Gallant believes the program is successful, knowing some companies have hired the same student each year and sometimes, the student turns into a full-time employee.
There are currently 11 companies within Cobden that have hired a summer student because of this program, MP Gallant said. Those companies include Gary & Rons Cabinets, Logos Land, Cobden Auto Supply and the Pentecostal church.
While she is not able to visit each and every business, MP Gallant strives to get to a few in each of the communities of her riding of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke.
She stressed that what shouldn’t happen is a person is laid off so a company can get an employee at a subsidized rate. While it’s happened a few times, it’s something MP Gallant tries to ensure does not happen.
Michael will be returing to Opeongo High School for a fifth year, delaying entering the law program at Carleton University.
While at Gary & Rons Cabinets, Michael does a variety of jobs, including working on assembling cabinets, cutting grass and doing a few odd jobs here and there.
“We keep him busy,” Ms. Vlaming said. “We’ve given him more and more responsibility.”
Michael said one of the positives about working at Gary & Rons is the positive atmosphere.
“It’s not gloomy,” he said.
Ms. Vlaming is grateful for the opportunity to provide summer employment for a student.
“It’s a good program,” she said. “We don’t have enough money to hire a summer student. This helps us to help a student find employment for the summer months.”
