According to Statistics Canada, 55.2% of students work in the summer to pay for their studies. A summer job is not necessarily synonymous with a minimum wage. Some avenues to find a seasonal job with a good salary.
A high rate of summer employment
At the Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi de l’Outaouais (CJEO), the first of 110 Carrefours launched in Quebec, the second wave of hirings for summer jobs has begun.
For those aged 16-35 years old, 300 regional employers offer positions that mainly last 8 to 12 weeks, at $15-16 per hour. “As motivation, the salary is sometimes achieved after some initial professional experience, but the remuneration is still more interesting than the minimum wage of $12 per hour,” notes Véronique Bernier, project and communications coordinator at CJEO.
According to her colleague Julie Lachance, employment counsellor at the CJEO, “employers are currently struggling to fill 400 positions in restaurant and customer service, created by the recent opening of branches.” According to the Association des restaurateurs du Québec, once tips are included, a waiter can earn $25 to $29 per hour.
Federal jobs
The Summer Jobs Canada initiative makes 6 to 16 week long jobs available to students aged 15 to 30 years, linked to their studies, in around 8,000 subsidized businesses. Organizations that offer a salary higher than the minimum wage and that pay job-related social security benefits are favoured.
In addition, the Federal Student Work Experience Program offers many jobs within the public service, in administration, communications, IT and agriculture, in particular. For example, a data collection field assistant for Parks Canada earns between $19 and $26 per hour.
As for opportunities in the provincial public service, the Emploi-Quebec online placement service offers various positions paying $14 to $24, depending on the level of postsecondary studies.
Banking on summer jobs
In addition to the many positions in the tourist industry, there are several outdoor jobs to be considered. According to Tourisme Québec, a tour guide earns between $15 and $25 per hour. In a rather unusual way, the Réseau d’entreprises saisonnières du Mont Sutton has for three years offered around forty summer jobs in the region’s campsites, day camps, vineyards, golf courses and nurseries.
As an example, a pool and beach lifeguard is paid between $15 and $25 per hour, and a municipal cemetery maintenance worker can earn an hourly wage of $17.