a ie a ve eRe aes HIRE-A-STUDENT. WEEK was 9-18 will mark the retum of the . Student job office in the Terrace casual job creation com Canada Employment C proclaimed locally by alderman Danny Sheridan last week, and July petition between Terrace and Kitimat. The entre, staffed by Nicki Karlash (above) and — -. Ingrid Buhler is now taking job orders from employers and applications from students looking for ‘Student employment centre | gears up for the summer TERRACE— It’s the time of year when many high schoo! students Start thinking about finding work for the summer holidays, some wanting to earn pizza money and others looking at the balance sheet for university or college costs. It’s also the time when numerous small and large. projects get under way as the weather becomes fair. When job-seeking students and labor-seeking employers find one another, it can be a beautiful thing. The Hire-a-Student office in the local Canada Employment Center has established itself as the sea- sonal clearing house for matching students to employers over the past five years, and on May 22 it set up shop again for the summer. Nicki Karlash and Ingrid Buhler, both Caledonia high school grads, are this year’s coordinators, Last week they were busy setling up information centers in local schools and establishing registries for student job-hunters- and employers who need bodies. June 4-10 was official Hire-a-Student week, and the week of July 9-18 will once again see the tri-city job creation competition. Since: the federal government’s _ Challenge °90 program was suc- cessfully launched in 1985, most of the jobs subsidized through it and most of the jobs students get during the summer have been in the service sector, jobs that pay minimum wage and are generally unrelated to the students’ career interests. Karlash says the empha- sis will be different this year. They’re attempting to match stu- dents with jobs that reflect their career directions, and the coordinators are looking for more Jobs in the skilled trades and in- dusiry, "We're looking for more community involvement," Buhle says. This year’s Challenge 90 pro- gram will stress placement of high school students rather than univer- sity and college students. Buhler notes, “Most post-secondary stu- dents should have developed suffi- Cient skills to do it on their own." The Challenge ’90 program has changed this year, as a number of local organizations found when their applications for subsidized summer positions came back — there is less money for direct wage support. The federal government decided this year to plow more doilars into a national campaign to reduce the number of secondary school drop-outs, a program they have termed a National Stay-in- School Initiative. From a_ total budget of $296.4 million, the pro- gram is divided into three areas: *Programs and services — $166.3 million for cooperative education, work orientation workshops and counselling services. *Mobilizing Partners — $76.6 Million to seek a solution to the drop-out problem. The government Says it may create a national non- profit institution made up of repre- sentatives from business, educat- ion, labor and government to look for an answer. Supporting statistics note that if the drop-out trend from 1977 to 1985 continues, by 1992 40 percent of the students in Cana- dian schools will leave before finishing Grade 12. In B.C. that figure would be 57 percent, the highest rate in the 10 provinces. ‘Information — $53.3 for public awareness and programs to dis- courage youth from leaving school before graduation. Challenge ’90 is left with $140 million. Figures provided by Chris Jennings of the Terrace Canada Employment Center show that the seed budget for summer employ- ment and experience development for non-native clients is only 40 percent of last year’s budget and the budget for native clients is 54 percent of the 1989 figure. The student employment office is still offering the same services, however: free placement for stu- dents seeking work and employers seeking workers; students matched to job qualifications; counselling for students, including help in job search techniques and resume writing; and help to students who want to set up their own summer businesses. To contact the student employ- ment center, call 635-7134, [ pa a OR - PLEASE CALL DO Plastic Flowers for Weddings or other Special A variety of colours are available. Bag of 50 Flowers - $10 each Large Hearts - $30 each THE ACTIVITY CENTRE, |___TERRACEVIEW LODGE, 638-0223. . FOR SALE Occasions. NNA OR RUTH IN a by Betty Barton ee RAED fete bee Terrace was represented recently at Hong Kong’s Investment 790 Exposition. City of Terrace econ- omic development officer (EDO) Peter Monteith was one of twelve EDO’s from four regions of British Columbia attending the conference. Other countries represented were Australia, Fiji, Malaysia, Hungary, China and the U.S. > Business and Immigration Minis- ter Elwood Veitch explains the purpose of B.C.’s presence at the exposition: "The Asia Pacific _Tegion is an important business partner for us." With the British: colony of Hong Kong returning to China in 1997, many Hong Kong investors are actively pursuing _ investment opportunities abroad. - As part of a seminar on- B.C. business opportunities presented to the group in Hong Kong Deputy © Minister of Regional Development Bob Plecas and James Mullen, Minister of International Business Spoke generally about investment in the province of British Columb- ia. Peter Monteith was one of four EDO’s who gave a short introduc- tion to their regions. Monteith Says he zeroed in on the availability of @ transportation infrastructure, educational opportunities, health care and the heavy industrial base in the Pacific Northwest. He pointed out to participants at the exposition, "You're expdsed‘io our products every day — pulp, aluminum and gold (three of the biggest exports from Canada to Hong Kong)." A slide show itlus- trated urbanization in the north. Monteith said they were trying to dispel myths that everything in B.C. happens in Vancouver and that the north is an undeveloped wilderness. When land prices were brought up, one B.C, economic develop- ment officer gave the information based on price per acre. He was quickly advised that Hong Kong investors have no comprehension of buying an acre of land because they deal only in prices per square foot! 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At the present time, the Canadian Com- ' mission in Hong Kong is the busiést immigration office in the world. There are over 6,000 busi- hess immigration cases backlogged, _ with waits of up to three years to ~ come to Canada. With this know- ledge, the B.C. group changed their investment sales pitch at the trade show. "By. the time the investor gets here, the investment - could be long gone.” explained Monteith. Instead, the B.C. repre-..... - sentatives concentrated ‘on. longer term investment opportunities. © . Monteith noted that this exposi- tion was an experiment and another first for the City of Terr- ace, The province will re-evaluate the show to decide if it is sending over the right mix of "presenters" for the market, "I think it worked well. It was our first trip and a good learning experience, The EDO’s know what is out there and the provincial guys now know the investor programs. Now we’re also more familiar with the business etiquette of the Far East." Monteith explained that the middle managers of investors atiend the seminars. The actual investors are remaining anonymous until all the information is gathered. Monteith aiso explained that when presenting or receiving a business card, it is done with both hands. The receiver studies it: closely before putting it away. And it is improper to write on the card. Monteith expects future trips to be even more successful and pro-~ ductive "if we take our investment opportunities to investor agents located down south and also have ‘their agents come up here for tours. That way, we can establish contact here and then follow up with head offices in Hong Kong next time we go over."