Students Applaud Investments Aimed at Promoting Diverse Students in the Workforce

August 13, 2019

For Immediate Release

Halifax, NS – Today, Students Nova Scotia (StudentsNS) is pleased to see government invest in student employment opportunities through the creation of diversity bonuses for the Co-op Education Incentive and Student Summer Skills Incentive.

The Co-Op Education Incentive and Student Summer Skills Incentive offer wage subsidies to employers who provide work experiences for university and NSCC students. Through diversity bonuses, employers who hire a student from a designated diversity group will receive an additional $1.50/hr for Co-op hires and $1/hr for the Student Summer Skills hires.

“Co-op and summer work programs are excellent ways for students to gain relevant work experience during their studies” says Mary Navas, Chair of StudentsNS. “This incentive demonstrates government’s desire to diversify Nova Scotia workplaces and help all students access career-related employment, enhancing the quality of their post-secondary experience”.

Both students and Co-op offices on campus reinforce that many students who participate in Co-op receive job offers upon graduating. These conversations also revealed that international students and students from diverse backgrounds face increased difficulty securing interviews and positions. StudentsNS was proud to bring forward these concerns during our Advocacy Week last November, proposing the creation of diversity bonuses to help bridge this gap. 

“Work-integrated learning is a crucial way to build employment pathways post-graduation, which is front of mind for many students studying in Nova Scotia” says StudentsNS Vice Chair, Mackenzie Jarvin. “We hope this incentive encourages employers to hire diverse students, helping international students and others to remain in-province post-graduation”

StudentsNS believes all students deserve quality work experience during their studies, and are pleased to see this is a shared priority for the Province of Nova Scotia.

StudentsNS represents 20,000 undergraduate, graduate, and college students across Nova Scotia and advocated for the creation of diversity bonuses last fall.

For more information, contact:

Clancy McDaniel, Executive Director

director@studentsns.ca

(902) 476-2367