Yellowknife (July 30/04) - Even in a growing market like Yellowknife, students need help finding a good summer job.

While time-tested pavement pounding still works, there are programs in place at all levels to help people find employment.

The NWT Hire-A-Student centre offers resources to create resumes and find jobs. It is partnered with the Youth Employment Strategy of the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development.

The program has been in place for around 35 years, says coordinator Lindsay Beck. The centre has been busy this year, but mostly in May when university students return to Yellowknife.

"It's slowed down a lot since then," said Beck.

The best jobs fill up early, but Beck said students are still visiting the centre, where jobs are posted and computers are available for online searches.

The centre also operates an odd-job squad -- a crew of students available for casual work. Around 60 students are currently involved.

The split between university and high school students using Hire-A-Student is about 50/50, said Beck, although kids as young as 13 come through her door. "I usually have to tell them to go to McDonald's," she said.

The GNWT, through its Student Employment Program, runs the Northwise Web site.

The site was introduced in 2000, and allows the GNWT to recruit people for its summer student positions. The Web site is also open to private businesses, and employers can view the postings of applicants on the site.

At the beginning of May, 1,400 students had registered with Northwise, according to summer student employment officer Shayne Desjarlais.

Northwise now has around 970 registrants, but Desjarlais doesn't think it is an accurate reflection of employment. Many students may have found jobs and not removed themselves from the site, or may have left town, he said.

The GNWT has filled 281 summer student positions, said Desjarlais. A few remain open.

There is considerable diversity among summer positions through the GNWT. Some students do general clerical work, while some work with Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development's rapid-attack crews.

Two students work at the North Slave Correctional Facility.

"It's not always possible to place students in their field," said Desjarlais.

"We've seen a lot of them come in this year."

Desjarlais added that the Northwise Web site will be updated and expanded in November. It serves both high school and post-secondary students.

"It will be way more functional after the upgrade," he said.

Francophones from across the country who want to work in the NWT have Andre Routhier to help them.

Routhier is the director of NWT branch of the Economic Development and Employability Network (RDEE), a nationwide organization that supports the creation of francophone business ventures and long-term employment.

The NWT branch of the network helps francophones new to the territory adjust to life here. It provides them with background on the area, and on the economy, housing and job markets. Staff also provide newcomers with translation services.

The francophone job network is not an employment agency in the sense that it finds jobs for applicants, but Routhier says that employers do contact him when they are seeking a French-speaking employee.

Such inquiries often come from the tourism industry.

Routhier suspects there is an "increased awareness" of the NWT among young French Canadians as a result, "mostly due to self-generated publicity and heightened national awareness.

"I would say there are more inquiries coming in (from French Canadians outside the territory) about the job market in the territory," he said.

Between March, 2003, and March, 2004, the NWT network received "well over 100" inquiries about moving to the NWT, said Routhier. Between March and July of this year, he said they have dealt with more than 75.

Most inquiries come from students, said Routhier, but older people with technical skills call as well.

The Yellowknife employment rate for 2003 was 81.9 per cent, according to the GNWT's Bureau of Statistics. The rate rises to 93 per cent for workers with university educations.