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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Computers, fax machines, phones, help writing resumes and help connecting employees to employers are all being offered to youth on the first floor of the Greenstone building.

From left, Service Canada employees Tanis Baile, Joe Kronstal and Tammie Shaben celebrated the 40th anniversary of the federal summer student employment service with a cake outside the Greenstone building last year. - photo courtesy of Tanis Baile

The Service Canada Centre for Youth officially opened on Monday, and, while still getting set up, it offers help to those students stuck without a job.

"We're still trying to get everything organized since we just opened up, said Tanis Baile, program co-ordinator for Service Canada.

Baile said a busy month has delayed the program going into full swing.

"We do have computers already set up in our office, just the regular Service Canada computers, and (students) can always come and use the phone and fax," said Baile.

"There will be eventually ones specifically for students."

Baile said she does not expect the economic downturn to affect the number of jobs available to students as compared to previous years, although on Tuesday no employers had signed on to the program. Baile said this is because the program had only been open for a couple of days.

Other services offered are: help preparing for interviews, information on government programs, post-secondary education funding, employment standards, and the program at the federal level manages the job bank website, which also offers resources.

Many jobs are offered to students in the summer through the GNWT, as well as through the city of Yellowknife.

But Marie Couturier, human resources manager at the city, said all the city's summer student positions have been filled already.

"Kids usually come back at the end of April and we try to fill them from May 1 to the end of August," said Couturier.

"We generally hire people to work in parks, we hire a few of them in public works and we hire students to take care of the daycare program for July and August."

Couturier said the job market at the city has not been affected by the economy - it had at least the same amount of positions as it has had in previous years.

"I thought we might have had a couple of extra (positions) this year to work in the parks area."

Despite these indicators, a popular website funded by the GNWT - called Jobs North - has 21,667 registered job seekers and only 123 listed available jobs. Not only Northerners register themselves on this website, however.