Students scramble, adapt to job market

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2020 (2007 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Post-secondary students in Brandon have had to adjust their summer plans due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Hailey Curtis was planning on working at COR Enterprises in Brandon this summer, but was told her job was no longer available due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Curtis, 20, graduated from Brandon University with a degree majoring in math. COR specializes in providing vocational training to developmentally challenged adults. Curtis was a daytime staff member there last summer and found the work rewarding.

Approximately three weeks ago, Curtis was contacted by her boss telling her that they wouldn’t be bringing on any summer staff.

“Now I’m scrambling to find a new job for the summer,” she said in a phone interview Friday.

“It was a really rewarding position and I really enjoyed it as a summer-specific thing. It sucks that (the clients) don’t have the program now either. They have to stay home now too.”

Curtis did apply for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, a fund set up by the federal government to provide relief to jobs affected by the pandemic. CERB provides $500 a week for up to 16 weeks, according to the government website. She qualified for the funds and is awaiting for the first payment to arrive. As of Friday, 7.5 million Canadians had received payment through the program.

However, many students do not qualify for CERB. For instance, Curtis’ sister Drew, a culinary arts student at Assiniboine Community College, did not qualify. Drew does a job working at Kuiper’s Family Bakery in Brandon, which is considered an essential service. Drew said she should have full-time employment working there this summer.

CERB is given to those who made more than $5,000 the previous year, who are at least 15 years old and have not quit their job voluntarily, among other requirements.

An online petition has been circulating called “#Don’tForgetStudents” with more than 41,000 signatures as of Friday afternoon.

“Many have expenses due now, and will have no source of income because of the crisis,” the petition reads.

“We implore the Government of Canada to provide income support to cover all students and recent graduates, regardless of prior work experience and income.”

The federal government did not respond to requests for comment regarding efforts being made to help students.

Brandon University has set up an emergency relief fund. Its website says more than $50,000 has been given out in grants to students affected by the pandemic. The university tweeted on Friday that nearly $15,000 had been donated to the fund in the past week.

The Brandon University Students’ Union, along with the Canadian Federation of Students, is calling on the feds to widen the net of those eligible for the CERB.

“From Brandon to Toronto, it’s hard for students to get jobs right now,” said vice-president internal Whitney Hodgins.

Prior to the pandemic, there were plenty of work-study applications approved, which would allow students to work during the summer, Hodgins said. She also mentioned the campus food bank is operating and is being well used.

Curtis is currently living on her own and with her savings and CERB coming soon, she should be able to get by financially for a while. For now, she is refreshing job sites every morning, looking for jobs. Curtis said there are landscaping and jobs working at grocery stores available.

Curtis did work as a groundskeeper at ACC’s North Hill campus a couple years ago. She reached out to her old supervisor there about potentially coming back, but they don’t know if they will get funding for that program, either.

“All of it is kind of at a standstill, so it’s kind of stressful,” Curtis said.

It is not doom and gloom for every student, however.

For David Naylor, who recently graduated from BU with a bachelor degree in music, he has lost some opportunities for income, but remains financially stable for now. Naylor specialized in classical piano performance and teaches piano through the Eckhardt-Grammatté Conservatory at the university. He has moved most of his classes to video chat.

Naylor said he has lost some students since restrictions have been place. The teaching job normally wraps up by the end of the May, however.

Naylor also works at the Gate Church Community in Brandon, which provides eight to 10 hours of work a week, and he said that hasn’t changed much. He is the music co-ordinator for Chez Angela downtown and performs gigs at weddings and with other groups, which have all been cancelled.

“Not only personally as a working musician have I lost some work, but as somebody who likes music, there isn’t a lot of live music to catch,” he said.

Naylor remains positive though, he said he planned to take it easier this summer anyways. Naylor plans to hone his craft and aims to get back things rolling again in the fall — pandemic permitting — including his end-of-year recital he planned with other musicians.

“I haven’t applied for anything, I’m fortunately in an OK situation,” he said.

“I worked during my degree so I’m doing pretty good financially.”

Kyle Booy, who just wrapped up his first year of education at BU, had his practicum cancelled as schools have all moved to online learning for the foreseeable future. The Winnipegger works at a rubber paving company, which does jobs all over Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Prairie Rubber Paving has done the BU Early Learning Centre as well as the civic centre in downtown Brandon, as well as other residential projects.

Booy said there might be a decline in residential jobs this season, as people are a bit tighter on money.

“Lots of jobs out there this summer, sounds like it still will be busy,” he said.

Booy expects there will be less travelling this summer. Prairie Rubber Paving is considered an essential service and there won’t be a ton of adaptations Booy will have to make this summer.

“I don’t see much changing, because our crews are the size of three people,” he said. “We’re below the restriction and for the most part we don’t stay that close to each other. I think we’ll be under the code and fine that way.”

» rstelter@brandonsun.com

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