Even though the summer job season is brief, Camryn Turton was never short on things to do while working for the Manitoba Youth Job Centre (MYJC).
As the MYJC’s youth engagement leader for the Thompson region, Turton was tasked with canvassing local institutions like R.D. Parker Collegiate, different elementary schools and the Boys & Girls Club in order to highlight the different kinds of jobs that were available for the summer.
“With Thompson, right now, there’s always the struggle or the concern that people have about Vale shutting down,” she said. “But there’s still plenty of entry-level jobs, or lots of summer student positions.“
Back in the spring of this year, Turton became the latest hire by the MJYC., which has been running a summer jobs program in Thompson since 1976.
Having received her first paid work through MYJC in Grade 8, Turton used her knowledge of the local job scene to help guide these students and facilitate around 20−25 local placements as of mid-August.
“This summer, I worked with a really large variety of employers, ranging from construction to retail to food services,” she said. “And I think working with such a variety of employers gave me a really good opportunity to learn what the employers value and the work ethic they expect.”
After all, Turton isn’t too far removed from her clients in terms of education, having graduated with honours from RDPC back in 2017 and is heading into her second year of studying kinesiology at the University of Manitoba.
Even though this field of study doesn’t closely overlap with her role at MYJC, Turton said that her pre-existing relationships with Thompson teachers and students definitely helped her overcome that potential hurdle.
“Lots of the people that I was talking to were familiar faces and from their side of it I’m a familiar face too … so I think they felt comfortable coming up and talking to me, asking me questions.”
However, Turton also had to contend with being the only MYJC youth engagement leader working north of Flin Flon, which means that she was forced to cover a lot of ground by herself.
Outside of Thompson, she was also responsible for engaging with youth in Gillam, Ilford, Lynn Lake, Lac Brochet, York Landing, Wabowden, Nelson House, Norway House and Split Lake.
“By covering such a large area of Manitoba, I was always presented with new opportunities that kept my summer interesting, but some of those [tasks] were definitely challenging,” she said.
While Turton isn’t sure if she’s going to take on the same position with MYJC next summer, she did have some parting words of wisdom for prospective student employees who might be self-conscious about their lack of job experience.
On top of advising that these youth start applying for summer employment as early as May-June, she also said that one’s attitude towards the job hunt can make all the difference.
“I would say it’s all about confidence, either through confidence in writing resumes, confidence in the job interview or even your first week [on the job],” she said “As you work more, and as you go through those experiences, you become even more comfortable in the situations, how to handle yourself and every time it becomes better.”
Thompson’s MYJC office will be closing Aug. 16, and is set to open back up in May 2019.
For more information about the MYJC’s services in general, please visit their website.
