If you’re 14 and up Ontario Parks may have a summer job for you

By Lincoln DePradine

David Piccini

The provincial government is embarking on an “aggressive’’ outreach to hire young people for jobs opening up soon with Ontario Parks.

“I’m here to tell you that we’ve got an opportunity for youth across the Province of Ontario this summer,’’ MPP David Piccini, Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, told The Caribbean Camera.

“We want people from all different backgrounds, all different walks of life, working at Ontario Parks. We just want to get youth employed and give them a great job opportunity.’’

The chance of a parks’ job, according to the government, “supports efforts to protect the environment, provide sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities and educate visitors about Ontario’s natural and cultural heritage’’. It’s being provided as part of Ontario’s annual Summer Employment Opportunities Program.

Among hundreds of Ontario parks are some such as Algonquin Park – the oldest provincial park in Canada that is about a three-hour drive north of Toronto – and others as far away on the shores of Lake Superior, including Sleeping Giant Park.

“It’s a great paid position to work in one of these parks. This is exciting,’’ said Piccini, who explained that applications are open to anyone over the age of 14.

Payment is above minimum wage, Piccini said, and prior work experience is not necessarily needed.

“We’re really doing an aggressive pitch for students this summer because we’ve got over 1600 jobs we have to fill. If you like to learn, if you like the environment, if you like community, and you want to keep people happy and healthy, we’ve got a job for you,’’ the minister said.

“They’re going to be dealing with people. In many cases, these are the first faces visitors see. They’re literally storytellers of parks,’’ he added. “There is no specific background we’re looking for, other than someone who wants to have have fun, who wants to get outdoors and who wants to work in our many parks.’’

For most of the jobs, students will attend the park by day and return home at night. More than 40 jobs, however, offer housing options so that youth from the Greater Toronto Area, said Piccini, “if they want to get up north and spend a couple months, they can live, work and play and stay up in the north’’.

Successful candidates will begin their employment in May. For many, such as high school students, they’ll join the Summer Employment Opportunities Program in July. The program closes in September.

“It’s a great paid position to work in one of these parks and also to have a great summer. Nature is the world’s biggest classroom,’’ Piccini said.

Interested applicants are being invited to visit the web at https://www.ontarioparks.com/careers, and explore “careers at Ontario Parks’’.

 

LJI Reporter