Getting ready for summer in the city
STEP PROGRAM WILL ONCE AGAIN HELP STUDENTS FIND SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
Just like that, we are at the end of May. If you are a gardener, you likely have your plants in the ground by now. If you are a camper, you have booked your spots. Kids are getting antsy about being indoors during the day, and the college and university students are starting their summer jobs. The lilacs are in full bloom, making flower lovers happy and allergy sufferers uncomfortable.
I love Lethbridge yearround, of course, but spring and summer are when I feel most fortunate to live in this amazing corner of Alberta. It is so beautiful here, and there are so many things to do.
Great news from the Galt Museum — Fort Whoop-Up is open for the 2017 summer season! Take a wagon ride, catch an interpretive tour, and learn the story of this area and the people who lived here. They are open seven days a week until Labour Day. While you’re down in the coulee-bottom, you can check out what is happening at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. Their current exhibit is “100 Reasons to Go Outside.” I don’t know if it’s on the list, but two great reasons to go outside are to check out Fort Whoop-Up and the Nature Centre.
For nearly 3,000 Alberta students, summer means gaining work experience through the Summer Temporary Employment Program (STEP). Roughly 1,000 Alberta employers (some of whom are in Lethbridge) are receiving a subsidy to hire high school and postsecondary students to fill their summer needs. Students get a job, experience, and connections with employers. Employers get to expand their staff, do their summer projects, and make connections with the emerging workforce. STEP is a win-win program, which is why our government restored it in 2015 after the previous government had cut it.
Another way we are helping Albertans get to work is by investing in Integrated Training, which provides skills as well as work-experience placements. Eleven new programs across the province will help around 1,000 unemployed or underemployed people learn skills that will get them back into the workplace. A strong and diversified economy needs a strong and diversified workforce. These training programs will help us accomplish that. In Lethbridge, you can contact Teamwork Training or Training Inc. to learn more.
As our economy rebounds, we want to ensure that the benefits are available to everybody. The Alberta government’s investment in the Trade Winds to Success program, to help indigenous people prepare for careers in the construction trades, helps us do that. This groundbreaking pre-apprenticeship program includes classroom and handson instruction, and is partnered with trades and indigenous organizations around the province. Our economy is recovering, and forecast to grow in 2017; investing in our indigenous workforce will help us build a healthy middle class for all Albertans.
At the very foundation for learning, however, is literacy. One in five Albertans has low literacy skills, which affects their ability to work, to access programs and services, and to participate fully in society.
Adult Learning Programs, like those run through the Lethbridge Public Library, do incredible work helping people improve their essential skills. In order to increase access to programs like this, the Alberta government has just announced a funding boost for Community Adult Learning Programs. Together we can help adults get the skills they need to succeed in our modern economy.
On another note, I am thrilled to tell you about two incredible Lethbridge residents who have been honoured for their accomplishments. Jordyn White Quills, age 9, won a 2017 Great Kids Award. Despite her own challenging life circumstances, she fights against discrimination and bullying, and she has helped her fellow students develop their own resilience. Congratulations, Ms. White Quills.
Dr. Gary Bowie, legendary in Lethbridge for his commitment to athletics, is among the newest members of the Alberta Order of Excellence. This is the province’ highest honour, recognizing remarkable leadership and community-building. Dr. Bowie, member of the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame, Lethbridge Sport Council, and instrumental in many of the great sports facilities we enjoy in Lethbridge, is certainly a remarkable Albertan. He joins Dr. Leeroy Little Bear (invested in 2016), in the Order of Excellence. Congratulations, Dr. Bowie.
I hope you are having a great spring! If there anything I or my staff can help you with, please feel free to email us at Lethbridge.west@assembly.ab.ca, call us at 403-329-4644, or stop by the office at 402 8 St. S.