Calling Southland employers to join Summer of Work 2022

Calling Southland employers to join Summer of Work 2022

After its inaugural success, Summer of Work is returning for 2022 and Great South are on the hunt for employers to join and connect with their summer workforce.


Summer of Work is an initiative aimed at connecting Southland students with employers who have summer employment opportunities. Led by Great South’s Southland Youth Futures, the initiative aims to address labour market shortages across the region and provide Southland youth with the valuable skills and experience needed to help progress their career aspirations.

Great South Southland Youth Futures Team Manager Renata Gill said last year the initiative helped over 50 students to find summer work.

“Connecting over 50 students with summer work across the region was a fantastic achievement and we can’t wait to build on this by giving more local employers the ability to connect directly with their future workforce,”

Given Summer for Work had to be held all online last year due to Covid level restrictions, Gill is thrilled to announce that this year, an in-person job fair will be held in-person on Tuesday 20 September. The job fair will give registered employers the opportunity to speak with engaged students who are considering applying for work with their business.

“While the event was a success online, it is fantastic that this year we can have a fair in-person so that employers and students can meet and learn more about each other and the opportunities available. This gives students more knowledge about who they are applying to work for and gives employers an ability to ‘pre-screen.”

Being involved with Summer for Work was extremely beneficial for Niagara Sawmilling Limited who employed 17 students through the initiative.

KGR Group Recruitment Coordinator, Jemma Cournane (who helps recruit for Niagara Sawmilling Limited) said that Summer of Work was an awesome adventure to be involved with.

“We were able to give a number of students employment across the business for their holidays…this gave the students an introduction to the workforce and provided extra resource to our business over peak production periods.”

Several of the students returned for further school holiday work and a standout student was offered an apprenticeship once he has finished school.

“The students were a great resource to our environment and the teams enjoyed their enthusiasm, interest, and commitment. We look forward to the future evolution of in Summer of Work and being involved again for summer 2022 / 2023!”

Gill encouraged local businesses to get involved with Summer of Work 2022 so that they too can benefit from some extra resource and enthusiasm over the summer period.

“We would love to hear from local employers who are interested in promoting their summer holiday jobs. With the event open to Southland senior high school students, training providers and wider tertiary students, it is a valuable recruitment tool.”

Summer of Work involves students viewing videoclips of employers promoting their summer vacancies and then expressing their interest as to who they would like to learn more from. They will then either be able to attend the job fair and meet directly with the employer, or an online group information session will be set up.

Employers interested in learning more about the Summer of Work event can go here Recruiting for Summer 2022? | Great South

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