Students must have some licences but the Coast Guard also offers training. (Canadian Coast Guard)

Coast Guard offers student summer jobs patrolling

For students who like adventure, a cool summer job to consider would be search and rescue work on Canada’s waters.  Every summer, the Canadian Coast Guard hires post-secondary students to staff Inshore Rescue Boat stations across the country. There are 26 of these stations spread across Canada’s three coasts, the Great Lakes at the heart of North America and the St. Lawrence River. 

The students will be required to provide assistance to mariners in distress including towing vessels, searching and providing medical assistance as first responders. They also will perform docking and tie-up procedures, vessel radio communications, log keeping, navigation and help duties, maintenance and checks on small craft vessels. 

Students are tasked with manning boats to rescue boaters in trouble. (Canadian Coast Guard)

The coast guard is looking for 120 crew members and 42 more experienced coxswains. They seek students who are dependable, calm, and can make safe and sound decisions in high stress environments and promote team spirit. Students who apply must have a driver’s license, first aid certification a pleasure craft operator card by January 2021. They are required to have a restricted radio operator certificate by March. 

They are expected to work 14 days and then have 14 days off. The pay is $17.64 for crew members and $23.15 for coxswains. It takes two summers as a crew member to be eligible for a coxswain position. 

‘A job like none other’

“Our Inshore Rescue Boat Stations help ensure that people using Canada’s waterways in the summer can feel safe, and be certain that should they need assistance, the Coast Guard will be there,” said Mario Pelletier, commissioner of the Canadian Coast guard in a statement. “I see every year what the students crewing these stations accomplish, and every year I find myself impressed. I strongly encourage any student interested in the work to apply for an IRB position – it is a summer job like none other in Canada.”

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