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YMCA's Summer Work Student Exchange Program

Phone us:  (403) 390-9961

Virtual Booth

The SWSE program, federally funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, opens doors for 16- and 17-year-old youth to embark on a remarkable journey. It offers participants the chance to live and work in a French-speaking community in Quebec for six weeks during the summer. The program provides paid, full-time summer employment in various non-profit sectors such as camps, childcare, museums, and more. Participants also engage in a reciprocal homestay, fostering deep cultural exchange and creating lasting connections with fellow participants and host families.

The SWSE program is offered at a minimal cost of $200, making it accessible and affordable a wide range of youth participants. We are committed to ensuring that as many students as possible can take advantage of this incredible opportunity.

The program includes the following components:

  • Duration: The program runs for six weeks in the summer, beginning in early July and ending mid August.
  • Employment: Each participant will be provided with a work placement where they will be assigned an employment mentor.
  • Exchange Host: During the program duration, participants stay with a host / host family and, in most cases, whenever possible; a participant stays in their home as well. We do our best to find each student a job close to their homestay.
  • Group Experience and Activities: Participants are grouped together (up to 10 youth per community) and collaborate with their local coordinator to organize an agenda of activities to better know their new community and each other.
  • Great Local Staff: Participants are supported by our local coordinators, all post – secondary students, who are trained to help them navigate their way through this great journey.

Our team

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