CORE (Community Opportunities for Real Employment) Apprentice Position

About the Organization

Lift Community Services focuses on helping all people thrive in the qathet region by reducing social inequities and by providing support and advocacy for anyone who needs it. Our vision is a welcoming, inclusive, and diversity-affirming community that is free of poverty and full of heart. At Lift, we believe a thriving, sustainable community comes from a collaborative, equitable, future-focused approach.

Our programs and services include employment services, supportive housing and homeless outreach, temporary shelter services, literacy programs, health services, outreach, immigrant services, adult and family on-demand support. We also provide community leadership and development in overdose response planning, poverty reduction planning, and other projects that develop a more connected and resilient community. Lift operates many resource centres in our community, including the local WorkBC Centre, the Community Resource Centre, qathet Complex Care Housing, the iOAT Clinic, the Family Place, and the Dr. Elsie Paul Literacy Centre and the Nook Social Enterprise Cafe both located at the Powell River Public Library.

Lift Community Services serves a diverse community, and our goal is to build a team reflects that diversity. People of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives are encouraged to apply.

Opportunity

The CORE Apprentice will work in the garden, kitchen, and café in all systems of production alongside growing as a leader to mentor each other, peers, and volunteers.

The hours of the position will follow the growing and harvest seasons with consistent weekly hours and 2 week breaks in each season.

In the garden, kitchen and café, youth will be supported and mentored by staff and peer alumni leaders while also connecting to the researcher of the project and filling out surveys.

This position will work in the gardens outside in all-weather to establish plants, trees, crops, rotations, systems, workshops, and planning for the years to come.

In the kitchen at the CRC, youth will learn necessary food, health, and safety skills, including preparation of goods for the cafe, knife skills and preservation.

At the café and market booth, youth will serve customers and learn about customer service, small business, and professionalism.

Click here to see the full job description.

Overview

• Positions Available: 3
• Hours: 9 hours/week
• Shifts: 11-2 Monday, Wednesday, and Thursdays. During market season (blackberry festival, fall fair and some markets) the weekday shift will be shortened to create a market shift.
• Hourly Wage: $20.00
• Reports to: Food Systems Manager
• Start Date: April 22, 2024
• Closing Date: open until filled
• Questions? Contact: Adriana, Food Systems Manager, [email protected]
• To Apply: Submit a resume and cover letter

Key Tasks and Competencies

• Work in the Garden, kitchen and cafe in all kinds of weather doing all kinds of tasks
  • Planting, upkeep, harvest, weeding, watering, and mentorship and harm reduction sweeps.
  • Processing, baking, cooking, cleaning, dishes, sweeping and mopping.
  • Serving customers, using a POS system and cash handling, communication to customers and coworkers, general cleaning duties
• Establish working connections with, staff, volunteers, and peers.
• Work through lists and jobs to be done as directed within timelines and plans in each location
• Keep worksite clean and safe with support of leadership
• Treat all community and team members with respect and professionalism

Qualifications

• As a Health Canada Substance Use and Addictions Program, the CORE program is open to youth aged 15-35 who:
  • live or have lived through intergenerational trauma, colonization, foster care systems, family breakdown and/or sexual and physical abuse
  • are Indigenous, non-binary, queer or 2Spirit, lacking in family supports and/or in foster care, living in poverty (especially over 16), and/or with mental health concerns
  • have or have lived experience with habitual substance use.
• A want to work and participate in meaningful grassroots organizational change.
• Ability to connect and keep it cool with a variety of other people.
• Current First Aid and CPR, WHIMIS, Mental Health First Aid and Food Safe may be provided
  • Naloxone Training will be provided.

Skills and Abilities

• Physical ability to carry out the duties of the position. Constant standing and working (this can be worked up to as we go)
• Attend and participate in daily check ins for self-regulation and understanding of work plans to be done in connection to: Garden, Kitchen and Café, Peer Support staff, Peers, Volunteers, researcher/ project evaluator
• Allow and ask for mentorship
• Meet with food systems manager and researcher for continued care and evaluation process of the project, fill out surveys
• Attend and participate in councillor supported circles throughout the year
• Contributes to a culturally safe environment

Other

• A satisfactory criminal record check, including a vulnerable sector check, is mandatory at time of job offer

We appreciate all applications, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

As an inclusive employer, we would like to make the recruitment process as accessible as possible. Please contact us to let us know how we can best support you.

We live and work on the homelands and territories of the Tla'amin People. We honour the land, the Tla'amin People, and their treaty and continually seek to strengthen our relationship and responsibilities to them as guests in the territory.