Here’s why the Canadian Coast Guard’s inshore boat rescue just might be the best summer job ever | CBC News

This might be one of the better summer jobs: post-secondary students from Newfoundland and Labrador and beyond are patrolling the province’s waters to help keep people safe.

The inshore rescue boat student program is organized each year by the Canadian Coast Guard. The selected candidates are extensively trained and then spend their summer working for search and rescue. The coast guard operates 25 inshore boat rescue stations in three regions of Canada: Atlantic, central and western.

Applicants don’t need boating experience for the program. Any post-secondary student can apply regardless of program of study. Before the start of the season, applicants attend a three-week training camp where they receive extensive medical training as well as small vehicle operator proficiency and Rigid Hull Inflatable Operator Training. While stationed the students are also under the supervision of senior crew members and coxswains who guide them along the way.

There are two teams that each work a rotation of two weeks on, two weeks off.

Noah Starzomski-Wilson, the coxswain of one of the five-person teams at the Conception Bay station, has been working with the program for four years. It’s his job to maintain training standards among the crew so they are ready for anything.

“Regardless if you have an interest in being on the water or not, I think it’s one of the best student programs out there,” he said. “It is a fantastic opportunity.”

Lauren Hollett, who says she had no boating experience before joining the program, is in her third summer working for it.

“It was a completely new experience for me, and I am so thankful for it,” she said, adding she loves being able to help the people of her home province.

“This is my home, this is my community, and bringing such a big part of lending a helping hand means a lot to me because I love this province.”

The most valuable thing she’s learned is believing in herself, she said.

“You’re really capable of a lot more than you think you are. If you told me two years ago I’d be a senior crew member in Conception Bay I wouldn’t have believed you. Now I am so confident in myself and my skills.”

Check out what the work is like by watching the video above.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.