YMCA Summer Work Student Exchange (SWSE)

The YMCA Summer Work Student Exchange is a national exchange program offering opportunities for youth to improve their second official language skills (English/French) while gaining important employment experience. Participants, 16 and 17 years of age, travel to another community within Canada – where the other official language predominates – for 6 weeks during the summer. Youth are provided with a homestay and paid employment to deepen the cultural exchange through immersion. They participate in weekly program activities organized by the Local Coordinator in their new community.