Teen's Ingenious Solution: How One Student Created a Job Board After Failing to Find Summer Work

The Struggle for Summer Employment

Matthew Jeon, a high school student from Fredericton, New Brunswick, faced a common challenge: finding a summer job to save money for university. After two consecutive summers of unsuccessful job hunting, he noticed that many applications were geared toward college or university students, leaving high schoolers like him at a disadvantage.

Matthew Jeon started his own job board for high schoolers but is still trying to recruit employers and students for the platform. (Hannah Rudderham/CBC)

Creating a Solution

Realizing he wasn't alone in this struggle—his friends reported similar difficulties—Matthew decided to take matters into his own hands. He initially created a basic website using Wix, then spent the following summer learning coding techniques with a mentor to develop a more professional platform called histudentjobs.com.

Matthew Jeon said employers can upload available opportunities for student users to browse. Students can upload their profiles, which employers can also look through. (Aniekan Etuhube/CBC)

How the Platform Works

The website serves as a bridge between New Brunswick employers and high school students. Employers can post job ads specifically targeting high school students, while students can create profiles and browse opportunities. The platform also includes:

• Job application submission directly through the site
• Student profile browsing for employers
• Reference letter portal for teachers and employers
• Volunteer opportunity section

Matthew Jeon struggled to find a summer job and after talking to his friends, realized he wasn’t alone. So, he created a website that could act as a bridge between high school students and New Brunswick employers.

The Bigger Picture: Youth Unemployment Crisis

Tricia Williams, director of research at the Future Skills Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University, confirms that Matthew's experience reflects a national trend. Youth unemployment recently reached a nine-year record high, with Statistics Canada research from May showing that 20% of young people aged 15-24 were unemployed.

Tricia Williams, director of research at the Future Skills Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University, said youth across the country are having difficulties finding a job. (Denise Militzer)

Several factors contribute to this crisis:

• Economic slowdown affecting business confidence and hiring
• Automation replacing traditional entry-level jobs
• Highly-educated workforce creating competition for positions
• Lack of networking resources for marginalized youth

Looking Forward

Matthew continues to work on recruiting both students and employers to his platform, manually approving sign-ups to ensure legitimacy. While he plans to pursue business studies at university next year, his younger sister Hanna has offered to help maintain the website if needed.

The initiative highlights how young people are taking innovative approaches to address employment challenges, creating solutions that could potentially expand beyond New Brunswick to serve students across Atlantic Canada.