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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, August 6, 2010 · 28 Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN Phone: 905-337-5560 Fax: 905-337-5571 e-mail: ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER CALL THEM PRESIDENT: Patrick Hartford, left, owns GTA Dryer Vent Cleaning. Here, he poses with his vacuum. At right, John Kirstein is the president of Prime Energy Consultants. They are among many local youths in the Summer Company program. To land the perfect job, make it yourself By Nathan Howes OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF John Kirstein and Patrick Hartford wanted to find the perfect summer job when school finished. But instead of contacting companies for employment, they created their own jobs with help from the Summer Company program. Kirstein is a 21-year-old engineering student with one year left at McMaster University. He used the program to start an energy consultant firm, Prime Energy Consultants, based in Oakville. "I've always been interested in efficiency and I'm an engineering student in material engineering at McMaster University. When I saw the ad for Summer Company, I thought this was a great opportunity to get some funding for the business," said Kirstein. "I felt it was really related to what I was studying. It's a great opportunity for me because I wanted my own company and it's something I can do and that's why I'm doing it." The objective of Prime Energy Consultants is to show people how they can save money through energy efficiency, says Kirstein. He offers clients an initial assessment for free with an option afterwards for a more thorough report, should they want solutions for their energy leaks. "I sit down with the client and we talk about their building and what it's used for. What this does is really surface checks of their building and does all the ground work (and) helps me understand the building (and) see where the main sources of energy is lost but it's purely qualitative," said Kirstein. "At the end of the visit they get a report (that) I go over with them a few days later. "If they decide to follow up, they have an option of getting the full energy assessment, (which) is a measured audit where I find the best possible solutions so they can save (the) most money possible," said Kirstein. Kirstein hopes to be his own boss and own at least one company, if not several, after he graduates from his program next year. The Summer Company program is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and began in 2001. It provides an opportunity for enterprising students, 15 to 29 years old, to start and run their own summer business. The students are given financial and mentoring assistance to keep their company operational through the summer. Each student is awarded a grant of up to $3,000. Half of the money is given to them when they start and the other half when they finish the program at the end of the summer. "The goal of the program really is to give students a unique opportunity to start their business and explore entrepreneurship," said Paul de Burger, busi- ness consultant for the Halton Region Small Business Centre in Oakville. "It gives a lot of students a fantastic summer job (and) it gives them a chance to run their own business. "But we take away some of the risk by giving them some of the support, funding and a huge component of this is the mentorship and training they also receive through the summer." Since the Summer Company first started, more than 2,500 high school, college and university students from across the province have participated. This year, the goal was to accept 600 students for the program and they may have surpassed that, according to de Burger. See Independence page 30 Tim Hortons Free Swim. It's our thanks to you. Your local Tim Hortons is happy to bring you Tim Hortons free swim ­ complimentary swimming time at your local pool. For a schedule of times and locations, drop by your local Oakville Tim Hortons location for more details. © Tim Hortons, 2007