If I could give this job 0 stars, I would - Counselor STEM Camp Employee Review

1.0
Jul 21, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There are no pros to this job.

Cons

All supervisor positions paid minimum wage, the same as the counsellors therefore there is literally no compensation for all of the extra work involved in those positions. Head Office, particularly the CEO, Kevin is also highly passive aggressive, condescending, rude and insensitive to everyones time and life except his own. For example, the employees of the camp are paid by a Canada Summer Jobs Grant and some locations were only granted 35 hours of payed work a week, however, the camps are open from 8:00am-5:00pm everyday...meaning the majority of the time the camps are understaffed for parts of the day as people have to come in and leave at different times as they are only paid for 7 hour work days. Usually, we experienced the greatest difficulty with this at pick up and drop off as about half the staff would come in in the morning for 8am but the other half could not come in until closer to 9:30am-10am so they could stay until 5pm because the counsellors who would come in at 8 would be done around 3pm. When this was brought up in training, Kevin actually suggested that people take "very long breaks" to be at camp the entire day without being paid... specifically the Lead Counsellors, AC's and health and safety officers who were somehow "required" by head office to be around during drop off AND pick up despite being only paid for 7 hour days. STEM camp also did not pay for employees lunch breaks despite requiring them to be with the kids and work through their lunches, meaning there were no breaks given throughout the day, a direct violation of labor laws. Lastly, training was conducted poorly, and one of the sections of our training actually included this fun part about how if a person was sexually harassed and a complaint about it landed on your desk as a supervisor, we were told to "encourage the person to "SPEAK FIRST TO THEIR OFFENDER TO ENSURE IT WAS NOT A MISUNDERSTANDING." Training overall was poorly conducted, there was never enough supplies at camp, and also fun fact, STEM camp did not issue refunds for parents who had registered in 2020 when camps were cancelled claiming they "spend the money on supplies" but this year Head Office admitted to us in training they bought no new supplies despite having all of last years and this years money to use. Lastly, the existing supplies was always low, some camps were given supplies for 30 kids and upped to 40 kids with no additional supplies given ( us counsellors weren't told either, I guess a 10 person increase isnt something the staff need to know about), most of the experiments are crappy and dont work, and training will teach you nothing. If you complain or voice your concerns, Kevin is literally the most condescending individual you will ever meet so good luck.

Explore other reviews about STEM Camp

4.0
Aug 10, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Positive Environment Lots to do You get to see Kids grow in their Knowledge You feel rewarded for what you do

Cons

Strict Co-workers could be good or bad The Activities are repetitive Some Activities are flat-out boring and take less time than what was scheduled for

avatar
STEM Camp Response
1y
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the positive environment and seeing the kids grow in their knowledge. We value your input about the activities and understand that kids learn in different ways. We consistently work to offer more variety and hands-on experiences to keep everyone engaged. Your suggestion about creating more creative and interactive activities is noted and will be considered for future programming.
3.0
Apr 29, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You get to work with many different kids and do fun experiments and camp activities.

Cons

The hours are very long, with little pay.

avatar
STEM Camp Response
1y
Thank you for your feedback! We're glad to hear you enjoyed working with the kids and participating in fun activities. We understand that the long hours can be challenging and we have implemented a shift structure to better balance workloads and support our staff. We appreciate your input and are always looking for ways to improve the overall experience for our team.
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