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Accessing wage subsidies for your student workers
For employers: The Student Work
Placement Program • You meet the minimum age requirement
in the province/territory of work
Are you in the process of upgrading your
technology to stay competitive? If so, it’s
that time of year again when skilled post-
secondary students become available to
join the workforce. Here’s a wage-subsidy
initiative that can help you hire them.
The Student Work Placement Program
gives post-secondary students in STEM
(science, technology, engineering, math)
and business programs across Canada
paid work experience related to their
field of study. The program aims to create
11,500 paid student jobs by 2021. This includes students with full-time
status classified by their school as having
physical or emotional disabilities, and
some adult secondary school students.
How the program works. Employer deliv-
ery partners are a group of recognized
associations and organizations that
represent the interests of employers in
various industries. They work with busi-
nesses and post-secondary education
institutions to provide wage subsidies to
employers that offer quality student
work placements, and they create
partnerships with colleges, universities,
polytechnics and CEGEPs to recruit
students for these placements.
What’s considered a student work
placement? Student work placement
activities can include, but are not limited
to, mentorship programs, co-op placements,
practicums, applied research projects
and internships. You can get up to $5,000
for every student you hire through the
program, and up to $7,000 for every
student you hire that’s in his or her first
year, or is from an under-represented
group – including women in STEM,
persons with disabilities, newcomers to
Canada and indigenous students.
Student eligibility. To participate in a
student work placement program,
students must be registered in a post-
secondary STEM or business program
that includes work placements, be a
Canadian citizen, a permanent resident
or person with refugee protection, and
finally, be legally able to work in Canada.
How to apply. You can apply for wage
subsidies through one of the following
26 | April 2019 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE
Employer Delivery Partners:
• Information Technology Association of
Canada – Career Ready Program
• Information and Communication
Technology Council – WIL Digital
• Canadian Council for Aerospace and
Aviation (CCAA) – CCAA and the SWILP
• Environmental Careers Organization of
Canada – Wage Subsidy Program for
Environmental Students
• Biotalent Canada – Student Work-
Integrated Learning Program
• MaRS Discovery District
• Electricity Human Resources Canada
(EHRC) – Empowering Futures:
Developing Electricity Talent Through
Work-Integrated Learning
• Mining Industry Human Resources
C o u n ci l ( M i H R) – G ea r i n g U p:
Developing Mining Talent Through
Work-Integrated Learning
• Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA)
• Venture for Canada
More information: www.canada.ca/en/
employment-social-development/
services/student-work-placements-
wage-subsidies.html.
For students: The Federal Student
Work Experience Program
The Federal Student Work Experience
Program provides valuable and meaningful
experience working for the top student
employer in Canada – the federal govern-
ment. Students are eligible if they meet
these three requirements:
• You’re a full-time high school, CEGEP,
college or university student
• You’re returning to full-time studies in
the next academic year
Diversity – count yourself in. One of the
stated objectives of this program is to
build a public service that represents and
fully includes the diverse identities,
cultures, perspectives and experiences
that make up Canada. When you apply,
you can indicate (self-declare) if you’re a
woman, an Aboriginal person, a visible
minority or a person with a disability.
Some jobs are only offered to people in
these groups. To be considered for these
opportunities, you need to self-declare.
Students with disabilities should
request support. If you have special
assessment needs, the Federal Student
Work Experience Program wants to make
sure that you have the support you need
to fully demonstrate your abilities. If
you’re contacted for a test or interview,
ask the hiring manager for accommodation
measures. This information will be
kept confidential.
Job Inventories. Ongoing student
recruitment inventory is open year-round,
and available to all departments and
agencies. It offers full-time and part-time
work opportunities in a wide variety of
fields including sciences, trades, admin-
istration, IT, finance and many more.
Other job inventories target diversity
such as indigenous students, students
with disabilities, armed forces reservist
students, young women in public safety,
and more. For a complete list visit www.
canada.ca/en/public-service-commission/
jobs/services/recruitment/students/
federal-student-work-program.html
Elliot Schiller is a Director at Toronto’s Teeger
Schiller Inc., a firm specializing in
government funding and systems selection
/ implementation. His clients receive over
$5 million annually to support ongoing
business innovation.
E-mail [email protected], visit www.FundingHelp.ca
or phone 1-888-816-0222 Ext. 102
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