Wage Subsidies and Grants

Eligibility Includes:
- Application was received by the deadline.
- Attestation is checked.
- Application is complete.
- Eligibility of employer.
- Eligibility of project.
- Job duration: Between 6 and 16 consecutive weeks.
- Job hours: Must be full-time (i.e. 30 to 40 hours per week).
- Other Sources of Funding: You must declare whether you will receive funding from other sources for the job placement.
- Salary: The salary must respect minimum wage requirements (see Section 4 Assessment Criteria for details).
- Money owing to the Government of Canada: Your organization must declare any money owing to the Government of Canada.\
- Health and Safety: You must demonstrate that you have implemented measures to ensure youth awareness of health and safety practices in the work environment. Safety measures must relate to the type of work environment and specific job type and activities. Service Canada will consider each case on its merits, comparing the risks with the benefits for the youth.
- Hiring practices and work environment: You must demonstrate that you have implemented measures to ensure hiring practices and a work environment free of harassment and discrimination, such as raising awareness and prevention activities.
- Supervision: You must describe the supervision plan for the youth and proposed job activities.
- Mentoring: You must describe the mentoring plan for the youth and proposed job activities.
- Past Results: The Department will review all files associated with your organization to verify if there is documented evidence from previous agreements with the Department that would render your application ineligible (e.g., financial irregularities, health and safety concerns, or past project results). The Department may consult with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on past financial irregularities.

To be eligible, youth must:
- Be between 15 and 30 years of age at the start of the employment;
- Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the employment*;
- Have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment and be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations.
-The program's broader objectives as part of the Youth Employment Strategy are to improve the labour market participation of Canadian youth.

*International students are not eligible participants. International students include anyone who is temporarily in Canada for studies and who is not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person who has been granted refugee status in Canada.

- The maximum amount of funding to be provided to a funding recipient in a fiscal year is set out in the funding agreement signed by the funding recipient.
- The initiative is nationally and regionally based and proposal-driven.
- The non-profit sector is eligible to receive a contribution of up to 100% of the applicable wage, plus mandatory employment-related costs (MERC), while the private sector is eligible to receive up to 50% of the applicable wage only.

Note: Where a participant with disabilities is hired, all employers are eligible to apply for 100% of the wage. A maximum contribution of $3,000 per participant may be available, on an actual cost basis, for special equipment and facilities to accommodate the student's needs.

- First Nations and Inuit communities
- First Nations and Inuit governments
- First Nations and Inuit organizations
- Not-for-profit associations
- Private sector employers

Eligible participants are:
- First Nations and Inuit secondary and post-secondary students aged 15 to 30 inclusive
- Ordinarily resident on reserve or in recognized communities or on community lands
- Legally entitled to work in Canada
- Registered as full-time students during the preceding academic year and who intend to return to school on a full-time basis in the next academic year

- Up to $5,000 for every student, you hire through the program.
- Up to $7,000 for every student you hire that is in their first year or is from an under-represented group including women in STEM, persons with disabilities, newcomers and Indigenous students

Wage subsidies are available to all employers who are creating a work integrated learning opportunity and who meet the program criteria. Employers can hire STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) or business students from any post-secondary institutions across Canada through BioTalent Canada's Student Work Placement Program.

To qualify for the program, either the co-op position needs to have a biotechnology focus or the employer needs to have a biotechnology focus.

Examples of positions that could qualify:
- Sales and Marketing Assistant at a biofuels company
- Software Engineer at a health technology company
- Associate Research Chemist for safe food processing at a meat manufacturing plant
- Laboratory Technologist for environmental management at an automotive company

- Are a current full-time student registered in a post-secondary STEM or business program co-op in Canada
- Are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person who has been granted refugee status in Canada
- Are legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial legislation and regulations

Aerospace & Aviation Industry

- Up to $7,000 for every student you hire that is in their first year or is from an under-represented group including women in STEM, persons with disabilities, newcomers and Indigenous students.
- Up to $5,000 for every student, you hire through the program.

- Complete and sign the Employer information form.
- Provide a brief company description.
- Provide proof of the participant's PSE enrolment/transcript.
- Provide the participant's job description.
- Provide the participant's working/learning plan***
- Provide a job placement of a minimum of 12 weeks; the standard job placement period is 16 weeks.
- Provide proof of placement employment, start date, contract with participant, full wage and benefits of participant to CCAA.
- Confirm that the wages for the position are not funded by another federally funded program like IRAP, Mitacs, etc

The participant (student) must:
- Be a full-time student currently registered in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or business program at a Canadian post-secondary education (PSE) institution
- Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or hold refugee status; PARTICIPANTS ON A STUDENT VISA AND/OR WORK PERMIT ARE NOT ELIGIBLE.
- Be legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial legislation and regulations.
- Consent to release employment information to CCAA and the Government of Canada periodically during the placement and after the end of the placement
- Provide proof of PSE enrolment/transcript.
- Complete and sign the Participant/Student form.

- Firms whose primary activity is the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power.
- Sector support including renewables in any of the following areas: R & D, business development, energy efficiency.
- Firms engaged in manufacturing of equipment and the provision of services necessary to the generation.

- Up to $5,000 for every student, you hire through the program.
- Up to $7,000 for every student you hire that is in their first year or is from an under-represented group including women in STEM, persons with disabilities, newcomers and Indigenous students

The company must meet eligibility requirements:
- The wages for this position must not be funded by another federally-funded program.
- The company must provide a full-time work opportunity for a minimum of 16 weeks, 5 days a week, 7.5 hours a day.
- The wage subsidy covers the cost of a co-op student's salary by up to 50% to a maximum of $5,000 and up to 70% to a maximum of $7,000 for students and under-represented groups including: women in STEM, women in business, indigenous students, persons with disabilities and newcomers.
- The company must provide a minimum of $1 for each $1 of wage subsidy, or a minimum of $1 for each $2.33 for first-year students and under-represented groups.
- The company must not recruit and retain friends or family members as participants to the co-op wage subsidy program.
- The company must reference the participant information form to inform potential participants what their involvement in the co-op wage subsidy program will entail.
- The company must provide proof of co-op placement employment, start date, contract with participant, full wage and benefits of participant to Electricity Human Resources Canada upon request.
- The company must provide information about the placement to Electricity Human Resources Canada as required.
- The company must develop a Formal Learning Plan with the participant, before the start of the placement.
- The company must provide Electricity Human Resources Canada with monthly financial claims and progress reports

To participate in a student work placement in the electricity sector you must:
- be registered as a full-time student in a post secondary institution in Canada.
- be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person with refugee protection in Canada
- be legally able to work in Canada according to the laws and regulations of the province or territory where you live.

If you are interested in applying to a work placement or if you want to find out more about this program, you can contact our Empowering Futures Program Coordinator directly.

Organizations in Canada working in the environmental sector and are looking to hire students from science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).

- Up to $5,000 for every student, you hire through the program.
- Up to $7,000 for every student you hire that is in their first year or is from an under-represented group including women in STEM, persons with disabilities, newcomers and Indigenous students

Students are eligible to apply through an employer if they are:
- Registered as a full-time student in a Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, or Business Program within a Canadian post-secondary institution, regardless of age;
- A Canadian citizen, permanent resident or a protected person as defined by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
- Legally entitled to work in Canada and legally entitled to work according to specific province legislation and regulations.

- Up to $5,000 for every student, you hire through the program.
- Up to $7,000 for every student you hire that is in their first year or is from an under-represented group including women in STEM, persons with disabilities, newcomers and Indigenous students

- Employers must be Canadian-owned or a Canadian subsidiary, and in one of the following categories:
- Small, medium or large companies involved in the mining or mineral exploration sector;
- Post-secondary educational institution; or
- Not-for profit organization.

- Full-time students in a post-secondary program;
- Canadian citizens, permanent residents or persons granted refugee status in Canada;
- Legally allowed to work according to the relevant provincial, territorial and Canadian regulations;
- Be studying in fields related to science, technology, engineering, mathematics and/or business

- The program provides 50% (to a maximum of $5000.00) of a student’s pay in wage subsidies to employers.
- An increased subsidy of 70% (to a maximum of $7000.00) is awarded to employers hiring students from under-represented groups:

If you meet all these criteria, you are eligible to be a Career Ready employer:
- A registered Canadian business or and non-profit who can provide a meaningful, tech-focused work placement opportunity to a student.
- Note: Large financial sector employers are no longer eligible, as well as post-secondary institutions and municipalities

- Enrolled as a full time student at an accredited post-secondary college or university in Canada
- Can provide documentation to prove your Canadian Citizenship, Permanent Resident or Refugee Status in Canada
- Eligible to work in Canada

- Up to $5,000 for every student, you hire through the program.
- Up to $7,000 for every student you hire that is in their first year or is from an under-represented group including women in STEM, persons with disabilities, newcomers and Indigenous students

If you meet all these criteria, you are eligible to a VFC Intern employer:
- You're an SME, start-up, social enterprise, nonprofit, or charity
- Your business is located in BC, AB, MB, SK, NB, NS, PEI, or NL
- You've got between 1 - 500 employees
- You can provide an internship opportunity allows our motivated Interns contribute to new initiatives or add new value to your organization.
- All industries welcome!

- Enrolled as a full time student at a post-secondary college or university in Canada
- Can provide documentation to prove your Canadian Citizenship, Permanent Resident or Refugee Status in Canada
- Eligible to work in Canada