Government Funding to Hire Recent Graduates
Written by:
Melanie McConnell, Client Manager.
Step outside and you might find that the daisies and lilies are blooming, the sun is shining brightly in the sky, and the smell of fresh-cut grass is in the air, these are all signs that summer has finally arrived. Alongside summer’s return come thousands of university and college students who have just graduated and are looking for work.
These fresh out of school graduates are eager and looking for work experience in their respective fields. For employers, recent graduates bring fresh ideas, willingness to learn, and are ready to work hard in order to prove themselves. However, hiring new employees can be costly for businesses due to tight hiring budgets. Luckily, the government offers a variety of funding programs that can help offset some of the wage costs involved during the hiring process.
There are 3 main government funding programs available to assist companies in hiring recent graduates which are:
The Graduate Enterprise Internship (GEI) formerly known as iSTEM, is a 6 month internship program for students in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) programs. This program is offered by FedDev Ontario and assists students in gaining work experience in their respective fields. Eligible companies could receive up to $10,000 for the hiring of an undergraduate or college student, and up to $15,000 for the hiring of a graduate student.
The NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) offers a program to small to medium sized companies (SMEs) in Canada called the Youth Employment Program. Companies working on research, development and commercialization of technologies can hire a recent graduate to assist with these projects. The graduates must be from a post-secondary institution and be in the field of Science, Engineering, Technology, Business or Liberal Arts. Internships must be between 6-12 months in length and the program will cost-share a portion of the salary costs of a post-secondary graduate.
The Mitacs Enterprise is a 6 month internship for graduates of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics disciplines. Mitacs will facilitate the matching of qualifying participants (interns) with SMEs operating in Southern Ontario. Eligible companies could receive up to $10,000 for the hiring of an eligible Bachelor and college graduate and up to $15,000 for the hiring of a Master’s and Doctoral graduate.
Through these non-repayable hiring grants your business can get the extra help it needs at the price it can afford.
