A valuable resource that not enough Canadian businesses tend to take advantage of is the never ending stream of graduates and co-op students from post-secondary institutions. The utilization of these talent pools can be mutually beneficial for both parties; and even more so for the hiring organizations through their use of various Canadian Business Funding Grants for Hiring. Businesses receive the opportunity to recruit skilled employees, while the university graduates and students receive valuable workplace experience.
Career Services for the University of Waterloo
As some of you may know, the University of Waterloo (UW) has the largest and most comprehensive co-op program in the world. Every year there are more than 16,000 undergraduate students enrolled in Co-operative programs and close to 4,000 graduate students that span over a wide array of academic disciplines. Potential employers are able to access UW’s talent pool through their Co-operative Education & Career Services Department (CECS) or their Online Job Directory – JobMine. These provide the services and software for businesses to be able to converse with potential candidates for their intern or permanent positions.
Canadian Government Funding Incentives for Co-op Students
The Canadian Government offers tax incentives and business funding grants for those who are looking to hire a co-op student for a 4-8 month co-op term. One of the most popular Canadian business incentives for Co-op students is the Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit. This can offer a tax rebate of 30% of your employee’s wages up to $3000 per term, in addition to their eligibility under the Scientific Research & Experimental Development Tax Credit (SR&ED). Businesses are also able to stack these programs with other Canadian business funding grants to recruit their employee after they have graduated. The University of Waterloo is world renowned for their engineering co-op programs. They are also the primary recruitment institution for Microsoft and Google’s computer programmers and software developers.
Canadian Government Grants for Hiring Graduates
There is an abundance of post-secondary grads or graduate students from the University of Waterloo in the IT, Engineering, Accounting, and Science fields of study that are in search of employment. The Canadian Government provides a wide array of grant funding for businesses that are looking to provide a job opportunity. Some of the more popular Ontario business funding grants include:
- Connect Canada Internship
- Graduate Enterprise Internship – ISTEM
- ICTC – Career Focus
- MITACS Enterprise
- OCE – First Job
- Small Business Internship Program – SBIP
- Youth Employment Program
Small Business Funding Grants for Hiring
Speaking from experience, these hiring programs and initiatives are extremely beneficial for both the hiring organization and the intern. Both my co-worker and I were hired into our current positions through these Government funding programs. Almost 20,000 highly educated individuals are in search of employment opportunities each year; this allows for the employers to have their pick of the best and brightest prospects for their businesses. For more information on the Canadian Business Funding Grants mentioned in today’s article, please contact Mentor Works, the Canadian Government Funding Planners or attend one of our Free Government Funding Workshops.