Funding for employers

Hiring a student for a co-op work term? Apply to get a $2,700 grant! 

The BC Tech Co-op Grants Program provides almost a 25% subsidy towards a co-op student’s salary.  The program is designed to help employers who are hiring young talent and to introduce students to tech-related careers. BC businesses benefit from co-op students’ fresh ideas and readiness to learn, while students  gain work experience and valuable business and technical skills.

Learn more about your eligibility for a BC Tech Co-op Grant. 

Hiring a student for the summer? Canada Summer Jobs provides funding to help employers create summer job opportunities for students. It's designed to focus on local priorities while helping both students and their communities.

Employers can apply for this funding through Service Canada. The application period typically runs from early January to early February, but please refer to the Service Canada website for specific dates.

See a sample employer application for Canada Summer Jobs (pdf) (UVic applicant)

Important notes for UVic applicants:

• Student work cannot take away from union work. If you have questions about whether the work qualifies as union-exempt "student" employment or whether it might be considered work included under one of the UVic labour unions, please contact your HR advisor for support before submitting your application.
• You must submit all applications directly to Service Canada (without union concurrence documentation). You must also email a copy—including the confirmation number)—to Jada Tasker at jadat@uvic.ca for Co-op and Career Services records no later than the February 2, 2018 deadline.
• When the UVic Co-op Program and Career Services receives a copy of your application, we will check it for completeness and will work with UVic Human Resources to obtain concurrence letters where required. You can then send these to Service Canada to complete your application.

The CPABC Co-op Training Incentive Program offers a hiring incentive to qualifying employers who provide relevant accounting experience to students in post-secondary co-op programs. The program offers employers a $1,200 training incentive (up to three co-op subsidies per year) to hire post-secondary co-op students.

Update:  Please contact the Business Co-op and Career office at busicoop@uvic.ca for information on funding timelines and applications.

This program aims to:

• provide essential accounting training and experience to post-secondary co-op students
• help employers hire educated and motivated staff
• encourage post-secondary co-op students to explore careers in accounting
• promote organizations from various industries as potential future employers. 

This program is available to:

• Registered CPA public practice firms with fewer than 50 employees
• Employers registered in the CPABC Career Connect Program that are
  • not-for-profit organizations
  • public sector employers
  • small businesses with fewer than 100 employees (if it's a goods-producing business) or fewer than 50 employees (if it's a service-based business)

Program guidelines

See the full list of CPABC Co-op Training Incentive Program guidelines (pdf)

• The maximum distribution for each eligible student is $1,200 ($300 per month for the first four months of a student’s work term)
• Employers will be eligible for subsequent consideration under this program provided that the co-op position is to be filled by a new student to the position—up to three co-op subsidies per year
• CPABC will forward the subsidy to the post-secondary institution who in turn will pay the employer
• As the student’s training progresses, they will have exposure to a breadth of accounting experience
• Participation in the CPABC Co-op Training Incentive Program requires that an employer is not receiving other subsidies for the position
• Subcontract salary arrangements will not be eligible for this training incentive program
• A CPABC representative may contact the student and employer during the course of the work term to ensure that program objectives are being met

How to apply

• Complete the CPABC Co-op Training Incentive Program application form (pdf) and save to your computer
• Send the form to the Business Co-op and Career office: busicoop@uvic.ca

NSERC’s Experience Awards (previously Industrial Undergraduate Student Research Awards [IUSRA]) offer companies access to talented natural sciences and engineering undergraduate students for a work term. This cost-shared program allows students to address company-specific R&D challenges while gaining valuable industrial experience. Experience Awards also let companies identify potential future full-time employees.

Interested in pursuing a joint research project with UVic? Through Mitacs Accelerate BC, you can hire a graduate co-op student to spend half of a four-month work term researching a topic of interest to the student, their faculty supervisor and your company.

Mitacs Accelerate BC and you, the employer, will both contribute $7,500 for a four-month work term. The student will spend half the work term at your workplace and the other half at UVic, where they’ll work on research under the guidance of the faculty supervisor.

Mitacs Accelerate BC is a chance to expand your company’s research and development, foster a deeper relationship with UVic and help out future collaborative projects. To learn more about Accelerate and its eligibility conditions, contact your co-op office or visit Mitacs Accelerate.

National Research Council Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program provides innovation and funding services to accelerate the growth of business.

The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) may provide funding to provincial ministry employers who wish to hire co-op students to work on projects that meet PICS main objectives. These objectives include low-carbon emissions research and research related to sustainable communities. For details, visit the PICS website or contact your co-op office.

Note on SWILP funding: This funding is offered through several partners, including BioTalent. This overview can help you determine which SWILP opportunity might support your organization.

The federally-funded Student Work-Integrated Learning Program (SWILP) will provide post-secondary students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and business more quality student work placements and improved partnerships between employers and post-secondary education institutions. BioTalent is one of the delivery partners for the SWILP funding and will provide $6 million in wage subsidies over four years for 1,000 co-op placements for students to gain work experience in Canadian biotech companies.

The bio-economy is defined as any economic activity derived from scientific and research activity in the bio-technology fields. This includes bio-health, bio-fuels, bio-industrial and agri-bio.

Learn more about this funding

Note on SWILP funding: This funding is offered through several partners, including CCAA. This overview can help you determine which SWILP opportunity might support your organization.

The Federally-funded Student Work-Integrated Learning Program (SWILP) will provide post-secondary students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and business more quality student work placements and improved partnerships between employers and post-secondary education institutions. The Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace is one of the delivery partners for the SWILP funding and provides funding for companies working with drones, rockets, satellite design, un-manned vehicles, flight operations and manufacturing.

For more information about this funding opportunity, please contact:

Theresa Davis-Woodhouse, Director of Project Management, CCAA
613 727 8272 ext. 247
daviswoodhouse@avaerocouncil.ca

Note on SWILP funding: This funding is offered through several partners, including ECO Canada. This overview can help you determine which SWILP opportunity might support your organization.

The federally-funded Student Work-Integrated Learning Program (SWILP) will provide post-secondary students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and business more quality student work placements and improved partnerships between employers and post-secondary education institutions. Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC) is one of the delivery partners for the SWILP funding.

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

Apply for funding through EHRC: http://electricityhr.ca/empowering-futures/

Questions? Contact Mark Chapeskie at 613-235-5540 x.223 or chapeskie@electricityhr.ca.

Note on SWILP funding: This funding is offered through several partners, including ECO Canada. This overview can help you determine which SWILP opportunity might support your organization.

The federally-funded Student Work-Integrated Learning Program (SWILP) will provide post-secondary students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and business more quality student work placements and improved partnerships between employers and post-secondary education institutions. ECO Canada is one of the delivery partners for the SWILP funding.

ECO Canada's new Co-op Program provides 50% of wage funding for employers who hire environmental students. As part of Canada's Work-Integrated Learning strategy, ECO Canada is matching students with employers in the environmental sector to help them on the path to a bright career. The program provides:

• Funding for up to 16 weeks of paid student work terms
• Valuable on-the-job experience for students
• Increased resourcing and talent for employers

Learn more about this funding

Note on SWILP funding: This funding is offered through several partners, including ICTC. This overview can help you determine which SWILP opportunity might support your organization.

The federally-funded Student Work-Integrated Learning Program (SWILP) will provide post-secondary students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and business more quality student work placements and improved partnerships between employers and post-secondary education institutions. ICTC is one of the delivery partners for the SWILP funding for companies in high growth sectors including Fintech, clean tech, e-health, cybersecurity, entertainment AND gaming, innovative manufacturing, intelligent retail and other sectors considered to be growing rapidly.

Learn more about this funding

Note on SWILP funding: This funding is offered through several partners, including ITAC. This overview can help you determine which SWILP opportunity might support your organization.

Current post-secondary students who are studying in the areas of Business Technology Management (BTM), Computer Science, Computer Systems Technology, Computer Engineering or alike programs and are in an official work term program qualify for the Career Ready program. The program provides up to 50% (up to a maximum of $5,000) of a work term student’s pay in wage subsidies.

Note on SWILP funding: This funding is offered through several partners, including MaRS Discovery District (Studio Y). This overview can help you determine which SWILP opportunity might support your organization.

The federally-funded Student Work-Integrated Learning Program (SWILP) will provide post-secondary students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and business more quality student work placements and improved partnerships between employers and post-secondary education institutions. MaRS Discovery District (through Studio Y) is one of the delivery partners for the SWILP funding and will provide 400 co-op placements over 3 years for students to gain work experience in MaRS Discovery District companies, in the Health, Energy & Environment, Finance & Commerce, and Work & Learning sectors.

Learn more about this funding. Email studioy@marsdd.com for details.

Young Canada Works (student summer job programs and graduate internships) are designed to meet your hiring needs in the arts, heritage, cultural and official languages sectors.

The following funding opportunities may be available to employers hiring engineering, computer science and math/stats students:

• Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive
• Design in Industry Co-op Subsidy

Alberta Temporary Employment Program (STEP)

• For small businesses (1-49 employees), non-profits, libraries, school boards, municipalities, First Nations, Métis Settlements, and publicly-funded post-secondary institutions
• Students must be residents of Alberta and meet other specified criteria.

Saskatchewan Student Summer Works (SSW)

• For eligible employers operating in Saskatchewan in the Sports and Recreation Sector, Cultural Sector and Environmental Sector
• Students must be residents of Saskatchewan and meet other specific criteria

Manitoba STEP Services

• The official student employment placement service for the government of Manitoba
• Students must be attending school and meet other specified criteria