Winter is one of the most lucrative seasons for hiring grants. If you are looking to hire in the coming months, you may be eligible to receive considerable subsidies to cover the costs of student wages. Below is a summary of co-op-based hiring grant programs that aim to match students with employers that can provide strong work experience opportunities, all of which are currently accepting applications. 

Each of these programs is a Student Work Placement Program (SWPP), meaning they help place students in meaningful positions related to their studies. They will cover 50% of a participant’s wages up to a maximum of $5,000. Many will cover 70% for up to a maximum of $7,000 for underrepresented students. Underrepresented groups include:

• Women in STEM fields
• Persons with disabilities
• Indigenous persons
• Newcomers to Canada, and 
• First-year students

Let’s take a look!

Venture for Canada

The Venture for Canada program gives entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits an opportunity to hire full or part-time post-secondary students. This program is industry agnostic, however, the company must have between 1 and 500 employees across Canada. Note that family members of the employers are also eligible under program guidelines.

While the employer registration deadline for Venture for Canada is November 7th, 2022, registered employers can still submit hiring requests until November 18th. The current placement start date window is between December 26, 2022, and January 23, 2023. If you have previous participants returning to your company, please ensure they have completed a minimum of 15 VFC Virtual Training Points by November 14, 2022.

WIL WORKS

The Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Works program offers a salary subsidy for employers in the manufacturing industry to hire post-secondary students. The intent of the program is to support current business needs for employers while helping students interested in careers in the manufacturing industry gain key exposure in rich work environments. Businesses must have a NAICS code between 31 and 33 to be eligible for this hiring grant; non-profits related to manufacturing are also eligible. 

Placements are meant to cover full or part-time work for up to 16 weeks. Student employees must be enrolled in a Canadian post-secondary program and eligible to work in Canada. As funding will be paid by WIL at the close of the work placement, applicants must be financially capable of supporting this student. The open intake runs from September 1st, until December 31st, 2022. Traditional apprenticeship programs are not supported, students must be enrolled in a program or course where a work placement is part of the study program. 

Trucking HR

Are you looking to build the talent pipeline for your team? So long as your business has a logistics component to it, you may be eligible to receive wage subsidies for student hires through the Trucking HR Student Placement Subsidy. This program is currently accepting applications for its Winter intake from January 1st to April 30, 2023. This program is more flexible than others and can fund roles in accounting, HR, warehousing, and other logistics-related positions. 

Placements may be part or full-time, with a minimum of 10 hours per week. There are currently no maximum student placements per company and placement duration is between 4 and 16 weeks per student. 

Propel

The Propel Student Work Placement Program is a federal hiring grant program designed to support employers in the tourism and hospitality sector by providing a wage subsidy for student hires. The goal of this program is to assist the pandemic’s hardest-hit sector by creating employment and skills development opportunities that benefit both students and employers.

Applications for this hiring grant are currently being accepted for placements in the following semesters: 

• Fall 2022: September 1 – December 31, 2022. 
• Winter 2023: January 1 – April 31, 2023

These positions have a minimum of 20 hours per week whether remorse, on-site or hybrid.  This is a 4 – 15 week placement contract per semester. Employers must have the financial ability to pay the student for the duration of the placement as the wage subsidy is paid out at the end of the placement. 

WIL Digital

Similar to WIL Works, the Work Integrated Learning Digital program is a student hiring grant program meant to subsidize businesses that employ students with a work placement as a component of their degree program. WIL Digital is specific to companies looking to fill positions with an IT, digital, or tech focus. The goal of the program is to increase the job readiness of students looking to build careers in this field and to offset the cost of hiring for employers in the tech industries. Companies with ties to the following fields are prioritized:

• Advanced manufacturing
• Biotechnology
• Cybersecurity
• Cleantech
• Connected transportation
• E-commerce
• Entertainment and Gaming
• Financial Tech 

Student employees may be full or part-time, but they must either be Canadian citizens or legally allowed to work in Canada. Applications are currently being accepted for the Fall 2022 and Winter 2023 semesters. Though there is no limit to the number of internships an employer may apply for, funding is limited and may result in only select placements being funded.

If you wish to apply for this hiring grant but are having trouble finding suitable candidates, please check out our client Hatchways which has a pool of technology candidates and can assist with the hiring process. 

Eco Canada

If you are hiring a student in an environmental-based role this current Fall semester or for the upcoming Winter semester, you could be eligible for Eco Canada’s hiring wage subsidy. Eco Canada is a federally funded program that offers salary subsidies to employers who hire co-op students for positions in Science, Tech, Engineering, Art, Math, or Business fields with an environmental focus. The goal of this program is to help students gain formal experience in an environment-based workplace and offset employer costs. Examples of duties eligible for funding include:

• Environment Manager
• Environmental Protection
• Resource Management
• Environmental Sustainability

Applications are now open for the Winter semester placement, scheduled between January 1st, and March 15th, 2023. Eco Canada has set a maximum of 5 placements per company for all Eco Canada programs. Note that you may apply to this program before finding a candidate to hire.

If you are looking to hire in the coming months and need assistance with your application, Granted is here to help. Our team of Grant Angels can support you through the entire process from planning, writing, and applying, to reporting. Head over to our Grant Calculator to get connected with one of our team members!