Bring new talent to your small business or not-for-profit! Hire a digital tech intern and give an underemployed—yet highly skilled—grad the experience they need to find career-oriented work. You can get up to $28,000 towards their salary and training expenses. Funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada as part of their Digital Skills for Youth (DS4Y) Program, this initiative creates employment opportunities for young Canadians to build the digital skills needed for the evolving digital economy.
Funding
Up to $28,000 is available for an intern’s salary and training expenses. Employers must establish an employment contract with interns, and they must be paid following a regular payment cycle. Up to $4,000 can be used for intern training during the internship, and $24,000 can cover up to 100% of the intern’s salary. Reimbursement will be dispersed midway and at the end of the internship when the required documentation, including intern pay stubs, is submitted.
Cannot be used for:
- Positions receiving a DS4Y grant from another program, DS4Y delivery partner, or a grant from another program funded by Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.
- Currently filled positions.
- To replace an employee who is on leave.
- For a current employee moving to a new position.
Eligible Training
Interns can pursue training during the internship to enhance their skills. Training can be reimbursed up to $4,000. Acceptable training expenses include:
- Training at a CICan member college or institute.
- Online training (such as LinkedIn Learning).
- Professional development workshops.
- In-house training (up to a maximum of $2,000 with supporting documents).
Training must be selected based on the needs of the intern and employer and must be pre-approved by CICan. It will be reimbursed along with the wage subsidy at either the mid-term or end of the internship. Invoices and supporting documents will be required.
Examples of training include, but are not limited to, software development, data processing, business or project management, leadership, critical thinking, teamwork and collaboration, and communication for business skills.
Eligible Employers
Eligible employers must:
- Have an established payroll system.
- Be set up to receive payments by direct deposit.
- Have a process for supervising and mentoring interns.
- Be a Canadian for-profit or not-for-profit organization or subsidiary with 500 employees or less.
Eligible Internships
Eligible internships are:
- Up to 6 months (26 weeks) in duration.
- A minimum of 30 hours per week.
- Within a digital field.
- Promoting the digitization of the organization or operational processes.
- Publicly advertised (online, job fairs, employment centres, etc.) with a fair, open, and transparent selection process.
Digital fields include: coding and programming, artificial intelligence, automation, big data, cybersecurity, robotics, digital media and design, video game production and editing, digital marketing, and information technology, etc.
Eligible interns are:
- Post-secondary graduates (this is not a requirement for residents of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut applying for internships in those territories).
- Underemployed (employed below their level of education, working part-time, or unemployed).
- Between 15 and 30 years of age at the start of the internship.
- Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or persons granted refugee status in Canada.
- Legally allowed to work according to the relevant provincial and Canadian legislation and regulations.
- Available to work up to six months (26 weeks).
Cannot be:
- Previous participants of a DS4Y internship.
- University or college co-op or intern students.
- Employees of the hiring employer prior to the start of their internship (does not apply to previous co-op students or student interns, although this must be clearly indicated by the employer).
Refugee protection must be conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Persons awaiting refugee status, as well as those who hold a temporary visitor visa, student visa, or work visa, are ineligible to participate in a Youth Employment and Skills Strategy initiative.
How to Apply:
Employers will be notified on December 3 of their application status. Internships need to start between June 1 and December 17, 2021, and end by February 28, 2022.
For More Information:
Visit CICan Career Launcher Internship.
