Up to $40k Non-repayable Fund for Hiring Youths

Youth Hiring Grants and Funds

Youth Employment Program or YEP is an initiative by National Research Council – Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP), a body of the Government of Canada to provide financial assistance to small and mid-sized enterprises (SME). The primary goal of the program is to match prospective employers with skilled graduates between the age of 18 and 30 years. Specifically, it assists employees to obtain career information, make career choices, develop job-related skills, find jobs and stay employed. On the other hand, the funding encourages employers in hiring eligible and employable young Canadians through federal and provincial departments and partner agencies.

Eligibility Criteria for Employers

In order to qualify for financial assistance under the Youth Employment Program, a company must:

• have no more than 500 full-time employees on payroll,
• be incorporated and for-profit company,
• be financially stable,
• will find the prospective employee before applying for funding,
• be willing to explore their capacity for innovation and forge a strong relationship with IRAP.

Eligibility Criteria for Employees

In order to qualify for funding under the Youth Employment Program(YEP), a graduate must fulfil the following criteria:

• Be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident (PR) or have a refugee status in Canada,
• Be a post-secondary graduate,
• Be between 15 and 30 years of age,
• Graduated from a post-secondary school, college or institution,
• Is legally entitled to work in Canada, and
• Be a first-time participant of the Career Focus Program.

Eligible Activities

The employer will ensure the employee involvement is in technical projects or  technology-related (non-technical) projects within the enterprise such as:

• Research and Development,
• Engineering,
• Multi-media,
• New Product or Process Development,
• Market Research and Analysis for a new product (technology-based),
• Business Innovation and Development (science and technology projects),
• Customer Service improvement, and
• Activities involving  digital skills element, such as the use of desktop and mobile apps.

Hiring Grant Amount

Financial assistance through YEP Funding is up to $20k (80 per cent of salary) for a 6 to 12 months period. This is a non-repayable financial contribution.

Timeline

An employer may apply for 2 graduates, each for a period between 6 and 12 months. The response time for each new application is about 4 to 6 business weeks.

Application Process

• In order to check the business fits for the program, the employer must send the job description, intended start date and intended salary for the candidate.
• The employer must hand-in a complete application for the prospective employee.  It is not mandatory to send the resume of the candidate.
• The eligibility of the firm as well as the candidate will be assessed by an IRAP representative.
• Since the program works on a cost-sharing basis, it will cover only a portion of the salary of the employee. Other expenses such as benefits and overhead costs will be the responsibility of the employer.
• It is important to not have the candidate on payroll until the application has been processed.

Youth-Green Employment Program

Depending on the nature of your business and its role in sustainable development, you may qualify for the Youth-green Employment Program as well.

The eligibility criteria for employees and for employers is the same as the YEP. In addition, the employer must fulfil the below-mentioned criteria to receive the Youth-Green Employment Program grant:

• The business has play a role in aligning with green economy sectors,
• The position for which the candidate is being considered lend itself to environmental benefits through innovation and/or development.

Other Wage Subsidy programs

Your business may be qualifying for a number of other wage subsidy programs besides these ones. In order to understand your business’s complete funding potential and all the possible wage subsidies available for a unique business like yours, you may need the services of an experienced professional.

We, at Kelid™ have helped many small and mid-sized enterprises to determine their funding eligibility and secure the best business grant. We help you with every step of the application to ensure that you qualify for the best wage subsidy program. Have a potential new hire in mind? Contact us today for a free consultation!