Help Co-op Students Gain Critical Experience!

Apr 30, 2021 | News

Together with Taskforce NL we want to ensure all students who want or need a work term this Spring/Summer have one. We need to help our youth gain experience to help fuel our province’s talent pipeline down the road. There are several sources that provide funding to hire students. You can find details below! You can also find a detailed list of positions that are needed to support students at the TaskforceNL website: https://taskforcenl.com/projectcoop

CEO Paul Preston speaks about the importance of hiring coop students this summer!

Student Funding Sources

ICTC – The Information and Communications Technology Council’s WIL Digital is an innovative Work Integrated Learning program that helps employers grow their businesses by providing financial assistance for hiring post-secondary students. WIL Digital is funded by the Government of Canada’s Student Work Placement Program (SWPP). Subsidies are paid to employers who bring on students for a meaningful WIL opportunity. WIL Digital provides: 50% of the student’s salary, up to $5,000; or 70% of the student’s salary, up to $7,000, if the student falls within one of the following under-represented groups: Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Indigenous students, Newcomers (immigrants who immigrated within the last 5 years), students with disabilities, visible minorities and first-year students.
Application: https://www.wil-ait.digital/en/      For more information contact Tim Perron at t.perron@ictc-ctic.ca or 902-401-4324.

MITACS –  We have been using a MITACS program specific to MUN Business Co-op students that funds 75% ($7500) and we fund 25% (2500) to get a full-time 4-month co-op student. This program is not advertised on their website as I believe it is associated with COVID-19. Contact Person, Libby Carew: lcarew@mitacs.ca

That being said, they have another useful program as well: Elevate – Solve your research challenges with academic expertise, leveraged funding, and one-to-one support from Mitacs. Internships start at four months and can scale up as much as you need — the organization’s financial contribution starts at $7,500 and mitacs matches $7500.
Application: https://www.mitacs.ca/en/programs/accelerate#business

MITACS is also available through College of the North Atlantic Co-Operative Education Office. Contact Person, Tony Slade: tony.slade@cna.nl.ca

CEWPAP – Co-operative Education Work Placement Assistance Program (CEWPAP). This initiative has been made possible by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Immigration, Skills, and Labour and is administered by Student Life (Career Development) at Memorial University and the Co-op Office at the College of the North Atlantic under Covid-19 Co-op Wage Subsidy Funding Program. This will fund 75% of the co-operative education student’s overall hourly salary up to a maximum of $8,000. It is important to note that the subsidy does not cover expenses related to mandatory employment contribution expenses (MERC) such as E.I., C.P.P., vacation pay, and workers’ compensation. Application:
Memorial University:
https://www.mun.ca/coop/employers/funding/CEWPAP_Application_updated.pdf
College of the North Atlantic:
https://www.cna.nl.ca/student-employment/pdfs/Co-operative-Education/covid-19-co-op-wage-subsidy-application.pdf

SECPAP – Small Enterprise Co-operative Placement Assistance Program. This initiative has been made possible by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Advanced Education and Skills (formerly called Human Resources Labour and Employment). CNA Co-op Office and Student Life (Career Development) work in partnerships to administer this program throughout Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). SECPAP will fund 50% of the co-operative education student’s overall hourly salary up to a maximum of $6.25/hr. It is important to note that the SECPAP subsidy does not cover expenses related to mandatory employment contribution expenses (MERC) such as E.I., C.P.P., vacation pay, and workers’ compensation.
Application:
Memorial University:
https://www.mun.ca/coop/employers/funding/forms/SECPAP_Application_Fillable.pdf.
College of the North Atlantic:
https://www.cna.nl.ca/student-employment/pdfs/Co-operative-Education/SECPAP-Application.pdf

CSE – MUN’s Centre for Social Enterprise provides $2500 toward student positions in social enterprises. Contact person: Nicole Helwig – nhelwig@mun.ca

RIIPEN – Not co-op support but an opportunity for companies to get short term student labour to work on a specific project. The student is paid and the work is 100% funded by the federal government. Flexible Remote Projects 80-hour projects performed over 2-8 weeks. Students can work independently or in a group of their choosing to tackle a business’ challenges. Funded by the Government of Canada, employers of any size work with talented, bright students. Students are compensated directly through Riipen.
Application: https://www.riipen.com/levelup

For more information on College of the North Atlantic Co-Op Wage Subsidy Programs:
https://www.cna.nl.ca/student-employment/co-operative-education.aspx