TECHNATION — Career Ready Program

TECHNATION's Career Ready Program provides businesses with financial support to hire students, offering subsidies tailored to encourage diversity and growth in Canada's tech sector workforce.

• Subsidy covers 50% of a student's wages, up to a maximum of $5,000 per placement.
• Increased subsidy of 70% for hiring students from under-represented groups, up to $7,000 per placement.
• Financial support includes both wage subsidies and prioritization for roles in high-growth sectors such as Digital Technology and Clean Tech.
• Funding is distributed based on provincial/territory population percentages to ensure regional balance.

Eligibility for this grant is determined by specific criteria related to the applicant's business status and their ability to provide tech-focused work placements.

• The applicant must be a registered Canadian business or non-profit organization.
• Employers in the large financial sector, post-secondary institutions, and municipalities are not eligible.
• The applicant must provide a meaningful, tech-focused work placement opportunity to a student.
• The student must be registered in an accredited Canadian post-secondary institution.
• The role offered must be tech immersive.
• Applications must be submitted before or during the placement period.

Who is eligible?

Who is not eligible

This grant excludes certain companies mainly due to their sector and organizational type. These restrictions are in line with the grant's focus on tech and educational sectors.

• Large financial sector employers.
• Post-secondary institutions.
• Municipalities.

Eligible expenses

The Career Ready Program aims to integrate students into tech-focused roles within companies, bolstering their skills while meeting industry needs. Eligible roles are varied and include aspects of marketing, strategy, and data technology.

• Tech roles in digital marketing, including market research, industry analysis, and branding.
• Strategy roles such as consulting, analysts, and business development.
• Data and technology roles, including data analysis, AI/machine learning, software development, and IT support.

Eligible geographic areas

This grant is available to Canadian businesses and non-profits, ensuring national access. The program aims to distribute opportunities fairly across the country, emphasizing diversity and inclusion.

• Businesses registered in Canada.
• All provinces and territories within Canada.

The evaluation and selection of projects under the Career Ready Program are driven by criteria that ensure alignment with the program’s objectives and contribution to tech talent development.

• Preference for employers hiring students from underrepresented communities (Women in STEM, Indigenous students, visible minorities, new Canadians, persons with disabilities, and first-year undergraduate students).
• Focus on tech-immersive roles that fall within high-growth sectors such as digital technology, AI, IoT, machine learning, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, agri-tech, clean tech, and health tech.
• Geographic distribution to ensure accessibility and fair allocation of placements across different provinces and territories based on population percentages.
• Consideration for employers who are applying for more than one placement but are capped at five applications per employer.

Here is additional relevant detail for the grant:

• Employers are encouraged to use the online "Net New" calculator within the application portal to calculate the number of eligible student placements for wage subsidies.