If you’re in the business of healthcare or bioscience, you could get connected with a post-secondary student to work with you on a project up to 16 weeks and a subsidy to cover 70% of their salary, up to $7,000.
The program’s wage subsidies help knock down cost barriers, by covering the cost of a student’s salary by 50% up to a maximum of $5,000 and 70% up to a maximum of $7,000 for first-year students and under-represented groups including: women in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM); indigenous students; persons with disabilities; members of a visible minority; and newcomers.
The program enables you to bring on an eager-to-learn student for a special project – and at the end of the placement end up with a skilled candidate already oriented to your company who could meet your future recruiting needs.
The program’s wage subsidies help knock down cost barriers, by covering the cost of a student’s salary by 50% up to a maximum of $5,000 and 70% up to a maximum of $7,000 for first-year students and under-represented groups including: women in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM); indigenous students; persons with disabilities; members of a visible minority; and newcomers.
The program enables you to bring on an eager-to-learn student for a special project – and at the end of the placement end up with a skilled candidate already oriented to your company who could meet your future recruiting needs.
As a SWPP participant, you get the added benefit of free access to BioTalent Canada’s new training programs—“Essential Skills Fundamentals Training Program” and “Technical Skills Fundamentals Training Program”. Access will be provided to you once your placement is approved.
Get the BioReady™ Edge by completing these programs and have a competitive advantage as you begin your career journey. A strong command of all the basics enables you to onboard easily, contribute quickly, and impress immediately.
Eligibility (as of April 1, 2022)
Update: Post-secondary institutions (universities, colleges and polytechnics) are no longer eligible to participate in SWPP as the employer of record.
Wage subsidies are available to all employers who are creating a work-integrated learning opportunity and who meet the program criteria. Biotechnology or healthcare organizations can hire students from any post-secondary institutions across Canada through BioTalent Canada’s Student Work Placement Program.
Please note: international students are not eligible.
To qualify for the program, either:
- the position needs to have a biotechnology or healthcare focus or
- the employer needs to have a biotechnology or healthcare focus.
Participant/ Student must be:
- Enrolled as a full-time or part-time student at a Canadian post-secondary education institution
- A Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or persons to whom refugee protection has been conferred and legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations
- Studying in fields related to science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), business and/ or any other program
Please also see the Participant information page for participant eligibility.
Placement criteria:
- Provide full- or part-time work opportunity at a minimum of 10 hours/week, for a minimum of 4 weeks up to a maximum of 16 weeks.
- Must be with a bio-economy employer or healthcare employer and/or fulfilling a bio-economy or healthcare job function.
- To show the impact of this funding program, BioTalent Canada is required to track the number of students an employer hired in the past, before they receive BioTalent Canada SWPP funding. Please provide the lower number of students hired in either 2019, 2020 or 2021 for which you received no government funding. For example, if 2 students were hired in 2019, 9 in 2020 and 7 in 2021, enter 2. If you did not hire any students in either year please enter 0.
- The wages for the placement must not be funded by other Federal grants such as CIHR, NSERC, Canada Summer Jobs, or by another federally-funded program such as IRAP, Mitacs etc. Placements funded through a stipend, scholarship and/or bursaries do not qualify.
- The student must be added to the employer’s payroll which includes Federal/Provincial tax deductions (CPP, EI, etc.). Participants are not eligible for the program as contractors.
Should the placement be longer than 16 weeks, please contact us as you could be eligible to apply for another funding term.