Co-op wage subsidies to open job opportunities for post-secondary students
June 1, 2018 | By Jillian Morgan
Patty Hajdu, minister of employment, workforce development and labour, with elected officials and co-op students from Ontario Power Generation (OPG), introducing the Empowering Future program at the OPG Darlington Nuclear Information Center.
A program by Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC) to improve job readiness for post-secondary students has launched.
The Empowering Futures program is designed to create up to 1000 new jobs for students in the electricity sector over the next four years.
Available to post-secondary STEM and business students across Canada, the program offers up to $7,000 in co-op wage subsidies to electricity and renewable employers.
Funded by the Government of Canada’s Student Work-Integrated Learning Program, Empowering Futures aims to encourage and support industry employers, especially small- to medium-sized companies, to hire co-op students and provide them with an opportunity to gain valuable experience in a real work environment.
“This program will provide students with the opportunity to align their technical skills with the entrepreneurial and ‘work-ready’ skills required by today’s employers,” said Michelle Branigan, CEO of EHRC.
The program will see EHRC bring together a consortium of stakeholders to align needs of employers and curricula delivered by post-secondary institutions.
Stakeholders include employers, post-secondary institutions, industry associations and labour from across Canada.
The electricity sector is forecasted to experience high growth and tight labour conditions, with job opportunities, according to EHRC. www.electricityhr.ca
