College and University Interns Receive up to 100% of Salaries in Funding

By Bonny Koabel CPA, CGA

Food Industry organizations with the assistance of Federal Government funding have just launched a funding program of up to $7,500 to assist Food Processors with hiring College and University students for work placements. The new funding program is called CareerNOW! and seeks to link Employers with College and University students for work placements. Paid work placements are beneficial for both Employers and Students - the Student gets valuable work experience and may receive credit from the College or University for their work placement, and the Employer gets the assistance they need at a reduced cost. In order to qualify for funding the Employer must hire a College or University student for 16 consecutive weeks.

What types of Co-op Students can I hire? CareerNOW! is opened to students in all fields of student including – Computer Science, Engineering, Food Science, Human Resources, IT, and Marketing. CareerNOW! students are able to fill a variety of roles in Food Processing facilities including IT and tech support, to website development, internet marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Quality Control and Engineering Support, Sales Support and branding. How do I get started with the CareerNOW! Funding Program? If you are interested in using the CareerNOW! Funding Program here are the steps: 1. The Employer will need to complete the online application and assign an individual in their company as an Onsite Contact for the next steps. Here is the application link: https://magnet. whoplusyou.com/lp/CareersNOWforBusiness 2. Once your application and needs assessment survey are reviewed and deemed acceptable the employer participation will be confirmed. 3. Once the application is approved the Employer you will receive an Employer Commitment letter and package for signing. 4. Once the Employer funding is approved the Employer is now ready to hire a College or University student for 16 weeks. 5. After the College or University student has completed their work placement the funding will be sent to the Employer.

Additional Co-op Salary Funding of up to $3,000 In order to qualify for an additional $3,000 in funding the Employer will need to hire a College or University Student in a Co-op Program. As part of the College or University Co-op program students are required to work at least 16 weeks every year in paid work placement.

If you are looking to hire a College or University Co-op Student here is a list of some of the Colleges and Universities in Ontario to contact in order to find students for work placements: Colleges Centennial Fawshawe Niagara Seneca Universities Brock Carlton McMaster University of Ottawa Queens Ryerson University of Toronto Waterloo Western Wilfred Laurier

Job Placement Requirement in order to Qualify for Funding In order for the students work placement to qualify for the additional Co-op Salary Funding of $3,000, the work placement must meet all of the following conditions: • the Student must perform employment duties related to their field of study • the work placement must be pre-approved by the Student’s school • the placement must be for a period of 16 weeks • the Company must agree to supervise and evaluate the job performance of the Student

COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY INTERNS RECEIVE UP TO 100% OF SALARIES IN FUNDING • the School must monitor the Student’s performance in the placement • the School must certify the placement as a qualifying work placement • the Student must be paid for the work performed

What amount of Government Funding do I qualify for?

CareerNOW! Students qualify for 2 types of funding: 1) CareerNOW! funding - is 50% of the Student’s salary to a maximum of $5,000. The subsidy is increased to 75% to a maximum of $7,500 for Employers hiring Students from under-represented groups including: • Women studying Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths (STEM), or business • Indigenous students • Visible minorities • Recent immigrants (within 5 years) • Persons with disabilities • Students in their first year of study, or • Students on their first work-term (relevant to their field of study) 2) Co-op Salary Refunds - a refundable tax credit up $3,000 is available per Co-op Student per work term refundable 3 years.

A company can hire multiple Co-op Students at one time, and qualify for funding for each placement. Total cost to the Employer Here is the cost breakdown for an Employer hiring a College or University Student Co-op Student and using CareerNOW! funding: Co-op Student Wages 16 weeks x 40 hours/week x $16/hour = $10,240 CareerNOW! Funding Maximum = 7,500 Co-op Salary Refund Maximum = 3,000 240

As a result of hiring the College or University student for the work placement the Employer is actually in a cash positive position of $240 after using both funding programs and is only out of pocket payroll taxes to the Government.

Work Placement Terms If you are interested in hiring a Co-op student through CareerNOW! the student work terms are: • Winter (January – April) • Summer (May – August) • Fall (September – December)

Students can be employed full-time or part-time hours, and you can apply for consecutive placement periods with the Student. Students must be employed as an employee and tax deductions must be made. Students cannot be hired as a freelancer consultant under these funding programs.

Bonny Koabel CPA, CGA is President of AKR Consulting Canada a Mississauga, ON firm specializing in Government Grants, Subsidies, Tax Credits, Refunds and Rebates since 2003.