OCE First Job Funding for Hiring Closed Until April 2012

The Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) have announced that they are no longer accepting applications for their First Job hiring program. The Canadian government grant for hiring will be closed until April 2012. Applicants may still be eligible if they are carrying out a Technical Problem Solving (TPS) project through OCE, however they will need to hire one of the students working on the project in order for the candidate to be eligible under First Job.

OCE First Job – Funding for Hiring

For those unaware of First Job, the provincial funding program is intended to help businesses hire candidates that achieved their degree within 5 years and must be a relevant job to their field of study, in which it is their first position since graduation. This Ontario government funding program has the following requirements of any applying company:

• The company must have a presence in Ontario
• The company must be able to demonstrate the managerial and financial resources to provide stable employment for the intern and make effective use of his or her technical skills.
• The company must have identified the candidate prior to completing an OCE First Job Enquiry Form.
• The company must be able to demonstrate the intent to utilize the new hire’s skills and to commercialize any technology developed during the First Job term.
• The company must be able to show that commercial impacts will provide growth for the company and benefit to Ontario.
• The company must have an emphasis on technology and research.
• The position must have a significant research component.
• The company must demonstrate an intent to mentor and develop the candidate professionally.
• The company must agree to complete an OCE Company Expectation Survey at the time of application as well as after two years in industry.

Other Funding for Hiring Available Today

Although the OCE First Job program might be closed temporarily, there is still government funding for business available, including:

• MITACS Enterprise: Up to $30,000 for a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics graduate.
• iSTEM: Up to $10,000 for an undergraduate and $15,000 for a graduate in the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field.
• ICTC Career Focus:35% support up to $10,000 towards the hiring of a IT graduate.
• Small Business Internship Program (SBIP): Up to $10,000 or 75% of salary for a 3 month marketing, web development, or business development internship.
• Youth Employment Program (YEP): 1 year, up to $30,000 grant towards the hiring of a recent graduate under the age of 31.

If you are interested in any of these programs, please contact Mentor Works, the Government Funding Experts and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and subscribe to our Canadian government funding blog.