YEP: Innovative SMEs Can Receive up to $30K in Grants for Small Business Hiring

bigstock-asian-beautiful-businesswoman-42523987The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) offers one of the most generous funding for hiring opportunities available for innovative small and medium-sized businesses in Canada. The funding program is called the Youth Employment Program (YEP) and it is administered through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP).

IRAP Youth Employment Program (YEP) Canadian Business Grants for Hiring: Overview

The YEP business grants Canada program is a wage subsidy that provides as much as $20,000 in Ontario and possibly up to $30,000 in provinces like Alberta for every eligible employee hired through the program. As a part of the Youth Employment Strategy and funded through the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development, this program focuses on affording recent post-secondary graduates the opportunity to work on technical opportunities in the firm and on non-technical but technology related projects such as:

  • Research and Development,
  • Market analysis for new technology-based products,
  • Business development related to science and technology activities,
  • Multi-media,
  • Improvement of customer services, and;
  • Engineering.

YEP Canadian Business Grants for Hiring: Details

Firms may apply for funding for up to 2 graduates, each for a 6-12 month work term. Applicant firms must have their IRAP representative sign off on the application before placing the new hire on payroll. In order to apply firms must be financially stable, and be responsible for finding the graduate before submitting an application to the program. Graduates hired through the YEP Canadian business grants program must be under 31 years of age.

Get Started on Your YEP Canada Small Business Grants Application

By providing details of your business and candidate/position being recruited, Mentor Works can assist you to help maximize the amount of hiring grants your organization may receive. Many grants are available to assist with the hiring of recent graduates, discover your funding potential by accessing the free Wage Subsidy Identifier tool.

Find Hiring Grants for Small Business

Keep up to Date on Canadian Government Grants and Loans

Mentor Works is your one stop shop for Canadian government funding news and funding releases. Sign up for our Canadian government funding weekly e-newsletter or follow and engage us on Twitter.

2 Comments

  1. Dear sir/ madam,

    I’m going to buy a café business and planning to hire a graduate who is 27 years old as a supervisor to improve the customer service and do online marketing like facebook, instagram, etc. May I know if the business is eligible to apply for YEP please? what is the standard of “financially stable”? May I also know the procedure to apply please?

    Many thanks
    Pik Ching Luk

    1. Hi Pik – Thanks for the question. We would recommend that you reach out to IRAP directly via 1-877-994-4727, as they will be able to confirm your business’ and candidate’s eligibility for the Youth Employment Program, including confirming if your business is financially stable. If you’re interested in other hiring grants, please feel free to let us know more about your hiring plans via our Contact Form and we can explore other programs together.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *