Get Youth Working! Program: BC Government Grants for Hiring Recent Grads

The Get Youth Working! Program is a British Columbia government grant for hiring program offered through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement and run by Bowman Employment Services. The program is specifically designed to offer a generous incentive to BC employers looking to hire unemployed and non-EI eligible youth between the ages of 15-29 years of age.

BC Grants for Small Business Guidelines

Employers may request two types of funding through Bowman Employment Services:

1.)    A hiring incentive of up to $2,800; and,

2.)    Funding for supplementary training of up to $1,000.

A maximum of $2,800 will be offered to employers for each eligible employee hired under the program.  Funding for supplementary training of up to $1,000 will be available to for training where a training plan has been approved by Bowman Employment Services.  An employer may hire up to 3 employees under this program.

British Columbia Business Grants for Hiring: Employer Eligibility

In order to be eligible for this BC grant for hiring program, employers must meet the following criteria:

• In operation for a minimum of 1 year;
• Registered and in good standing with WorkSafe BC; and
• Deemed suitable for public funding  (i.e. not engaged in any illegal, discriminatory or offensive business activities or practices).

Government Grants for Small Businesses in BC: Employee Eligibility

Small businesses in BC must meet the following eligibility criteria in order to be deemed eligible for participation in the Get Youth Working! Program:

• Be unemployed and between 15 and 29 years of age;
• Be accepted as an eligible participant into the program by BES;
• Be a non-EI client (to be verified by BES);
• Not be a full-time student or enrolled in high school or returning to school; and
• Not be a participant in another LMA-funded program while participating in the GYW Program.

BC Grants for Small Business: Program Conditions

In order to qualify for the Get Youth Working! Program terms of hiring must meet the following criteria:

• The term of employment must be in between April 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014.
• Participants must be employed for a minimum average of thirty (30) hours per week.
• The employer must include a minimum employment term for the participant of three (3) months.
• A employers must adhere to all BC Labour Laws in the hiring and employment of the participants.

Learn More about the Get Youth Working! Program

Contact Mentor Works for more information about this program. Also, please follow us on LinkedIn and sign up for our Canadian government funding weekly e-newsletter to avoid missing out on learning about government funding opportunities for your business.