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S P O N S O R E D S P E C I A L F E A T U R E
GET TALENT.
GET MONEY.
GET STARTED.
Motivated students need a place to start,
a place to learn and a place to contribute.
"EXCELLENCE
in Manufacturing
Consortium (EMC) is
delivering the Government of Canada's
Student Work Placement Program
(SWPP) to Canada's manufacturing and
related sectors through the WILWorks
Program," says Susan McLachlan,
project co-ordinator, EMC. "We're
happy to be a new SWPP partner
focusing on the manufacturing sector as
well as related industries in the supply
chain."
Although EMC's participation is only
recent, it has already received a
number of applications. McLachlan
stated the response has been very
positive.
What is WILWorks?
Through WILWorks, EMC aims to
create partnerships with colleges,
universities, polytechnics and CEGEPs
to help develop a pipeline of future
employment-ready graduates. This
pipeline will also focus on supporting
students through internships, co-op
placements or applied research projects.
"The goal of the Student Work
Placement Program is to increase the
number of work-integrated learning
opportunities that employers can offer
to post-secondary students," says
McLachlan.
More precisely, the WILWorks
program provides wage subsidies to
employers of 50 per cent, up to $5,000
per new placement and 70 per cent, up
to $7,000 for students from
underrepresented groups. This
includes women in STEM, Indigenous
people, persons with disabilities,
first-year students, visible minorities
and newcomers to Canada.
EMC's WILWorks Program supports
full-time or part-time paid placements
as short as six weeks and to a
maximum of 16 weeks. It is up to the
employer and student to determine the
duration and the subsidy will be
pro-rated accordingly.
How to apply?
The initial application is easy and
should only take employers
approximately 10 to 15 minutes to
complete.
It is up to employers to apply and
they can do so via EMC's easy-to-use
online platform. Students can not
apply for the program; nevertheless,
EMC encourages students to be aware
of the WILWorks program because it
can add value to a conversation with an
employer or during a job interview.
"That is an added benefit for
students to be able to go to an
employer and say, 'If you hire me, you
may be able to receive a wage subsidy
through this program,'" says
McLachlan.
Although there is documentation and
paperwork required, McLachlan says,
"EMC tries to make the application
process as seamless as possible because
we know the manufacturing sector. We
are trying to make it as easy as possible
for the employers. To support employers
through the application process, we
have EMC staff available to assist,
offering a white-glove service to all of
our applicants."
What are the benefits?
The program enables employers,
through this wage subsidy, to offer even
more positions to post-secondary
students and have access to the
necessary funds.
The program enables employers,
through this wage subsidy, to offer even
more positions to post-secondary
students and have access to the
necessary funds.
"For employers who have never hired
post-secondary students before, this
may be what they need to be able to
spark that relationship and start
accessing student talent," says
McLachlan. "For employers that have
