yyjworks.com

There are several programs currently available in British Columbia to help employers subsidize employee wages and thus employ more people. Programs are offered by the federal and provincial governments and by some private sector and not-for-profit organizations. Here is a list of the most well known programs.

WorkSource Wage Subsidy Program

The WorkSource Wage Subsidy Program is administered by Business Victoria and is a collaborative effort involving the Ministry of Social Development, Employment Assistance Service Providers and Victoria and area businesses.

To quote from the WorkSource page:

“If you are an Employer who is prepared to hire and provide on the job skill development for a position that is a minimum of 30 hours per week & is for long term employment; WorkSource may be able to assist you with your new employee by subsidizing up to 50% of their wage for up to 6 months.”

Employers can learn more, apply to the program or check out the blog for more information.

Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit
This is a federal government program. Quoting from the website:

“If you hire an apprentice, you can receive a tax credit equal to 10% of their salary. The maximum credit is $2,000 per year. You must hire an apprentice who is:

• In a trade listed under the “Red Seal Trades” or approved by the Minister of Finance
• In the first two years of an apprenticeship program registered with a federal, provincial or territorial government
• Working towards getting a certificate or licence in that trade”

British Columbia Training Tax Credit Program
This is a provincial government program. I am not sure that this program is still in effect but you can certainly check at the website link above. To quote from this website: 

“If you employ apprentices enrolled in apprenticeship programs administered through the Industry Training Authority, you can apply for a refundable income tax credit worth up to 20% of the wages for eligible employees.”

Canada Summer Jobs
This is a federal program. From the Canada Summer Jobs web page:

“Do you plan to hire students to help out at your small business next summer? This wage subsidy could help you pay up to 50% of the salary to an eligible full-time student.

To qualify:

• Students must be aged between 15 and 30
• Your business should not have more than 50 full-time employees
• You need to meet the priorities set by your region”

Note that the website says that the application process is closed for 2011 but that interested businesses should check back at the beginning of 2012 to apply for that year’s program.

Career Focus
This federal program is intended to help businesses employ recent college or university grads. From their website:

“This wage subsidy could help you pay part of the salary of college or university graduates, if you provide them with work experience that will help them in their career.
To qualify, you need to:

• be a Canadian business
• provide full-time work for four months to one year
• provide coaching and work experience in the graduate’s field of study”

Industrial Research Assistance Program: Youth Employment Program
This federal program says on their webpage:

“You could receive up to $30,000 in non-repayable assistance towards the salary of a post-secondary graduate who can help your business research, develop and commercialize new technologies. To be eligible, you must:

• Be an incorporated and for-profit business
• Have 500 or less full-time employees
• Be ready to enhance your innovation capacity”

Opportunities Fund – Funding for Employers and Organizations
This is a federal program. “As an employer, you could access a wage subsidy to hire Canadians with disabilities. Conditions apply.” See the website for more information.

Science and Technology Internship Program
This federal program is geared toward businesses in the geomatics, geology, mining, forestry or energy sector. If you have a business that qualifies you could:

“get up to $13,200 to hire recent university or college graduates in science, engineering or business for internships of up to 52 weeks.

To qualify, you must:

• Hire and train an intern under the age of 30
• Provide a work plan and budget (including the salary paid to the intern)
• Plan a project with a duration of 6 to 12 months
• Supply at least the same amount of money as you receive for the intern’s salary”

Skills Link
This federal program allows businesses to hire and train young workers between the ages of 15 and 30. Their webpage says:

“You could receive money to hire and train young Canadians between the ages of 15 and 30 (inclusive) who are registered with the Skills Link program. The youth must be at risk of not finding work for one of the following reasons:

• They didn’t finish high school
• They live in a remote area
• They have a disability
• They are Aboriginal
• They are from a visible minority
• They face other barriers”

Small Business Internship Program
This federal program is geared toward small firms that need help with information and communication technologies. Their webpage says:

“Your business could hire a student for a 12 week internship to work on information and communications technology projects and get up to $10,000 towards the intern’s salary. You are responsible for paying 25% of the intern’s wages and related costs. The program will reimburse you for the remaining 75% of the costs.”

Targeted Wage Subsidies 
This provincial government program:

“is an employment program that provides employers with financial assistance towards wages of eligible individuals whom they hire.  The program encourages employers to hire eligible individuals whom they would not normally hire in the absence of a subsidy.”

Job Creation Partnerships
This provincial government program doesn’t subsidize wages but rather can reimburse businesses for things like overhead costs associated with creating a new job.

Labour Market Partnerships
This provincial government program “provides financial assistance to organizations to encourage, support and facilitate labour force adjustments and human resource planning activities which are in the public interest.”