In early 2018, Ontario has added new hiring incentives for young people aged 15 to 29 and financial incentives for small businesses to the list of over 30 existing job programs for youth in Ontario.
Through these programs, any young person can get help, regardless of their background or circumstances, and employers who hire them get financial support.
Ontario Job Programs for Youth
If you’re a young person or student looking for a job, you can get help through these programs:
- Youth Job Link
- Youth Job Connection
- Youth Job Connection Summer
- Contact Employment Ontario
- Aboriginal Law Summer Program
- Indigenous Youth Work Exchange Program
- Apprenticeships
- Articling Student/Summer Law Program
- Employment Ontario Employment Service
- Engineering Development Program
- First Nations Natural Resources Youth Employment Program
- Focus On Youth Summer Program
- Internship for Internationally Trained Engineers
- Internship for Internationally Trained Individuals
- Internship at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
- MaRS Studio [Y]
- Ontario Disability Support Program Employment Supports
- Ontario Global Edge Program
- Ontario Internship Program
- Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (grades 11 and 12)
- School of Social Entrepreneurs
- SmartStart Seed Fund
- Starter Company Program
- Stewardship Youth Ranger Program (Rangers)
- Stewardship Youth Ranger Program (Team Leads)
- Strategic Community Entrepreneurship Projects
- Summer Company
- Summer Employment Opportunities
- TalentEdge Internship and Fellowship Program
- Transportation Technician Initiative (engineering tech graduates)
- Young Entrepreneurs Make Your Pitch (grades 9 to 12)
- Youth Business Acceleration Program
- Youth Investment Accelerator Fund
- Youth in Policing Initiative
- Youth Skills Connections
Ontario employment programs for people under 30
If you are under the age of 30, we have programs and tools to help you build skills, start a business, or find work.
The Employing Young Talent Incentive
The Employing Young Talent Incentive helps young people find jobs by offering:
- Small businesses with less than 100 employees, an initial $1,000 incentive upon hiring and an additional $1,000 retention incentive after six months for each youth hired through Employment Service.
- Business owners of any size an initial $1,000 incentive after three months of hiring, followed by an additional $1,000 retention incentive after six months, for hiring youth who face barriers to employment through the Youth Job Connection program.
A small business has to work with Employment Ontario to set the amount of money needed to hire and train someone through Youth Job Connection or Youth Job Connection Summer. It’s based on the specific skill level of the person they want to hire and the amount of the on-the-job training they are offering.
To hire a young person, you must:
- prove you are licensed to operate in Ontario
- comply with workplace, human rights and labour legislation
- have workplace safety and liability insurance
- offer job opportunities taking place in Ontario
As an employer, you benefit from hiring a young person. You can get:
- $1,000-$2,000 through the Employing Young Talent Incentive, for hiring and retaining a young person (15 to 29 years old), if you are: a small business with fewer than 100 employees, through Employment Service (new); an employer of any size, through Youth Job Connection
- financial incentives for hiring a high school student (15 to 18 years old) through the Youth Job Connection Summer program
- additional financial help to offset training costs
- an employee who is ready to work following a series of job-preparation workshops
- job coaches who provide ongoing support to you and your employee
To start your application, request an appointment with an Employment Ontario job coach.
Quick Facts
- Ontario is investing $124 million to help youth aged 15 to 29 find a job through the Employing Young Talent Incentive.
- The Employing Young Talent Incentive came into effect on January 1, 2018. For employers who hired youth clients through Employment Service before April 1, 2018, the first of their two $1,000 incentive payments will be delivered as a three-month retention incentive rather than as a payment upon hiring.
- About one-third of Ontario workers are employed by small businesses.
- Between October 1, 2015 and March 31, 2017, more than 22,000 young people with multiple employment barriers such as lack of experience have participated in Ontario’s Youth Job Connection program.
- To strengthen Ontario small businesses, the province is investing more than $500 million over three years in new initiatives that include lowering the small business tax rate by 22 per cent from 4.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, investing in youth employment, providing support for downtown main street businesses, and cutting red tape.
Ontario’s plan to support care, create opportunity and make life more affordable during this period of rapid economic change includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25, and 65 or over, through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.
Additional Resources
- Ontario Job Programs for Youth: https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-help-finding-youth-or-student-job
- Ontario employment programs for people under 30: https://www.ontario.ca/page/employment-programs-people-under-30
- Visit Small Business Access to get the support to grow your business: https://www.ontario.ca/page/small-business-access
- Employment Ontario: https://www.ontario.ca/page/employment-ontario
- Employing Young Talent Incentive: https://www.ontario.ca/page/hire-young-person
April, 2018
Sources:
- https://news.ontario.ca/sb/en/2018/04/ontario-helping-young-people-find-jobs.html
- https://www.ontario.ca/page/hire-young-person
