Employers encouraged to apply for wage subsidies to hire youth
The federal government is giving employers more opportunities to hire Canadian youth through the Student Work Placement Program (SWPP).
On Friday, Ottawa announced it is providing 40,000 additional work-integrated learning opportunities across Canada through the program.
“Hands-on work experience gives post-secondary students the training and confidence they need to transition into today’s labour market,” said Steven MacKinnon, minister of jobs and families. “The Student Work Placement Program is an integral part of that work. That is why we’re investing more than $200 million in 2025-2026 to help as many students enter the workforce sooner.”
Youth unemployment remains a significant challenge in the global labour market, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). And in the face of US tariffs on Canada, the Canadian unemployment rate could surge, according to one expert from TD Bank.
The SWPP offers paid, work-related experience to post-secondary students across Canada, helping them gain practical skills in their field of study. Employers can apply for wage subsidies to support student hiring under the program.
Under the program, employers can receive:
Up to $5,000 for every student they hire through the program
Up to $7,000 for every student they hire that is in their first year or is from an under-represented group including:
Student work placement activities under the SWPP can include, but are not limited to:
Employers can apply for wage subsidies through different funding recipients, available here.
The SWPP supported over 57,000 work-integrated learning opportunities in 2023–24 alone.
In Budget 2024, the federal government committed $207.6 million to the SWPP for 2025-26.
Since 2017, the SWPP has supported over 249,000 opportunities for students in all fields of study to build their networks with employers, develop skills needed on-the-job, and improve their transition from school to work—43% of which have been for students in under-represented groups, according to Ottawa.
The SWPP has supported students from over 380 (87%) post-secondary institutions across Canada, noted the government.
Despite some improvement, a vast majority of Canadian employers continue to struggle with hiring skilled talent, according to a recent report from the ManpowerGroup.
Also, more than half of employers in six countries report that hiring has become more challenging over the past three years, according to a previous report from Indeed.
