Science Horizons (2017-2019)

July 2017 – July 2019

Industry Need: Private sector companies regularly argue that it can be risky to take on new graduates with no previous work experience in the sector. This viewpoint is in line with research recently conducted by BioTalent Canada’s member organization – Life Sciences Ontario (LSO). LSO released a Sector Report in 2015 for the province, which represents Canada’s largest concentration of bio-economy companies, employers and employees. Their report stated the unemployment rate of Ontario Science graduates between 20-24 years of age with a minimum university degree was 18.9%, demonstrating the need to assist new grads in the transition into their new career.

 

Objective: To mitigate this problem, The Bio-economy’s Environmental Youth Internship Program minimizes risk to small to medium sized biotechnology companies hiring a new STEM grad into an environmental job by covering the cost of that new graduate’s salary by 50% to a maximum of $15,000/year. The overall objective of this project is to place 100 new STEM post-secondary graduates within green jobs in Canada’s bio-economy over a two-year period.

 

News release – New Wage Subsidy Program Helps New Graduates Gain Scientific Experience in Environmental Fields

 

This project was undertaken with the financial support of Environment and Climate Change Canada.