Objective: To help mitigate this problem, the BioReadyTM Paid Internship Program is a two-step process to minimize the perceived risk to biotechnology companies hiring an IEP. Bio-economy organizations will have access to pre-screened BioReadyTM candidates that have been validated and certified job-ready by experts in the field. To further decrease the apparent gamble of hiring newcomers lacking Canadian experience, bio-economy employers can recover the cost of a BioReady recognized IEP’s salary by 50% to a maximum of $11,500/year.
Timeline:
August 2017 – November 2019
Industry need: 53% of Canadian bio-economy companies surveyed in 2013’s Sequencing the Data reported skill shortages. 19% of those companies reported having immediate openings that could not be filled and 40% stated that this situation was having a major impact on their businesses. Of those companies polled in 2016 that had previously hired IEPs, most felt it to be an effective way of addressing these shortages and resulted in improved productivity, innovation and problem solving. Furthermore, with the greatest skills shortages being in R&D and quality control, the two most commonly possessed IEP skills, bio-economy employers could certainly benefit from accessing this underutilized talent pool. All the employers surveyed supported the idea of having access to pre-screened candidates of the BioSkills Recognition Program.
Funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Foreign Credential Recognition Program.
