LA MALBAIE, Que. — An internship program subsidizing newly minted post-secondary graduates in the workplace can provide valuable job experience while also providing much needed labour in rural regions.
“It helps provide a reasonable salary versus an entry level one,” said Ryan Reynard, executive director of Lake of the Woods Business Incentive Corporation in Kenora, Ont.
He and Gilles Matko of Ontario’s Nord-Aski Regional Economic Development Corp. presented their regions’ initiative to the Community Futures Network of Canada national conference in La Malbaie, Que., in June.
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“They could hire an intern at $6,300 and recoup half of that back,” said Matko.
“It’s another tool to bring back the youth and to offer them real life work experience,” he said.
The program provides 50 percent of the wage up to a maximum of $3,150 for the year, with average annual salaries around $40,000, he said. To be eligible, they must be graduates under the age of 30 and in these Ontario regions.
“Youth go off to school and often don’t return,” said Reynard.
“There’s a lack of significant opportunities for them to return to the community. However we are starting to change that.”
The pair wants to connect graduates with businesses needing specialized help.
In his region, Matko cited recent exploration activities in mining and a resurgence in forestry, including one sawmill that is hiring more than 100 people.
Examples of placements to date include interns working with a newspaper to update its website and in forestry doing GIS (geographic information system) mapping.
There are currently 10 that have applied but that number is expected to rise with recent graduates now looking for work. There are spaces for 100 interns within 24 participating CFs in northern and eastern Ontario.
Reynard and Matko would like to see the internships extended.
“An intern in place for two years could allow you to create new projects and it’s less likely for business to let him go,” said Matko.
