RECEIVE HIRING INCENTIVES THROUGH YOUTH SKILLS BC

The Youth Skills BC Workplace Pilot Program is a new incentive program which offers BC employers up to $2,000, when hiring an eligible youth between the ages of 15 and 29.

The program, which runs from January 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012, also offers an additional incentive of $1,000 to purchase training for their new employee.

Funded through Canada - British Columbia Labour Market Agreement(LMA), the program has been created to provide BC's youth with the skills required to be successful in the employment market.  Through a combination of training, work experience and formal skills development training, the program hopes to address the current and future skills shortage in BC.

So how can you, as a small business owner, take advantage of this program and what are the parameters?

Your Business

To be eligible for the Youth Skills BC Workplace Pilot Program your business must be:

• In operation for a minimum of one year
• In good standing with WorkSafe BC
• Be suitable for public funding (not engaged in any illegal, discriminatory or offensive business activity)

The Employee

Youths employed under the program must:

• Be aged between 15 and 29
• Be unemployed
• Not be an Employment Insurance (EI) client
• Be legally entitled to work in Canada
• Be a resident of British Columbia
• Not be a full time student or enrolled in a high school
• Not be participating in another LMA funded program

The Program

There are two different types of funding – the Hiring Incentive and theSupplementary Training Incentive.