Career Starter Program | BioTalent Canada

Participants must be:

• Between 15 and 30 years of age (inclusive) 
• New hires to the organization 
• Not be in school full-time (part-time students can apply)  
• Able to work full-time 
• A Canadian citizen, or permanent resident or a protected person as defined by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 
• Legally entitled to work in Canada 
• Legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial/territorial legislation and regulations 
•  Barriered youth, including the following but not limited to: 
  • Involuntary NEET: Youth who are involuntarily not in employment, education, or training (NEET) 
  • Youth living with disabilities  
  • Youth in Official Language Minority communities 
  • Indigenous youth 
  • Recent immigrant and/or refugee 
  • Youth from racialized community groups 
  • 2SLGBTQI+ 
  • Youth experiencing homelessness or precarious housing 
  • Youth living in low-income households 
  • Youth residing in rural or remote areas 
  • Youth living with family care responsibilities (single parent youth, caregiver of dependents) 
  • Youth who are early leavers from high school 
  • Underemployed youth 
  • Women in STEM 
• Youth Furthest from Employment: Youth aged 15 to 30 who are chronically not in employment, education or training (NEET) for at least 6 months, AND who have other unmet basic needs (for example, income security, housing, disability, health, etc.) that undermine their employability. These youths also experience broader systemic barriers that negatively impact their ability to find and keep employment. Examples of these barriers are noted above, under the definition of barriered youth.  

Employer must:

• Work within the bio-economy 
• Maintain an internal process for supervising and mentoring for the participant 
• Provide a full-time position, 30 hours per week or more for a minimum of 3 months 
• Assign a mentor/job coach who will act as an advisor, counselor or guide to the participants and will promote personal and professional development. The mentor will provide support and feedback to the participants 
• Submit progress reports as requested by BioTalent Canada 
• Contribute at least 40% of the total salary of each participant 

This position must not be funded by another Federally funded program like IRAP, Mitacs, etc.