Successful Student Work Placement Program increases on-the-job paid work experience for post-secondary students

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

News release

84,000 work placements will be created by 2023–2024

May 22, 2019              Montréal, Quebec              Employment and Social Development Canada

When post-secondary students get the chance to learn on-the-job, they build career skills, their resumes and connections that help them get good jobs when they graduate. Work-integrated learning through the Student Work Placement Program is how the Government of Canada will help Canada’s youth gain relevant, real-life work experiences. 

That is why, in Budget 2019, the Government committed to creating 84,000 work placements by 2023–24. This new commitment is the next step towards the Government of Canada’s goal to ensure that, within 10 years, every young Canadian who wants a work-integrated learning opportunity can get one.

Today, the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, spoke at HEC Montréal with the Information and Communications Technology Council and the Information Technology Association of Canada about their Student Work Placement Program partnerships with the Government of Canada and how it is helping young Canadians get the experience and skills they need through the Student Work Placement Program. To date, over 3,200 placements have been created across Canada and the Program is on track to create 11,500 paid work placements by 2021 in STEM and business fields.

Students in the Program benefit from higher earnings and more employment opportunities in fields closely related to their studies. Partnerships between employers, including small and mid-sized enterprises and post-secondary institutions, play an important role in developing skills training to better prepare Canadian students for the workforce.

Quotes

“On-the-job training through work integrated learning gives post-secondary students real-life work experience for real-life jobs. Expanding the opportunities in Canada for student work placements means that more students will be work-ready when they graduate.”
– The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

“Expanding the Student Work Placement Program will help build a more skilled workforce in Canada. It will also build stronger partnerships between business and universities, colleges and polytechnics, and help post-secondary education students get the skills they need to succeed.”
– The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport

“We are on the cusp of a new era of digital transformation that is redefining every sector of the Canadian economy. The work-integrated learning through the Student Work Placement is a pivotal program for addressing the skills and labour shortages while developing tomorrow’s industry leaders that will shape Canada’s competitive advantage in a global context.”
– Namir Anani, ICTC President & CEO

Quick facts

  • 3,200 student work placements have been created to date. 48% of these have been for students from under-represented groups and first-year students.

  • 1,082 employers have partnered with over 120 PSE institutions to offer student work placements across Canada. 88% of employers were small and medium sized enterprises

  • Budget 2019 proposed to:

    • create up to 20,000 new student work placements per year by 2023–24 with $631.2 million in funding over five years.
    • create an additional 20,000 placements per year by 2023–24 through new partnerships with innovative businesses with $150 million over four years.
    • support the Business/Higher Education Roundtable in creating an additional 44,000 student work placements by 2021–22 with $17 million over three years.

  • Launched in 2017, the Student Work Placement Program will create:

    • up to 10,000 paid student work placements in STEM and business fields and to build stronger partnerships between employers, polytechnics, universities and colleges with $73 million over four years. (Budget 2016)
    • up to 1,000 student work placements in the field of cyber security, as part of the National Cyber Security Strategy with $8.3 million in funding. (Budget 2018)
    • up to 500 new student work placements in the field of artificial intelligence with $3 million over three years. (Budget 2017)

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Contacts

Véronique Simard
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
veronique.simard@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
819-654-5611

Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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