Hire a youth participant

This section explains the steps required to provide a meaningful and well-supported work experience under the CSJ program, from selecting a participant to submitting the completed eligibility form. As an approved employer, you are responsible for recruiting, hiring, and onboarding participants in line with your agreement.

Job Bank

We will post all CSJ-funded positions online on Job Bank, which serves as the primary source of information for youth about available jobs funded through the program.

To remove the posting from Job Bank, you must submit an Employer and Employee Declaration form to confirm the hiring of a participant.

If there are errors in your Job Bank posting or you would like your Job Bank posting removed, please contact us.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for Canada Summer Jobs, your participant must:

• be between 15 and 30 years old at the start of their summer job
• be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the job and
• be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations
  • This includes having a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of their summer job

Additional eligibility information

Age requirements

The youth must be between 15 and 30 years old at the start of their summer job. The youth may be 31 years old by the end of the job, as long as they were 30 when the job began.

Social Insurance Number requirements

A Social Insurance Number (SIN) that starts with a 9 is issued to individuals who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents, but who are authorized to work in Canada under specific conditions. SINs starting with 9 are assigned to temporary residents, such as:

• foreign workers
• international students with work permits
• refugee claimants

If your CSJ participant has a SIN that begins with a 9, you must provide proof of residency. Acceptable documents include:

• a letter from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) confirming refugee status or
• a valid Permanent Resident Card

If you cannot provide valid proof of your participant's residency, they will be ineligible for the CSJ program.

Ineligible youth

After reviewing the Employer and Employee Declaration, we may determine that your participant is ineligible for the CSJ program if:

• they do not meet the participant eligibility criteria
• the job details do not respect the details in your agreement

For details on participant eligibility, including cases of ineligibility, please consult the Articles of Agreement.

One job per youth requirement

Each youth may work only one CSJ-funded job per project at a time. As the intention of the program is to provide job opportunities to as many youth as possible, employers are to hire a different youth for each job approved in their agreement.

Displacing existing employees

Youth hired under CSJ cannot displace or replace existing employees or volunteers, even if they are absent (for example, employees on vacation).

Employment status

Youth already working full-time for the employer are ineligible. However, part-time employees or those previously hired through a CO-OP placement may be eligible.

Temporary residents

International students are not eligible participants. As the objective of the CSJ program is to support youth entering the Canadian labour market, the temporary nature of an international student's time in Canada does not allow for a long-term connection to the labour market.

International students include anyone who is temporarily in Canada for studies and who is not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person who has been granted refugee status in Canada.

Youth awaiting a refugee status ruling, as well as those who hold a temporary visitor visa, youth visa or work visa are ineligible.

Hiring a family member

You cannot receive reimbursement for hiring a participant who is an immediate family member, either yours or that of an officer or director in your organization, unless we have approved their hiring.

This includes:

• parents
• siblings
• children
• spouses or common-law partners or
• anyone living with you who is considered family

If you are unable to hire a youth and are considering hiring a family member, you must get written approval from us before the job begins. We must be satisfied that the hiring was not on the results of favouritism because of a family relationship.

Youth facing barriers to employment

Youth facing barriers are young people who may experience extra challenges in finding and keeping employment because of social, cultural, geographic, or personal circumstances. Our program encourages employers to prioritize youth facing barriers and provide them with meaningful job opportunities.

For a full list of the groups included under youth facing barriers, please consult the Recruitment plan on the CSJ Funding page.

Recruiting youth facing barriers

If you indicated in your application that you intended to prioritize the recruitment of youth facing barriers to employment, we may monitor your recruitment and hiring activities to ensure they align with the commitments in your application.

Removing barriers in the workplace

Accommodation measures are designed to remove barriers in the workplace and enable youth to successfully complete the tasks outlined in your agreement.

• Many accommodation measures can be cost‑free, such as:
  • flexible work hours
  • remote work or telework arrangements
  • adjusting communication methods or formats
• Other measures may involve expenses for:
  • personal tools, like portable magnifiers or specialized writing instruments or handles
  • adaptive equipment or technology, like a voice-activated computer or speech-to-text software
  • professional support services, like visual language interpreters or a personal aide

You may be eligible for additional funding to cover accommodation measures if you hire a youth with a disability who requires support to carry out specific tasks or perform their job duties. Details are available in the Accommodation costs section.