IRAP Youth Employment Program

The Youth Employment Program provides financial assistance to companies so they can hire young talent to contribute to their innovation needs.

National Research Council of Canada

Overview of the IRAP Youth Employment Program program:

The NRC IRAP Youth Employment Program is a funding opportunity offered by the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). This program provided financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them hire young graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The aim was to enhance innovation and research and development (R&D) capacity within Canadian businesses by integrating fresh talent into their teams.

Benefits of the IRAP Youth Employment Program program:

The Youth Employment Program offers financial assistance to offset the cost of hiring young talent to work on projects with:
- R&D
- Engineering
- Multimedia
- Market analysis components
- Develop a new product or process
A student or young graduate hired through this program can work on business, technical, or technology-related projects to help you:
- Advance research and development, engineering and multimedia activities
- Develop new products and processes
- Conduct market analyses for new technology-based products
- Support business development related to science and technology activities
- Improve customer services

Eligibility criteria of the IRAP Youth Employment Program program:

To be eligible for financial assistance through our youth employment program, your business must be:
A small or medium-sized business (500 or fewer full-time equivalents)
Incorporated and for-profit
Ready to enhance your innovation capacity and willing to partner with NRC IRAP
The youth internship will last a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 12 months. The candidate must work a minimum of 30 hours per week. The candidate must also be:
15 to 30 years of age at the start of the internship
A post-secondary graduate
A Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada or person granted refugee status in Canada
Legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial legislation and regulations
A first-time participant in a Youth Employment and Skills Strategy work experience program targeted at post-secondary graduates