Funding opportunities

Funded by: Labour, Skills and Immigration, Government of Nova Scotia

The Co-op Education Incentive provides wage assistance to private sector, government-funded and non-profit organizations in Nova Scotia who offer career-related work experiences for co-op students.

Provides private sector, government funded and non-profit organizations 50% of the required minimum hourly wage ($15.00/hr) to a maximum of $7.50/hr at 40 hours per week. Private Sector Organizations who receive IRAP or SR&ED are eligible for 50% of the hourly wage to a maximum of $10.00 / hour at 40 hours per week.

Contact: sepinfo@gov.ns.ca   |   902-424-6000   |   1-800-424-5418

More information: Nova Scotia Labour and Advanced Education

Funded by: Service Canada

Provides wage subsidies to assist not-for-profit, public sector and smaller private sector organizations with 50 or fewer employees across Canada.

Eligible students must have been registered full-time students during the previous academic term with the intention of returning to their studies during the next academic year. Students must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents and legally entitled to work in Canada.

Not-for-profits may be eligible for 100% coverage of provincial / territorial adult minimum hourly wage. Public and private sector employers are eligible for up to 50% of the provincial / territorial minimum hourly wage.

Availability: summer (view specific dates)

Application deadline: Late January

More information: Canada Summer Jobs

Student Summer Skills Incentive (SKILL) partners with not-for-profit organizations to create career-related summer jobs for post-secondary students in Nova Scotia. The jobs are distributed across the province based on population and unemployment for each county.

The Student Work Placement Program provides eligible Canadian organizations offering full-time employment opportunities between 12-16 weeks for full-time Canadian post-secondary students (includng remote-working opportunities) with wage subsidies covering up to $5,000 toward the salary of every student hired through the program, and up to $7,000 for every student hired that is in their first year or is from an under-represented group (applicable to all wages earned until March 31, 2025).

Funded by: Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)

Provides employers within the biotechnology industry or other employers hiring for a job role with a biotechnology focus with co-op wage subsidies up to a maximum of $7,000.

More information: BioTalent Canada

Funded by: Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)

Provides employers with wage subsidies of up to 50 percent of the wage cost for the placement (up to a maximum of $5,000 per placement) and up to 70 percent (up to a maximum of $7,000 per placement) for first-year students and under-represented groups including, women in STEM, Indigenous students, persons with disabilities and newcomers.

More information: Canadian Council for Aviation & Aerospace

Funded by: Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)

Provides a wage subsidy of up to 50% to a maximum of $5000 to employers hiring students in an environmental role.

More information: ECO Canada

The Emerging Now Funding Program provides wage subsidies to Atlantic Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve organizational productivity and make advancements in manufacturing modernization by hiring Dalhousie co-op students from Engineering, Computer Science, and other related STEM disciplines. 

 
Eligible SMEs will receive the opportunity to hire qualifying Dalhousie co-op students who will participate in organizational productivity improvement and modernization initiatives. Ideally, regional SMEs will employ Dal co-op students for three work terms over a 12-month period in order to maximize impact on their operations. 

Program structure:

• Up to 24 positions per year are expected
• Approved companies are eligible to receive wage assistance up to 2/3rds total salary to a maximum of $20/hour (baed on 40 hrs/wk to a maximum of 16 weeks for each work term)
• Companies/firms must pay a minimum of $15.00/hour based on a 40-hour work week

Eligibility criteria:

1. Participating SMEs should be recognized as high growth or potential high growth in advanced manufacturing and/or production and must be engaged in export business outside of Canada
2. Priority will be focused on companies/firms that have not yet participated in Dalhousie’s Co-op program or who have not hired in the last 12 months or more
3. Priority will be given primarily to Nova Scotia based companies. Employers from other Atlantic Canadian provinces may be eligible if there is capacity within the program to support
4. Employers must be qualified as prospective or existing SITE Co-op employers and supply a job description
5. Employers must subscribe and uphold Co-op Employer Responsibilities (see Employer Agreement)
6. Companies/firms operating in the employer sectors of a) retail/wholesale; b) real-estate; c) government / government services and services of a personal or social nature are not eligible.

Applications will be accepted on myCareer (log-in required). 

Funded by: National Research Council Canada

IRAP supports small and medium-sized enterprises in the development of technologies by cost-sharing approved research and development projects.

Availability: ongoing

Application deadline: projects must be individually proposed to NRC IRAP

Contact: 902-426-1624   |   1-877-994-4727

More information: National Research Council Canada

Funded by: Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)

Provides employers with up to 50% (maximum of $5,000) of a work term student’s pay in wage subsidies. Employers who hire students from underrepresented groups including women in STEM, indigenous students, recent immigrants, persons with disabilities, and first-year students may also qualify for additional funding (up to 70% or $7,000).

More information: Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)

Funded by: Student Work Placement Program (SWPP)

Provides employers with up to 50% (maximum of $5,000) of a work term student’s pay in wage subsidies. Employers who hire students from underrepresented groups including women in STEM, indigenous students, recent immigrants, persons with disabilities, and first-year students may also qualify for additional funding (up to 70% or $7,000).

More information: Technation

Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Approved Canadian industrial organizations may qualify for cost sharing up to a value of $4500. The employer must supplement the award by at least 25% of the value. A travel allowance may also be granted.

Students must be enrolled in an bachelor's degree program in the fields of natural science or engineering and have maintained an academic standing of "B" or greater.

The work term must expose the student to R&D and/or innovation related activities related to their field of study.

Availability: ongoing as permitted by the student's academic schedule. The term must be a maximum of four months.

Deadline: 4 weeks prior to the start of the work term

Contact: 506-854-7767

More information: NSERC

Funded by: Natural Resources Canada

Provides an opportunity to recent graduates in natural science and engineering to gain relevant and meaningful work experiences within their field of studies.

More information: Natural Resources Canada

Funded by: Government of Canada and Business Development Bank of Canada

The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) has been established to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) realize their full potential by adopting digital technologies. 

More information: Government of Canada

Funded by: Labour, Skills and Immigration, Government of Nova Scotia

Provides salary contributions to offset the cost of hiring a recent graduate and assists post-secondary graduates find career opportunities in Nova Scotia.

More information: Graduate to Opportunity

Funded by: Canada Revenue Agency

Offers tax deductions for current and capital expenditures as well as investment tax credits.

Canadian businesses conducting research and development in the areas experimental development, applied research, basic research and support work may qualify.

Deadline: At least three (3) weeks prior to the start of the work term.

Contact: 902-426-2386   |   1-866-433-5986

More information: Canada Revenue Agency