Options Youth
Options Youth is an employment wage subsidy program funded by Service Canada and facilitated by the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre and Enactus Saint Mary’s. The program works with at-risk youth to empower them to find gainful employment.
About the program
The program offers youth personalized skill training following the Skill for Success model to help prepare them to enter the workforce. This Employability Skills Training will run for five weeks and will explore the following themes of skills development:
- Team Development
- Job Search
- Financial Literacy
- Personal Skills
- Professional Skills
The training will follow a hybrid model, to offer flexibility and accessibility to our participants.
In addition, the program seeks to connect program participants with employers for paid work placements to help Nova Scotian youth overcome their barriers to employment. This provides youth with a 15-week work term to gain the experience necessary to get employed and stay employed.
Participants can also choose to engage in virtual training throughout and after the program via our Options Online learning platform to further upskill their toolbox.
Applications for July 4, 2023 have closed.
For Participants:
- Participants earn over $2,500 for Employability Skills Training.
- Training sessions will run for five weeks.
- Continuous support and coaching while completing the Training sessions and transitioning into the Work Term.
- Support your employment search with a wage subsidy of $7.5 per hour for 15 weeks (525 hours) as an incentive for employers to hire, train and keep you.
For Employers:
- Hire an Options Youth participant to enhance your business
- Benefit from a 50% wage subsidy
- Earn a total funding of $3,937.50 per hire
