Feds create over 500 paid work placements for students in Atlantic Canada

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — About 505 students in the Atlantic region of Canada will be able to secure paid work placements, develop important skills and gain workplace experience, thanks to a boost from the federal government.

The Government of Canada is providing over $4.4 million to Venture for Canada for the Providing Work-Integrated Learning Opportunities for Students at Innovative Atlantic SMEs project. The feds are rolling out a $73-million Student Work Placements Program to create over 10,000 paid student work placements in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) and business fields over the next four years and to facilitate stronger partnerships between employers and partnering polytechnics, universities and colleges, states a release.

This is in addition to funding provided to Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that provides research internships with a goal of creating 10,000 work placements per year. With these combined investments, over 60,000 post-secondary students will have paid work placements over the next five years.