OTTAWA, Nov. 24, 2014 /CNW/ - Thanks to the Career Focus program funded by the Youth Employment Strategy of the federal department of Employment and Social Development Canada, BioTalent Canada has successfully placed 258 new graduates in their first career employment in dozens of Biotech businesses across Canada.
Career Focus is a wage subsidy program that small and medium-size businesses across Canada can access and obtain up to $20,000 in federal subsidies for a new graduate's first year of employment. The program is administered by BioTalent Canada, a non-profit human resource association that represents the HR needs of the bio-economy. Since this version of the program began in April of 2013, BioTalent Canada has disbursed almost $2.5 Million in wage subsidies for new graduates to biotech businesses across Canada. The program matches dollar per dollar, the employer's contribution to the first year's salary of the new graduate, up to a maximum of $20,000.
"The Career Focus Program is by far our most popular and successful program," said Rob Henderson, BioTalent Canada's President and CEO. "The program effectively addresses the two greatest challenges facing Bio-economy SMEs – access to capital and access to talent."
While BioTalent Canada has been a participant in the Career Focus program for almost a decade, never have they had such a quick and overwhelming response from bio-economy businesses across Canada. The organization attributes the success to two things: the increased demand in Canada's Bio-economy and BioTalent Canada's corporate partners, who spread news of the program widely, to hundreds of businesses.
Charles River Laboratories, a contract research firm located on the island of Montreal, is one of the Canadian companies that benefited from the Career Focus Program. "With an international reputation, our technical expertise and science is recognized worldwide. Charles River is always willing to help new graduates start their professional career in an exciting environment like ours," said Crystel Kiriakos, Recruiter, Human Resources. "The Career Focus Program helped us attract post-secondary graduates with the opportunity to gain experience in the industry and find permanent employment in their field of study," she said. Their newest employee agrees. "Charles River gave me the perfect opportunity right after graduating, with its diversity of activities and important case load; I'm gaining incredible experience and learning new things every day," said Charles River Laboratories' Clinical Veterinarian and recent graduate Marie-Christine Barma Hamel.
BioTalent Canada credits the need within the industry for the success of the program. "While the demand has never been greater for a program like this, BioTalent Canada's national and provincial industry association and corporate partners were instrumental in getting the word out," said Rob Henderson. "So much so that we exceeded our quota and disbursed all program funds quicker than ever before. This is a huge advantage of our corporate partnership program which is the largest and widest in Canada's bioeconomy," he said.
Currently 95% of young people who are placed in the Career Focus Program retain employment in their host company, or return to school. BioTalent Canada plans to publish a research report outlining labour statistics of the program and placements of the Career Focus program in early 2015.
About the Career Focus Wage Subsidy Program:
BioTalent Canada's Career Focus Wage Subsidy Program paves the way to employment by helping offset the costs of orientation, integration and skills development when hiring new graduates. For more information, please visit www.biotalent.ca/wagesubsidies.
About BioTalent Canada:
BioTalent Canada is the HR partner of Canada's bio-economy. As an HR expert and national non-profit organization, BioTalent Canada focuses on building partnerships and skills for Canada's bio-economy to ensure the industry has access to job-ready people. Through projects, research, and product development, BioTalent Canada connects employers with job seekers, delivers human resource information, and skills development tools so the industry can focus on strengthening Canada's biotech business. For more information, please visit www.biotalent.ca.
Image with caption: "Clinical Veterinarian Marie-Christine Barma Hamel was one of the recent graduates hired by Charles River Laboratories through BioTalent Canada and the Career Focus Program. Also featured: Sandy Sey, Senior Director, Operations. (CNW Group/BioTalent Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20141124_C7869_PHOTO_EN_8420.jpg
SOURCE: BioTalent Canada
Media Inquiries: BioTalent Canada, Eli Duern, Marketing and Communications Coordinator, 613-235-1402 ext. 234, [email protected]
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