1. NIAGARA COLLEGE CANADA CAREER FOCUS PROGRAM
A mentorship program that subsidizes employers
who hire post-secondary graduates
to full-time permanent jobs

2. The employer subsidy is temporary….
What’s Career Focus?
A mentorship program that subsidizes employers who hire ANY
post-secondary graduates into full-time permanent jobs.
IF APPROVED, the Career Focus Program will reimburse an employer 50% of the salary paid to a post-secondary graduate hired and mentored by the employer. The maximum allowable reimbursement is $20,000 for a period of 3 to 5 months.
An employer is investing in a graduate and mentoring them in order to ultimately facilitate the graduate’s integration into the Canadian labour market.
The employer subsidy is temporary….
…the job is not.
NOTE: EMPLOYERS WILL NOT BE REIMBURSED IF THEY HIRE A GRADUATE WHO STARTS WORKING BEFORE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA APPROVAL.
Career Focus - June 2016

3. How does it work?
Once an employer is approved by Niagara College Career Focus, the employer and the graduate complete a Collaborative Learning Plan. The Plan identifies the development and learning goals and tactics that the employer mentor is going to provide in support of the employee mentee.
Mentors and mentees must meet on a weekly basis to “stay on track”. These meetings are noted in a meeting record. Mentees also are required to blog post their experience 3 times.
The Niagara College Career Focus’ role throughout the contract is to support the mentorship relationship.
Additionally, and in order for employers to be reimbursed for fulfilling all the terms of their contract with Niagara College Career Focus, they must submit, by the 15th of each month, proof of payroll.
Career Focus - June 2016

4. Are you hiring a full-time permanent employee by December 1, 2016?
If you answer “yes”, then you could be considered for The Program.
Employers MUST:
1) be hiring a full-time permanent position by December 1, 
2) hire a graduate (15-30 years of age) from any post-secondary institution; not in receipt or EI benefits; a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or granted refugee status; and, legally entitled to work in Canada 
3) mentor the graduate employee 
4) be conducting business in Ontario 
5) and must sign a contract with Niagara College prescribing ALL of the terms of the Program in order to receive reimbursement 
Career Focus - June 2016

5. How do I apply?
Go to
Print out this PowerPoint (because the forms and instructions are in it); the Application; and, the Participant Information Form (PIF). Save electronically too on your computer.
Complete the Application AND PIF forms IF you have a graduate that you know of and would like to hire.
Complete the Application ONLY IF you are going to hire but don’t have a candidate at the moment.
Follow the instructions in this PowerPoint (SLIDES 6-10) in order to ensure 100% accuracy and completeness of your forms and other required documents. Incomplete applications will NOT be accepted or processed.
Career Focus - June 2016

6. INSTRUCTIONS
Double-click on these fillable pdf’s of the Application and PIF, save to your computer and complete.
Instructions for completion of the Application follow on slides 7-9.
Instructions for completion of the PIF are on page 3 of the PIF and not part of this PowerPoint. You complete and submit the PIF ONLY if you have a graduate candidate selected AND they have not started employment with you yet.
Career Focus - June 2016

7. INSTRUCTIONS-APPLICATION
IN ORDER TO MAKE THE COMPLETING OF YOUR APPLICATION EASIER, READ IT FIRST BEFORE COMPLETING IT. THIS WAY YOU WILL KNOW WHAT INFORMATION YOU NEED AHEAD OF TIME.
Section 1 – General Business Information
This is straightforward with the basic information about your business. Please note the following:
-The primary contact must be a signing authority of your company.
-Click on “NAICS Identification Tools” at the following site in order to retrieve your business NAICS code (if you don’t know it).
Note: If after completing the application you have any special circumstances/issues that you wish to discuss with Career Focus, please us at and we will arrange time to discuss them with you.
Career Focus - June 2016

8. INSTRUCTIONS-APPLICATION
Section 2 – Position Information This information is about the FULL-TIME PERMANENT position that you are seeking to fill through the hiring and mentorship of a post-secondary graduate. Please note the following: -The Estimated Start Date must be by December 1, Click on the following site in order to retrieve your NOC code In the “filter items” box, type in the position title. Your NOC code and corresponding skill level will appear. Select the appropriate one. -Pay levels vary but please ensure that you are paying a market rate for the position (not to be less than $15/hour). -Hours to be worked must be NO LESS THAN 35 HOURS per week.
Career Focus - June 2016

9. INSTRUCTIONS-APPLICATION
Section 2 – Position Information continued
-New seasonal positions (annually seasonal) will be considered on a case by case basis. Please Career Focus at and we will schedule a time to discuss this with you.
Sections 3-5 – Self-Explanatory
For items with circles, please type in initials since this is a fillable PDF.
Section 6 – Other Documents
Your application must include a job description for the position and proof of insurance. This can be WSIB, a third-party insurance provider or WSIB exempt. Proof may include a copy of your insurance summary or insurance certificate.
Reminder: Instructions for completion of the PIF are on page 3 of the PIF and not part of this powerpoint.
Career Focus - June 2016

10. YOUR TOTAL APPLICATION
Although your application form may be complete, your total application to Career Focus is not complete until you are in the position of making an offer to a post-secondary graduate.
At this point, you will be required to have the graduate complete the Participant Information Form (PIF) and acquire proof from them of their graduation (diploma or registrar letter). You then these two items to and we will forward everything to the Federal Government for approval.
If your total application is approved, we will contact you electronically to confirm the details and the graduate employee’s start date. We cannot retroactively reimburse you if the employee starts before Career Focus approval.
Please know that this is a very quick process and typically does not take more than one week, after your total application is submitted.
You cannot be considered for the Career Focus Program unless you are hiring a graduate. We, therefore, recommend that if you have not begun recruiting to fill this permanent, full-time position that you do so immediately. 
Career Focus - June 2016

11. SUBMISSION: WHAT DO I ACTUALLY SUBMIT TO CAREER FOCUS?
the following documents to
Application 
Job description 
Proof of insurance 
PIF (ONLY if you have a graduate candidate selected AND they have not started employment with you yet)  ?
In the subject line of your , please type Application Submission along with your company name.
Career Focus - June 2016

12. WHAT’S NEXT?
We will review your submission and verify its completeness If incomplete, we will send it back to you.
If your submission is complete, a Career Focus staff person will contact you by telephone to discuss your submission.
After this discussion two things can happen:
If you have a graduate candidate that you would like to hire, we will forward the application to the Government of Canada for their consideration.
If you do not have a graduate candidate in mind then we would be happy to post the position on Niagara College’s MyCareer site while you pursue other recruitment options.
4) If approved, we will contact you advising you of this and then schedule an enrolment meeting.
Career Focus - June 2016