CENTRE WELLINGTON – The Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce (CWCC) is among the local chambers and boards of trade across Canada to take part in a program to help businesses, post-secondary students and to support the economic recovery.
The Chamber Partnership Initiative is a federal program that brings together local chambers and boards of trade, small and medium-sized enterprises, job seekers, and post-secondary institutions.
The government has partnered with Magnet and the Talent Opportunity Program (TOP) to connect chamber members to the Magnet platform, a digital social enterprise at Ryerson University.
Through Magnet, businesses can connect with new talent, access business growth opportunities and tools to navigate the impacts of a changing labour market and the COVID-19 pandemic.
It also offers a network of hiring tools and business growth resources in a single digital space.
Key to the partnership is connecting businesses and industries of all sizes to opportunities to hire young talent and access wage subsidies through the Student Work Placement Program (SWPP). SWPP allows employers wage subsidies of up to $7,500 when they hire Canadian post-secondary students for work integrated learning experiences.
“Our government’s investment in Magnet will go a long way in helping young Canadians gain meaningful placement opportunities in a variety of disciplines including health care and other high demand sectors, all of which play an especially important role in responding to the current pandemic,” said Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion Carla Qualtrough in a press release.
As businesses work toward recovery, SWPP will be a valuable resource in not only supporting new hires, but helping businesses offset costs.
“We have already seen the SWPP wage subsidy be an important lifeline for our members,” said Sally Litchfield, CWCC’s general manager.
“The Chamber Partnership Initiative represents an innovative and necessary approach to helping small businesses grow, connecting early talent to new opportunities, and emerging from this challenge stronger and better.”
The Chamber Partnership Initiative will support access to the following key features through Magnet’s platform:
– Nationwide student recruitment;
– Financial support for student hiring;
– Intelligent job matching;
– Diverse hiring; and
– Customized business growth content.
Chamber members will have access to export-related opportunities and business growth information from Magnet content partners, including OCC, Export Development Canada, Business Development Bank of Canada, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Global Affairs Canada, and the Future Skills Centre.
Working with chambers and boards of trade across Canada, the Chamber Partnership Initiative will support businesses in all sectors in accessing Magnet’s intelligent job matching technology.
Businesses in Centre Wellington are invited to create their free Magnet account today at centrewellington.magnet.today and instantly connect with a national network of job seekers, employers, and post-secondary institutions.
