KEDCO to Deliver Small Business Internship Program for Kingston Area

Published on: 2011/03/09 - in Releases

The Entrepreneurship Centre at the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) is pleased to announce that they have been selected by the federal government to deliver the Small Business Internship Program (SBIP) for the greater Kingston region.

The SBIP creates opportunities for post-secondary students in small business by giving them first-hand experience with successful businesses. It is a collaborative effort between Canadian small businesses, post-secondary institutions and non-government organizations that offers post-secondary students valuable experience working on e-commerce projects.

“This is a great opportunity for companies that would like to expand their online presence and students wanting practical experience. Through the graduate version of this program, we filled 13 positions last year resulting in companies developing strategies using the latest technologies to expand their market,” explains Jan Dines, Manager of The Entrepreneurship Centre at KEDCO. “The Business Internships are also an excellent complement to our established Youth Business Programs such as Summer Company, which focus on fostering entrepreneurship skills.”

The program provides financial support to qualified small and medium enterprises so that they can hire a student intern for a 12-week period. Each intern helps the hiring business to adopt new technologies to increase its productivity and competitiveness. The federal government reimburses a participating business up to 75 percent of its wage and benefit expenses for the internship.

“We are thrilled that The Entrepreneurship Centre has been selected once again to deliver this program,” notes John Paul Shearer, Director of Business Development for KEDCO.  “As part of our Labour Market Development strategy, we are working closely with local employers to encourage hiring local post-secondary students for summer and post graduate positions in efforts to further retain the tremendous talent we have in our community.  This program is a great example of creating partnerships between employers and students.”

Application forms for both students and businesses are available online at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/sbip-pspe.nsf/eng/home .  For more information or to submit completed applications, please contact The Entrepreneurship Centre at KEDCO at 613-544-2725 or entrepreneurship@kingstoncanada.com.

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Release source: KEDCO