Digital Tech Internships

Build the digital skills needed for the jobs and industries of tomorrow

Bring new talent to your small business or not-for-profit! Hire a digital tech intern and give an underemployed–yet highly skilled–grad the experience they need to find career-oriented work. You can get up to $28,000 towards their salary and training expenses.

Funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada as part of their Digital Skills for Youth (DS4Y) Program creating employment opportunities for young Canadians to build the digital skills needed for the evolving digital economy.

Applications are no longer being accepted.

All subsidies for this cycle of Digital Tech Internships have been fully allocated. We hope to renew the program in spring of 2023.

What you need to know

Funding

Up to $28,000 is available for an intern’s salary and training expenses. Employers must establish an employment contract with interns and they must be paid following a regular payment cycle.

Up to $4,000 can be used for intern training during the internship, and $24,000 can cover up to 100% of the intern’s salary.

Reimbursement will be dispersed midway and at the end of the internship when the required documentation, including intern paystubs, is submitted.

Cannot be used:

  • For positions receiving a DS4Y grant from another program DS4Y delivery partner or a grant from another program funded by Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.
  • For currently filled positions
  • To replace an employee who is on leave
  • For a current employee moving to a new position

Application selection process

Here is what to expect when submitting your application:

  • Once the applications window is closed, the Career Launcher team will review all applications.
  • Employers will be notified of their application status approximately one week after the closing of the application period.
  • Employers whose applications will be pre-approved for funding will have approximately three weeks to complete the remainder of the application process, including recruitment if required. Specific deadlines will be provided in the pre-approval email.

Internships will be selected based on:

  • Alignment with the DS4Y program objectives
  • Strength of the position and its alignment with the digital fields indicated under “Eligible Internships”
  • Consideration will be given for interns from the following five designated groups: Indigenous peoples, official languages minorities, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and women.
  • Digital fields representation – we seek a fair disbursement of funds for positions in diverse digital fields
  • Geographical representation – we seek a fair disbursement of funds across Canada

Eligible training

Interns can pursue training during the internship to enhance their skills. Training can be reimbursed up to $4,000. Acceptable training expenses include:

Training must be selected based on the needs of the intern and employer and must be pre-approved by CICan. It will be reimbursed along with the wage subsidy at either the mid-term or end of the internship. Invoices and supporting documents will be required.

Examples of training include, but are not limited to, software development, data processing, business or project management, leadership, critical thinking, teamwork and collaboration, and communication for business skills.

Eligible employers

Eligible employers must have an established payroll system, be set up to receive payments by direct deposit, have a process for supervising and mentoring interns, and be a Canadian for-profit or not-for-profit organization or subsidiary with 500 employees or less.

Eligible internships

Eligible internships are:

  • Up to 6 months (26 weeks) in duration, and ending by January 31, 2023
  • A minimum of 30 hrs per week
  • Within a digital field*
  • Promoting the digitization of the organization or operational processes
  • Publicly advertised (online, job fairs, employment centres, etc.) with a fair, open and transparent selection process

*Digital fields include: coding and programming, artificial intelligence, automation, big data, cybersecurity, robotics, digital media and design, video game and production editing, digital marketing and information technology, etc.

Eligible Interns

Eligible interns are:

  • Post-secondary graduates – this is not a requirement for residents of the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut applying for internships in those territories
  • Underemployed (employed below their level of education, work part-time or unemployed)
  • Between 15 and 30 years of age at the start of the internship
  • Canadian citizens, permanent residents or persons granted refugee status in Canada*
  • Legally allowed to work according to the relevant provincial and Canadian legislation and regulations
  • Available to work up to six months (26 weeks)

Cannot be:

  • Previous participants of a Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) internship
  • University or college co-op or intern students
  • Employees of the hiring employer prior to the start of their internship (does not apply to previous coop students or student interns, although this must be clearly indicated by the employer)

*Refugee protection must be conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Persons awaiting refugee status, as well as those who hold a temporary visitor visa, student visa or work visa, are ineligible to participate in a Youth Employment and Skills Strategy initiative.

Ready to get started?

Applications are currently closed.

We want to thank you for your interest in our program and hope to renew the program in spring 2023.

Past application cycle: spring/summer 2022

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What are people saying about our programs?

Hear first-hand from the employers and job seekers who have benefitted from one of our programs.

View all testimonials
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I think it is a wonderful program to support small companies in making strategic hires that they might not do on their own

Geordie Adams
PubliVate Inc.  


Here are a few of the great employers we have supported.

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