ICTC — WIL Digital Program (Tech Sector Student Work Placement)
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- Money you have already spent can still count, up to 30 days back. Only 14 put a window on it.
- Scored mainly on the jobs it creates for other people. 22 lead with that.
- What does not disqualify you: Full-time hours; On-site work. 119 record an exemption like this.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
ICTC's WIL Digital Program provides wage subsidies to digital-economy employers who create net-new paid co-op, internship, or applied-research placements for post-secondary students. ICTC delivers this federally funded SWPP (Student Work Placement Program) for the ICT and digital economy sector — covering up to 50% of a student's salary, to a maximum of $5,000.
Eligibility Requirements
- Any registered business or not-for-profit organization in Canada can apply; the placement itself must be a digital or technical role, and the job description must highlight the digital or technical tools the student will use (software development, data analysis, digital marketing, technical sales and business development roles count)
- Net-new rule: as of April 1, 2026 only employers with 100 or more employees must show the placement is above their baseline number of students hired; smaller employers are not held to it
- Student must be enrolled at a Canadian post-secondary institution
- Student must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or have refugee status
- Student must be legally entitled to work in the relevant province
- Must complete the Eligibility Criteria Pre-screen for each intended placement application
- Federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments are ineligible as employers
- Crown corporations, hospitals, public schools, and post-secondary institutions are ineligible as employers
- Position cannot be funded simultaneously by another federal wage subsidy program (Canada Summer Jobs, other SWPP programs)
- Financial sector employers with 500 or more employees are not eligible
- Trades and apprenticeships, clinical hours in healthcare and articling hours for lawyers do not count as work-integrated learning under this program
- Subcontract or contractor positions are not eligible, and the placement cannot be filled by a business owner or an existing employee
- Provincial, territorial and municipal funding may be combined with this subsidy, but the subsidy is calculated only on the share of the wage the employer pays from non-government funds
- The student cannot be a director, officer, manager, founder, shareholder or executive of the host employer or any other company, and cannot be enrolled only in single, general-interest, standalone or micro-credential courses
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Up to 50% of a student's salary, to a maximum of $5,000
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Federal
- Co-Funding
- Up to 50% of eligible costs
- Deadline
- Fall 2026 term — applications open, deadline November 15, 2026
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Very accessible — simple application
Below average competition
Easy — minimal documentation
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipApply at the very start of each semester intake — WIL Digital funding is first-come, first-served and routinely sells out.
Rejection Pitfalls 6
- Employer is a government body, Crown corporation, hospital, or post-secondary institution
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How ICTC — WIL Digital Program (Tech Sector St... judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-10.
6 of the sources
- Work Integrated Learning etalentcanada.ca
- WIL Digital - ICTC Programs ictc-ctic.smapply.ca
- WIL Digital Employer Program Guide etalentcanada.ca
- WIL Digital Frequently Asked Questions etalentcanada.ca
- WIL Digital Student Program Guide etalentcanada.ca
- 2025-08 WIL Digital Employer Flyer etalentcanada.ca
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What ICTC — WIL Digital Program (Tech Sector St... favours
High-quality technology or digital immersive work integrated learning experience◦
“Be a high-quality, technology or digital immersive work integrated learning experience for a student.”
The form
Pre-screen
- 1Eligibility Criteria Pre-screen (one per intended placement)checkboxes
Company profile and banking
- 1Step 1: Company profile (incl. Net New)table
- 3Net New calculation (inside the company profile)table
- 2Step 2: Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Authorizationtable
- 3Step 3: Upload Void Chequelist
Placement details
- 4Step 4: Placement Information Formtable
- 7Role description - the digital or technical aspects of the rolewritten answer
The job description must clearly highlight the digital or technical aspects of the role, such as the tools, platforms, or software the student will use.
Authorization and student invitation
- 5Step 5: Employer Authorization Formcheckbox
- 6Step 6: Invite the student (the "recommendation")short answer
Contract and placement management
- 10Contract Stage (after approval)checkbox
- 11Learning Plan (first two weeks of the placement)written answer
The supervisor and student must work together to complete a Learning Plan in the employer’s profile on SurveyMonkey.
- 12Mid-Term Check-inwritten answer
- 13Final Evaluation (last four weeks)written answer
- 14Proof of Payroll (within 15 days of placement end)table
ICTC — WIL Digital Program (Tech Sector St... states no length limits for these answers.
Judged against
- 1
Is the placement genuinely digital?
Show them Name the tools, platforms or software the student will use daily and tie the role to their post-secondary program.◦
- 2
Do the employer and the student qualify?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 3
Is the role Net New for you?
What to show them in Premium
- 4
Will the funding still be there?
What to show, and the funder’s 3 criteria behind it in Premium
5 questions the reviewer answers about you, in Premium.
Where applicants fail
“No, you must identify and have a student participating before submitting your application for review.”
“You cannot withdraw an application once you create it through the self-service option on the application platform.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 25 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
22 more rules that can reject you · 4 more criteria · 12 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
Registered Canadian business or NFP
You are a registered business or not-for-profit organization in Canada
Registered business, non-profit or charity
Must be a registered Canadian business, non-profit, or charity.
Your organisation
Not a large financial-sector employer
Financial sector employers with 500 or more employees
3 things this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Subsidy rate50% of wages, up to $5,000
The WIL Digital subsidy is 50% of the wages paid to the student, up to a maximum of $5,000.
Payment timingReimbursed in 4–6 weeks
ICTC will reimburse the subsidy within 4 to 6 weeks after verifying all submitted documents.
StackingOther funding capped at 100% of wages
Employers could potentially access provincial or private funding or provincial tax credits and rebates on the wages paid, where applicable; however, the amount of funding the employer receives should never exceed 100% of the student’s total wages earned.
Costs before approvalPartial if placement started within 30 days before
However, partial funding may still be possible if the student’s placement started within 30 days before the application creation date.
What it pays for · 1
- Total Hours a Week x Total Weeks x Hourly Wage
What it does not pay for · 1
- The position is already subsidized by other federal funding.
From application to money
- Pass the pre-screenPre-screen review unlocks your application
- Submit before the deadlineSubmit by November 15, 2026 deadline
- Review in 5-10 business daysReview within 10 business days
- Sign the contractSign contract within 5 business days
- Run the placementLearning Plan, mid-term and final evaluations
- Submit payroll proofPayroll proof within 15 days of placement end
In the funder’s words · 6
- Pass the pre-screen
- ICTC reviews the Eligibility Criteria form for each intended placement and unlocks the application if you pass.
- Submit before the deadline
- Complete steps 1-6 in the portal; the student's completion of their form automatically submits the application. (The Fall 2026 application submission deadline is November 15, 2026, subject to available funding and program capacity.)
- Review in 5-10 business days
- The standard review time is up to 10 business days from when a fully completed application is submitted.
- Sign the contract
- ICTC reserves the right to reallocate WIL Digital funding if you do not sign the contract within five (5) business days of receiving the contract offer or by the placement start date, whichever comes first.
- Run the placement
- Within the first two (2) weeks of the work placement the supervisor and student complete the Learning Plan, then separate confidential evaluations at mid-term and in the last four weeks.
- Submit payroll proof
- Employers are required to upload the student’s first and last pay stubs and complete the payroll form. (within 15 days following the end of the placement)
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win ICTC — WIL Digital Program (Tech Sector St...
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 6 rejection pitfalls reviewers flag — so you catch them first
- 7-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 5-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 5-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 7
Eligible Expenses 2
Ineligible Expenses 4
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
- 4 more application steps
- 5 more required documents
- 2 eligible expenses
- 4 ineligible expenses
- Intake periods
- Deadline notes
- Ineligible organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Medium RiskHow ICTC — WIL Digital Program (Tech Sector St... Compares
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Frequently Asked Questions
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