Youth Employment and Skills Program — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Program Description

The program reimburses agriculture and agri-food employers for part of the wages and benefits of hiring a youth aged 15–30, offering up to $14,000 per project plus up to $5,000 for relocation or barrier support. It is open to a wide range of Canadian employers, including for-profits, not-for-profits, governments, Indigenous organizations, and academic institutions.

Eligibility Requirements

• Agriculture or agri-food related employer in Canada that can offer work experience in Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector
• Eligible employer types include for-profits (partnerships, corporations, co-operatives, trusts), not-for-profits (associations of workers and/or employers, local community, charitable or voluntary organizations, sector councils, corporations, trusts), individuals or sole proprietorships, provincial, territorial or municipal governments, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Inuk, Métis) organizations or individuals, and academia
• Employer must be a legal entity capable of entering into legally binding agreements
• Employer must hire the youth on its own payroll and deduct the required source deductions (youth hired as contractors are not eligible)
• Employer must pay wages and benefits in a timely manner and in accordance with the labour laws and regulations of the province or territory of the project work site, including obtaining parental consent where required
• Employer cannot hire themselves — a sole proprietor cannot be both the employer and the youth participant
• Youth must be between the ages of 15 and 30 (inclusive) at the start of the project
• Youth must be unemployed or underemployed at the start of the project, or up to three months before the project start date
• Youth must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, or person granted refugee status in Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
• Youth must not receive Employment Insurance during the project
• A youth may work on only one project under the program during the program year, and may not be hired by the same employer in back-to-back program years unless the youth faces a barrier to employment
• Project must have exactly one youth participant assigned to it, for any employment status (full-time, part-time, casual, seasonal)
• Project must be of a meaningful length — generally two months or more
• Project must begin no earlier than the date the application is deemed complete and no earlier than the youth participant's 15th birthday
• Project must comply with the Impact Assessment Act (2019) and align with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's mandate
• Application limit: one application per applicant per intake; Indigenous applicants may submit up to five