Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) 2026: up to $5,000 per student, paid to the employer

Is the Student Work Placement Program a grant or a wage subsidy?

SWPP is a wage subsidy for employers, not a grant. ESDC funds a group of industry associations and organizations, called delivery partners, that pay subsidies to employers offering quality student work placements and recruit students through colleges, universities, polytechnics and CEGEPs. Placements can be co-ops, internships, practicums or mentorship programs.

The money moves in one direction: you hire the student, put them on payroll and pay their full wage. Magnet requires employers to have the financial capacity to pay the student for the whole placement, because the subsidy is paid after you submit all supporting documents at the end. BioTalent Canada adds that the student must be on your payroll with the usual tax deductions; contractors do not qualify. Students looking for a placement use ESDC’s student placement page instead.

How much can an employer get from SWPP?

An employer can get up to $5,000 per student placement, and each eligible student hire is a separate placement. ESDC’s employer page states the cap as “up to $5,000 for every opportunity offered to a student.” The partners we checked (Magnet, BioTalent Canada, TECHNATION, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and ECO Canada) set the subsidy at 50% of wages up to that $5,000.

As an illustration only: a student paid $20 an hour for 35 hours a week over 14 weeks earns $9,800, so a 50% subsidy would be $4,900. Placement length rules vary by partner. BioTalent Canada funds 4 to 16 weeks at a minimum of 10 hours a week and lets you apply for more than one term for longer placements; ECO Canada funds 6 to 16 weeks.

Is there still a higher rate for under-represented or first-year students?

Not at the partners we checked. TECHNATION states it no longer offers an increased subsidy for under-represented groups, though it still allocates at least half its placements to them, including first-year undergraduates. ECO Canada’s 50% to 70% offer, up to $7,000, covered students hired from December 1, 2025 to February 15, 2026; its current placements (August 1, 2026 to February 15, 2027) pay 50% up to $5,000. ECO Canada also says it gives priority to groups such as women in STEAM, Indigenous students, persons with disabilities and first-year students. If a partner advertises a higher rate, confirm the dates it applies to.

Who is eligible for SWPP?

Most employers in Canada are eligible if they offer a paid placement tied to the student’s studies and the student is a domestic post-secondary student.

The employer

• Offers a paid, full-time or part-time placement related to the student’s field of study. BioTalent Canada accepts STEM, health, business and all other programs.
• Has 100 or more employees? Then the placement must be net new: above your baseline number of students hired. Employers with 99 or fewer employees no longer have to show this.
• Is not a federal, provincial, territorial or municipal government, and not a financial-sector employer with 500 or more employees (Magnet’s list of ineligible employers).

The student

ESDC’s eligibility list says the student must be registered at a Canadian post-secondary institution, enrolled and already started in the program before the placement begins, a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person, and legally entitled to work in Canada.

The placement

It cannot be a contractor or subcontract position, and it cannot be filled by the business owner or an existing employee. Trades and apprenticeships, clinical hours in healthcare and articling hours for lawyers do not count as work-integrated learning for this program.

Who are the SWPP delivery partners?

ESDC lists 18 delivery partners, most tied to a sector. Pick the one that matches your industry; Magnet, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec are listed for “additional sectors”. The Ontario Chamber’s program is open to employers anywhere in Canada.

How do you apply for SWPP?

You apply through a delivery partner’s portal, not through ESDC. The usual sequence:

1. Choose a partner from the table above that covers your sector, and read its guidelines. Partners run their own portals and budgets.
2. Check the student and the role against the rules above: domestic student, already enrolled, placement related to their studies, on your payroll.
3. If you have 100 or more employees, work out your net-new count. Magnet publishes a net-new calculator for the 2026-27 fiscal year, and TECHNATION has one in its application portal.
4. Apply early for the term. Funding is first come, first served. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce reserves funding only after conditional approval and a signed recipient agreement, and waitlists applications once funding runs out.
5. Pay the student, then claim. At the end of the placement you submit the supporting documents the partner asks for, and the subsidy is paid after that.

Is SWPP funding available for 2026-27?

Yes. ESDC announced in November 2025 that Budget 2025 proposes $635.2 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, for the program, to support around 55,000 work-integrated learning opportunities in 2026-27. As of September 30, 2026:

• Magnet’s Fall 2026 portal is open for students hired between September 1 and December 31, 2026, and its Summer 2026 funding closes September 30, 2026.
• TECHNATION’s Fall 2026 program is open.
• The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is taking Fall 2026 and Winter 2027 applications, and summer 2026 claims not yet funded, but not Winter 2026 or earlier terms.
• The Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium opened Fall 2026 applications on August 5, 2026 and says it will move to a waitlist once its funding target is met.

What gets SWPP applications rejected?

Most refusals come from the student, the role or the timing, not the business. The common ones:

• The student is not eligible: an international student, or someone between programs or waiting to convocate (BioTalent Canada requires active enrolment for the whole placement).
• The role is not eligible: a contractor, the owner, an existing employee, or a trades, clinical or articling placement.
• The placement is not net new for an employer with 100 or more employees.
• The funding is doubled up with another federal program for the same position.
• The term is already full. Partners fund first come, first served and waitlist once money runs out.

Can you combine SWPP with other funding?

You can combine SWPP with provincial, territorial or municipal funding, but not with other federal funding for the same position. Magnet’s example: if a provincial grant pays 60% of a student’s wage, the SWPP subsidy is calculated only on the remaining 40% the employer pays. Canada Summer Jobs, other federal awards, or SWPP from a second delivery partner cannot be combined for the same position. For summer hiring outside post-secondary work-integrated learning, see our Canada Summer Jobs employer guide.

Frequently asked questions about SWPP

Where to go next

Sources: ESDC’s program page, its employer and student pages (updated April 1, 2026) and its November 2025 news release; the SWPP pages of Magnet, BioTalent Canada, TECHNATION, ECO Canada, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium, all checked September 30, 2026. Partner rules change by term, so confirm with your partner before you hire. GrantCompass is an independent funding database, not a government office or the program’s administrator. Some features are paid.