Student entrepreneurs and non-profits: grants

How to get funding for projects that teach young people about becoming an entrepreneur.

On this page -

How it works

The Youth Entrepreneurship Partners program gives money to non-profit organizations for projects that:

• give young people hands-on experience with small business
• educate youth about being an entrepreneur.

Grant amount

Maximum funding

$75,000 per project per year.
Your project could be renewed for an extra year to a maximum of $75,000.

Who is eligible

You need to be either:

• a Canadian non-profit organization with a strong presence in Ontario
• a board of education
• a postsecondary school
• a municipality or
• an incorporated Aboriginal organization.

How to apply

You need to submit a proposal with details about the project and its deliverables during a Call for Proposals process.
The last round of proposals closed in December 2012.  Currently, proposals are not being accepted.
Please check back for updates and application information.

Past project partnerships

Examples of previous partnerships include:

• Kenjewin Teg Educational Institute’s eSpirit Learning Café
• Caledon Countryside Alliance HAYville incubator
• Elgin Business Resource Centre’s Think Business: Imagine, Create, Innovate workshops
• McMaster University’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Entrepreneurship Program
•  
•  
• Updated: June 5, 2013

• Business and Economy,
• Young entrepreneurs,
• youth,
• entrepreneur

Dr. Eric Hoskins

Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment

The Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment supports a strong, innovative economy that can provide jobs, opportunities and prosperity for all Ontarians.

Long lines continue for wind turbine work

Friday, May 3, 2013

Long lines continue for wind turbine work

By Dave Johnson, The Tribune

Thursday, May 2, 2013 6:34:10 EDT PM

Job seekers are lined up in front of Job Gym on East Main St. for the second day trying to get a position at PowerBlades Inc., a German wind turbine manufacturer opening up a blade plant in Welland in July.

WELLAND - With resumes in hand, more job seekers lined East Main St. in front of Job Gym Thursday morning, hoping to land one of 125 initial positions at PowerBlades Inc., or possibly one of the 75 to follow.

Job Gym manager Deanna Villella had expected at least 600 people to pass through its downtown doors in hopes of landing a future at the manufacturing plant on the east side of the Welland Canal.

Hamburg, Germany-based REpower Systems is setting up shop for its subsidiary on Rusholme Rd. Production is expected to start in July.

“From our perspective, things are going really well,” Villella said of the job hunt. “The employer is really happy with the candidates coming through and the people they are meeting with. With 200 jobs to fill, they have to see a lot of people.”

People who lined the street on Wednesday and Thursday were asked to meet criteria for production workers, with experience in manufacturing of plastic parts and surface finishing, an ability to read blueprints, experience with composites manufacturing, and certification for overhead cranes and forklift. Quality inspector and laboratory technicians are sought with experience in composites; and production/maintenance/support technicians are also required.

“People who met the criteria were given a number to meet with the employer for a face-to-face interview,” said Villella, adding there were seven people from the company on hand at Job Gym.

Though they were trying to keep interviews short, between five and 10 minutes, to keep people moving through the line and process, Villella said some interviews were taking a while. Seventy people were asked to come back on Thursday for interviews because of the huge lineups on Wednesday.

Second interviews were set up by the employer for those people that made it through the first interview.

“We’re happy to help the employer,” said Villella, who walked the lineup on Wednesday. “Our staff have been working 12 to 14 hours, but their spirits are positive.

 © 2012 St. Catharines Standard. All rights reserved. The St. Catharines Standard are members of Canoe Sun Media Community Newspapers.

Powered by Fatwire

Royal Group, Inc. Fined $50,000 After Worker Injured

 

Is a wet floor really that bad?  Yes, when people can be hurt!

Doesn't the employee have a duty under the IRS?

Who is ultimately responsible?

October 30, 2012

Newmarket, ON - Royal Group, Inc., carrying on business as Royal Pipe Co., a Toronto pipe manufacturer, was fined $50,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured.

On July 2, 2011, a worker at the company's Woodbridge manufacturing facility was setting up one of the production lines. The worker slipped on a wet surface and fell onto a machine. The worker's arm was trapped and injured between the frame of the machine and one of its moving parts.

Royal Group, Inc., carrying on business as Royal Pipe Co., pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the work surface was kept free of slip and fall hazards.

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace John MacDonald. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

Court Information at a Glance

Location:                    Ontario Court of Justice
                                    465 Davis Dr.
                                    Newmarket, ON

Judge:                         Justice of the Peace John MacDonald

Date of Sentencing:    October 26, 2012

Defendants:                 Royal Group, Inc. carrying on business as Royal Pipe Co.
Matter:                        Occupational Health and Safety

Convictions:                Ontario Regulatio 851, Section 11(a)(ii)

Crown Counsel:          Shantanu Roy

Cascades Canada ULC Fined $80,000 After Worker Injured

September 19, 2012 3:10 PM

Toronto, ON - Cascades Canada ULC, a multinational packaging and tissue company operating as Cascade Tissue Group - Toronto, was fined $80,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured. 

On June 24, 2011, at the company's facility in Toronto, a worker returning to the receiving area from break was struck by a forklift carrying a large roll of paper. The worker's leg was injured. The worker was not wearing a safety vest and there were no barriers in the receiving area to protect workers from forklift traffic. Furthermore, the only sign warning of vehicular traffic was posted at the plant's gatehouse lobby.

Cascades Canada ULC operating as Cascade Tissue Group - Toronto pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that materials were transported in a way and with appropriate precautions to protect the safety of a worker.  

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Ronald Johnston. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

Court Information at a Glance
Location:                    Ontario Court of Justice
                                    70 Centre Ave.
                                    Toronto, ON
Judge:                         Justice of the Peace Ronald Johnston
Date of Sentencing:    September 13, 2012
Defendants:                Cascades Canada ULC operating as Cascade Tissue Group - Toronto
Matter:                        Occupational Health and Safety
Convictions:                Ontario Regulation 851, Section 45(a)
Crown Counsel:          Jason Tam

TKPL & Associates Ltd. Fined $80,000 After Worker Killed

September 14, 2012 2:35 PM

Parry Sound, ON - TKPL & Associates Ltd., operator of a grocery store in Sundridge, ON, was fined $80,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was killed.

On February 4, 2011, a worker at the grocery store was arranging items on shelves while standing on a stepladder. To reach the top shelf, the worker had to stand on the top cap of the ladder, which was not intended as a step. While working from the top cap the worker lost balance and fell to the floor, suffering a fatal head injury.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that it was common practice in the store for workers to stand on the top cap of this type of stepladder to reach shelves. However the stepladder was not appropriate equipment for the task given the workers' need to stand on the top cap.

TKPL & Associates Ltd. pleaded guilty to failing to take the reasonable precaution of providing appropriate equipment to reach shelves for the protection of a worker.

The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Marcel Bedard. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

Canada Day - when is YOUR Holiday?

HRNC FYI:
In Ontario, employees get a day off with public holiday pay. If the employee is required to work on the holiday, the employee must be paid regular wages and/or premium pay and/or get a substituted day off with pay at a later date.

This year, July 1 falls on a Sunday; thus the public holiday will be celebrated on Monday July 2.

Other provinces may have different guidelines.  If you are dealing with employees in other locations check to be sure. 

Occupational Health and Safety: Your Thoughts?

                The Ontario government seems to release changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act more often than even the most astute followers of this legislation can keep up with and certainly faster than most business owners can or even care to keep up on. I sometimes wonder if these changes are a) necessary b) valuable and c) followed. What I’ve gathered is that most small business owners give only a fleeting thought to the Health and Safety laws in Canada and it’s not because they don’t care about the objectives set forth in the legislation or the safety and welfare of their employees. In fact in most cases I’ve seen the opposite; most employers are good, morale people who would hate to see anyone seriously injured or in the worst case scenario die on the job but really just don’t see the need for the in depth policy and procedure stipulations set forth in the OHSA. There are many reasons these laws aren’t followed to the letter. A couple common reasons are that, “I’ve never had a serious injury before and if one ever does occur I’ll deal with it then” OR, “my salespeople/office workers aren’t in danger and imposing these laws and rules are time consuming and costly, besides MOL inspectors are rarely around and I’ve told everyone here to work safely”. My questions are - how seriously do you take the OHSA? Do you feel it actually protects workers from injury? Is it an easy enough to implement in your workplace? Do you think the government provides enough resources for you to follow the OHSA or do you think outside help from H&S specialists or HR professionals would be beneficial?

Recruiting; How To Find The Right People

Recruitment and hiring might be the most important factor in determining how well your business is going to run, especially in a small business where each member's contributions, benefits and drawbacks can be amplified. Compared to a large organization where it’s an entire team of maybe 100+ employees working towards the same goals whereas one poor employee in a group of ten can have a significant negative impact. So where do you start? It’s like shopping, walking into a store without knowing exactly what you want gives you plenty of options but what are the chances you’ll come out with all the things you need. That being said make a list of the “core competencies” that you’ll need in this position, what are the most important skills, knowledge, experiences and educational qualifications needed to perform the job. Next decide upon some of the secondary qualities or personality traits that would make for the ideal fit in a given position. Creating a ranking model or score sheet to track and maintain records accompanying these competencies can make your decision making process that much easier. Next is advertising. Make sure you’re doing this function in the right spots, simply posting an ad in a local paper may not be enough or attract the right people. For example, say you want an entry level IT person to join your team; advertising in a local or national paper could be a costly mistake. How many young people with an education in IT are scanning newspapers for their next job? My guess would be very few so targeting your add can greatly affect who responds. Seek professional associations, online advertising options, government job boards and university or colleges will often provide student resources for new graduates and exploring this option could reap an enthusiastic, knowledgeable individual just waiting for an opportunity to prove him or herself. Think critically about what you need, the ideal type of person for your company's “fit’ and make sure your looking in the right spots to increase your odds of finding a successful new employee.

John Ruyter, HRNC