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FedNor investment supports innovative youth in business

A nearly $700,000 investment from FedNor will help get two innovative pilot programs for youth off the ground.
Innovation Centre Youth Programs
The Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre is excited to receive a nearly $700,000 investment from FedNor to assist two new pilot projects for youth in business.

THUNDER BAY - Businesses in Northern Ontario are often caught in a cycle, where there is a need for talented, young professionals, but no mechanism to get them situated in new enterprises.

Two new pilot programs being launched by the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre are designed to break that cycle, matching small and medium-sized businesses with young entrepreneurs throughout the region.

“This is a way they can get in and know the person will get the support and success they need,” said Judy Sanders, manager of the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre.

The pilot programs are being funded by a $698,400 investment from FedNor, which will see $499,000 supporting the Businesses Growth and Talent Development project.

The funding will be used to allow small and medium-sized businesses to hire young professional employees for a 15-month placement.

“By the end of the 15 months, hopefully the company is making enough extra money that they are keeping the person employed after that,” Sanders said. “So this gives them a lower cost way with the right supports to get that person up and running and creating new markets and new sales and growing the business.”

The remaining $199,400 of the FedNor investment will be used for the Youth Effect project, which will provide youth between the ages of 18 and 29 a 15-week placement with small and medium-sized businesses to gain valuable entrepreneurial experience through mentorships and training.

“At end of the 15 weeks, they may get hired by that company to continue on, they may go back to school, they may start their own business, but they will have great experience doing, implementing innovative projects, and having the right supports so they succeed in that placement,” Sanders said.

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Patty Hajdu said this program will greatly benefit Northern Ontario, particularly young people who have struggled to find employment in the region.

“Especially young people perhaps wanting to enter business,” Hajdu said. “This provides an opportunity for young people to use those creative skills and innovation skills that we know they have to enhance the operation of a small or medium-sized business while gaining some of those skills themselves.”

Hajdu added while programs are only able to offer placements, they provide youth with an understanding of what goes into being a business owner and creating success through innovation.

“So it’s a real win-win,” she said. “It’s a support for small and medium-sized business that maybe can’t quite take the step to hire someone but could actually expand their market if they had a little extra help.”

The pilot programs have been in development for a long time, according to Sanders, and she and her team are excited by the support from FedNor.  

“We see this as a real need that we’ve identified and the programs will fill that void that we have seen in the market,” she said.

The programs are set to start this May, with the Youth Effect placements wrapping up in August. But Sanders said there are still several challenges ahead.

“We really want the right companies and the right youth matched,” she said. “That is the challenge, making sure we have the right fit so we can grow these companies.”

But Sanders believes with the right fit, the program will be a success, and she is hopeful it will continue because if businesses are able to break the cycle of needing the talent, but not having the mechanism to support it, it will not only benefit them, but the economic health of the region.

“If we can expose youth to that environment, get them successful in it, we can keep them in our community and maybe down the road they spin off their own business and the cycle continues,” she said.



Doug Diaczuk

About the Author: Doug Diaczuk

Doug Diaczuk is a reporter and award-winning author from Thunder Bay. He has a master’s degree in English from Lakehead University
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