Apply for Digital Skills for Youth (DS4Y) Competition

Deadline: 1 October 2019

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has announced the launch of a new Digital Skills for Youth (DS4Y) Competition that aims to work with Delivery Organizations that can help us build tomorrow’s workforce.

The 2019 DS4Y competition is seeking to fund Delivery Organizations with a strong network of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and not-for-profit organizations (i.e. Employers) that can create employment opportunities for youth to build the digital skills needed for the evolving digital economy. The opportunities should be grounded in experiences that will prepare youth to adapt to the major changes projected in tomorrow’s workplace, including emerging areas where the jobs may not yet exist such as those related to cyber security, the automation of knowledge tasks, big data, and artificial intelligence, among others.

The DS4Y Program aims to provide opportunities for underemployed post-secondary graduates to combine valuable work experience with training related to digital skills through these internships so that they can successfully transition to the labour market.

DS4Y falls under the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS). The YESS offers a broad suite of programs that, together, aim to develop a skilled and diverse young labour force to support inclusive growth. Ultimately, the YESS aims to ensure that youth have access to programs that allow them to acquire the skills, learning experience and opportunities they need to find and maintain employment. DS4Y contributes to the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy programming by supporting youth who are more or less job-ready but who may require a first employment experience through wage-subsidy opportunities, and skill development to enter and succeed in the labour market.

The program will contribute to increasing the employability of youth by equipping them with integrated digital and soft skills relevant to the evolving digital economy.

Funding is available to support Delivery Organizations for a two-year period starting on April 1, 2020 and ending on March 31, 2022.

Key expected results include:

Youth will receive practical work experience and upskilling;
Youth will enhance their employability in the evolving digital workplace;
Small and Medium Businesses and not-for-profits will be supported and better positioned to succeed in the global knowledge-based economy; and
The Canadian workforce is the talented, skilled, creative and diverse.

Eligible Activities

Delivery Organizations – Eligible Activities include:
- Engaging Canadian youth in the development and enhancement of digital skills, including upskilling in cooperation with participants and Employers;
- Activities related to promoting the program and partner outreach;
- Acting as the coordinating body to manage a network of Employers for the purpose of providing them with program funding and oversight, monitoring and support, ensuring:
  - timely and accurate reporting;
  - internships aligned with DS4Y goals; and,
  - Employers that provide interns with the necessary equipment, workspace, workplace related training and mentoring to fulfill their internship duties and obligations.
- Developing and implementing an open, fair and transparent application process that is in accordance with their Contribution Agreement with ISED, to engage Employers and to ensure an optimal allocation of youth participants amongst them; and,
- Collaborating with training service providers that will deliver upskilling opportunities for participants when needed.
- The Contribution Agreement between ISED and the Delivery Organization will set the minimum requirements between Delivery Organization and the Employers.
Employers – Eligible Activities include:
- Activities that allow youth to acquire new and enhance existing digital skills and apply them in combination with soft skills, so that they can successfully transition into the labour market.
- The duration of a work experience may vary to tailor the internship to the needs of the intern. The maximum duration for a participant is one year.
- Employers will sign contractual agreements with the Delivery Organization to receive funding in support of intern salaries and eligible expenditures.

Eligibility Criteria

Delivery Organizations
- Delivery Organizations are entities legally incorporated or registered in Canada and may include:
  - Not-for-profit organizations (including voluntary organizations, community organizations, public libraries and foundations)
  - Municipal governments
  - Indigenous organizations (including band councils, tribal councils and self-government entities)
  - For-profit organizations
  - Public health and educational institutions
  - Provincial and territorial governments, institutions, agencies and Crown Corporations
- Delivery Organizations must be in good financial standing, have a governance structure, staff and networks that make them good candidates to deliver the initiative.
Interns
- To be eligible for DS4Y, interns must meet the following criteria:
  - post-secondary graduates, between 15 and 30 years of age at the start of the internship;
  - legally entitled to work in Canada (i.e. Canadian citizen, permanent Resident or person who has been granted refugee status); and,
  - self-assess as underemployed, meaning they are employed below their level of education and/or hold part-time employment.
- In the north, eligible participants may be youth between 15 to 30 (inclusive) years who:
  - self-assess as underemployed, meaning they are employed below their level of education and/or hold part-time employment; and,
  - are legally entitled to work in Canada (i.e. Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or persons who have been granted refugee status).
Employers
- The Employers are those organizations with legal status in Canada that have the capacity to offer internships including training and support. For the purpose of this program, Employers are not-for- profit and for-profit organizations with up to 500 employees.
- Employers must:
  - have the appropriate administrative support and capacity to train and mentor the participants to enhance and maximize the participants’ experience; and,
  - support the participants in the development and implementation of work activities to provide participants with a meaningful internship described in the key performance indicators.
- The program intention is to have representation of not-for-profit and SMBs.
- For-profit organizations are eligible Employers, if the nature and intent of the activity is non- commercial, not intended to generate profit, and supports program priorities and objectives.