Eligibility
My company has hired a student, where can I find the program’s eligibility criteria? How much funding can I get for this student placement?
You can find this information by going here.
Are graduate students eligible?
Graduate students (including Masters and PhD’s) are eligible.
Should I apply if I have hired students for applied research, apprenticeships, co-op, entrepreneurship, field placements, internships, mandatory professional practicum / clinical placement, service learning, work experience or capstone projects?
Yes, as long as the placement type is a Work-Integrated Learning component of their program of study. You can learn more about Work-Integrated Learning by going here.
Is there a minimum or maximum length for the placement, in weeks or hours per week?
No, there is no minimum or maximum length as long as the WIL component of the student’s program of study covers the duration of the placement. The only maximum is the amount of funding that can be received per placement ($7,000).
Do public sector employers qualify?
If the public sector employer is using money from the federal, provincial, territorial or municipal government to pay for the student’s wages, then the placement would not be eligible for the Student Work Placement Program.
Can we apply to Magnet’s program if we are receiving funding from another Delivery Partner’s Student Work Placement Program?
No. You are not eligible to receive the Magnet Student Work Placement subsidy if you are already receiving funding from another delivery partner’s Student Work Placement Program.
Can we get a subsidy for a student whose placement takes place before their first year of post-secondary education (summer semester after high school)?
No, only students who are able to provide proof of enrolment in a post-secondary institution are eligible.
What is the definition of a wage?
All remuneration that you paid before you made any deductions such as income tax. Include regular wages, commissions, overtime pay, vacation pay, paid leave, taxable benefits and allowances, piecework payments, and special payments.
Funding
Can other federal government funding programs be used in conjunction with SWPP?
No.
Regarding the funding requirements (placement at least partially funded by non government sources), is money acquired through fundraising or donations considered a non-government source? Can I apply to the program if I receive them and they serve to pay for the student wage?
Yes, fundraising and donations are considered non-government sources and you can apply to the program if they are used to pay for the wage.
How many placements are available to be funded under each semester? Will all of my company’s applications and students receive funding ?
Applications are reviewed and approved on a “first-come, first-serve basis”.
For those applications Magnet is not able to process due to program subscription, we will do our best to refer your application to one of our fellow SWPP delivery partners. Again, this will be based on the delivery partners’ capacity and when the application was originally submitted to us.
If I submit more than one eligible application, will the total dollar amount of wage subsidies that my company can receive be affected?
No. Applying for multiple placements will not affect the maximum dollar amount SWPP can provide, because every placement can qualify for up to $7,000 in funding regardless of the number of placements for which a company has submitted applications.
Calculating Net New Placements
Net new is determined by subtracting the number of students hired by an employer in the fiscal year prior to first participating in the SWP Program, from the number of students the employer is intending to hire in the current fiscal year, including those already hired. The baseline number attributed to an employer creating an incremental placement will be maintained throughout their participation in the SWP Program.
For example, if the company hired three students in the fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) prior to applying for funding under the SWP Program, then the company must intend to hire four students in this fiscal year to qualify for a subsidy for the fourth student.
To determine Net New value for a particular fiscal year, you will need the following information from each employer:
A. The number of paid student placements the employer had in a fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) prior to first participating in the SWP Program.
- For employers that accessed SWP funding for the first time in 2017, 2018 or 2019, use the original baseline year (a fiscal year is from April 1 to March 31) prior to first participating in the SWP Program;
- For employers that accessed SWP funding for the first time in 2020, use 2019;
- For employers that accessed SWP funding for the first time in 2021, use the lesser of 2019 or 2020 number of paid student placements.
B. The estimated number of students the employer intends to hire within the current fiscal year of
April 1 to March 31 (including the ones already hired).
The number of placements to be funded in a particular fiscal year will then be the net increase of placements above the baseline year.
Magnet SWPP Academic Semesters
Where can I see the semesters under which I can submit my application?
You can find this information by going to: https://swpprogram.ca/
Which program should I apply to?
It depends on the placement’s start date:
- Between September and December: Fall semester
- Between January and April: Winter semester
- Between May and August: Summer semester
For the semester you are applying for, the student must have a work-integrated learning component within their study plan.
Should I apply under multiple semesters if the student’s placement takes place over a period of time that covers more than one semester? For example, if the placement takes place between September 2022 and March 2023, can I apply under the Fall 2022 and Winter 2023 semesters and thus receive 2 subsidies for this student?
SWPP considers the placement’s start date in order to categorize it under a program. Therefore, a placement that began in September 2022 would qualify for a Fall 2022 subsidy even if its end date is after December 31, 2022.
That placement would be eligible to receive 2 subsidies only if there are 2 Work-Integrated Learning components in the student’s program of study. You would need to create 2 different applications for this student (one for each term) and they would count as 2 placements. You must keep in mind that the placements, in order to be eligible for a subsidy, must be incremental: for example, if you hired 2 students during the baseline year and are planning to hire 3 during the current fiscal year, then only 1 placement would be eligible.
A student was hired during April 2022-March 2023 for X number of separate terms, does that count as X placements instead of one placement?
If the student was hired for the same position to meet only one WIL component from their program of study, then it would count as one student placement.
Application Process for Employers
Is it possible to make an exception and accept an early application for a semester not yet live on your website?
No, we can only accept applications for the programs that are still accepting them on our website.
Can my company apply for funding before a student is hired?
Yes, you can apply for funding before hiring a student. Once you have hired your student and confirmed they meet the eligibility of the funding program, you will need to complete the student section of the application. Funding is not approved until employer, placement and student eligibility is confirmed, and all requested supporting document has been provided and reviewed by our team.
What are the next steps after we submit an application? Will I be notified about its status?
We will review your information and documents within 2-4 weeks. Information will be provided via email with instructions on how to proceed after each step is completed.
What is considered appropriate proof of salary payment for our student’s placement?
We will provide you with Magnet’s Payment Attestation Form to attest to the salary paid for the student’s placement. This form includes (not limited to):
- Companies Legal entity name
- Student’s name
- Student position
- Start / End date of placement
- Total cost of placement
- Other non-federal funding received
- Subsidy amount
Process for Students
What is the requirement from the student?
Students are required to complete Magnet’s Student Consent Form
