2024 Queen’s Career Apprenticeship aims to connect graduates with local employers
Kingston and area businesses can now apply for the 2024 Queen’s Career Apprenticeship: Kingston program. Up to $10,000 of funding for Kingston employers is available to support 15 positions for new graduates from the arts, humanities and social science disciplines within the Faculty of Arts and Science at Queen’s University.
According to a release from Kingston Economic Development (EcDev), the overall goal of the program is to provide meaningful employment to new graduates as they begin their career journey and to retain the skilled talent graduating from Queen’s University in Kingston. Employers who commit to a 12-month contract and successfully match with a recent graduate are reimbursed for four months of the gross salary to a maximum of $2,500 per month.
Since its inception, the Queen’s Career Apprenticeship: Kingston program has helped launch over 50 careers and has generated over $2.7 million in payroll in the Kingston region, Kingston EcDev shared.
“We are extremely proud that this program was ‘made in Kingston’ and has then successfully launched in other communities across the country and into the United States,” said Rob Tamblyn, Business Development Manager of Small & Medium Enterprises for Kingston EcDev.
“It speaks volumes to the fact that other communities like ours are wanting to be able to keep the talent that is graduating from colleges and universities in their communities. The Queen’s Career Apprenticeship: Kingston program is a perfect vehicle to assist with that happening.”
According to the release, the Canadian Career Apprenticeship Initiative (CCAI) is the organization that oversees the program and provides funding to communities to launch their chapters. CCAI partners with leading universities and local economic development organizations to match new arts and humanities graduates with local employers. Kingston EcDev said that the model is unique in that the program was driven by private sector founder Alan Rottenberg’s vision for a better way to connect graduating young talent with non-science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees with employers in medium-sized cities. Participating communities benefit from retaining motivated, competent and capable university graduates who might otherwise depart for bigger cities in search of work.
The 2024 Queen’s Career Apprenticeship: Kingston Launch Event will be held on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, from 5:30 to 7:30 at Frontenac Club. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP here.
The employer deadline for applications is Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. To learn more about participating in the Queen’s Career Apprenticeship: Kingston program visit investkingston.ca/QCAK. For more information on the Canadian Career Apprenticeship Initiative visit careerapprenticeships.ca.