Youth Employment and Skills Program: Step 2. Eligibility

Step 2. Eligibility

Check if you meet the criteria to apply.

Eligibility checklist — Employers

Employers must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible.

• You are an agricultural-related organization who can offer opportunities that will give youth agriculture career-related work experiences and skills in Canada
  Examples of agricultural-related organizations

  • Farmers
  • Agricultural businesses, such as greenhouses, orchards, vineyards, or vegetable producers
  • Businesses who supply agricultural products or services
  • Food processors
  • Agricultural related non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

  Types of eligible organizations

  • For-profit: Organizations that exist to make a profit. They may include:
    • Partnership
    • Corporation
    • Co-operative
  • Not-for-profit: Organizations that operate solely for social welfare, civic improvement, pleasure or recreation, or any other purpose except profit. They may include:
    • Association of workers and/or employers
    • Local community, charitable or voluntary organization
    • Sector council
    • Corporation
  • Individuals or sole proprietorships: A single person applying on behalf of themselves or an unincorporated business that has only one owner.
  • Provincial / Territorial / Municipal Government
  • Indigenous (First Nation, Inuit, Métis): A First Nation, Inuit or Métis individual or a First Nation, Métis or Inuit organization. They may include:
    • First Nations, Inuit or Métis community and/or government^{note 1}
    • First Nations, Inuit, or Métis association
    • First Nations, Inuit, or Métis individual
    • First Nations, Inuit, or Métis not-for-profit organization
    • First Nations, Inuit, or Métis for-profit organization
  • Academia: Organizations involved in providing education or developing educational materials or tools. They may include:
    • Private university and college
    • Public degree-granting college
    • Public degree-granting university
    • Public community colleges and vocational school
    • School board/other educational institution
• You are a legal entity capable of entering into legal binding agreements
• You are responsible for hiring and verifying the eligibility of participants for the Youth Employment and Skills Program activities
• You must pay wages and benefits in a timely manner and in accordance with labour laws and regulations of the province/territory of the work site
  • Wages must be in line with industry standards in the region where the employee is working and commensurate with their training and work experience
• You must hire the employee under the organization’s payroll and required source deductions must be deducted from the employee’s pay (contracted employees are not eligible)
• You cannot hire yourself for a project (for example, sole proprietors cannot be the employer and employee)

Eligibility checklist — Project

• Projects must start no earlier than April 1, 2025 and must be completed by March 31, 2026.
  • The project start date can be adjusted to the employee's 15th birthday.
  • If you have recently hired youth (within 3 months of application date), you may claim costs starting April 1, 2025.
• Projects must offer the employee agricultural work that is of a meaningful length (generally 2 months or more). Refer to the Overview of Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector for guidance on what types of projects might fall under the AAFC mandate.
• You must assign only one employee to each project (the employee may be hired for all kinds of employment statuses [part-time, full-time, casual, seasonal, etc.])
• All projects must comply with the Impact Assessment Act (Justice Canada) (IAA 2019).
  Examples of projects include:

  • farmers who wish to hire farm workers to plant and harvest crops or manage livestock
  • agricultural businesses, such as greenhouses, orchards, vineyards, or vegetable producers who have labor needs
  • small businesses who supply agricultural products or services
  • food processors in need of labour

If an employee is not able to complete the project for which they were hired, you may request to hire a second youth to complete the project. The eligibility of the second youth must be verified by the program. The employment periods for each employee must not overlap.

Eligibility checklist — Employees

Employees must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible.

• The employee is between the ages of 15 and 30 (inclusive) at the project start date
• The employee is unemployed or underemployed
  • The program’s definition of “unemployed” refers to employees who are new to the organization and were without employment before the start of the project
    • A new hire can also include someone hired up to 3 months before the date the application was received by the program
  • The program's definition of "underemployed" includes either:
    1. Youth employees who previously occupied a position in which they were overqualified and, as part of the project, are now moving to a position better suited for their experience and education, and therefore, considered a career advancement or a promotion

       Example: Youth who previously worked in a non-agricultural related position or company, such as clothing retail, and is now moving towards a position in an agricultural related position or company

    2. Youth employees who moved from part-time status (less than 30 hours per week) to full-time status (30 hours or more per week)
• The employee is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada or a status refugee under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
• The employee does not receive Employment Insurance (EI) during the project period

Considerations about employee eligibility

• Employees who have previously been hired under the Youth Employment and Skills Program are not eligible
• A new hire can be defined as someone hired within 3 months of the application date
• Employees in Canada under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel measures are not eligible unless they have received refugee status or have become permanent residents.

Eligible costs

Program funds may be allocated for salaries and social benefits.

Employees must be hired under the organization’s payroll and required source deductions must be deducted from the employee’s pay. Wages must be in line with industry standards in the region where the employee is working and commensurate with employee’s training and work experience.

Social benefits paid to the employee, such as health benefits and vacation pay, are eligible expenses. Employer's contributions to benefits programs, such as CPP and EI, and in Quebec, QPP, QPIP, CNESST, and the Health Services Fund, are eligible expenses.

If the employee is a youth facing barriers, you're eligible to claim pre-approved expenses to address the employee's barrier, supported at 80% to a maximum of $5,000. These costs need to be directly linked to addressing the barrier to employment. Expenses could include critical transportation, relocation, assistance with dependents, accommodation needs, accessibility equipment/technology, etc.

Costs associated with youth facing barriers must be within the limits reasonably expected by employers to accommodate such youth.

Please note: The cost of laptops or tablets and office equipment, are only being considered on a case-by-case basis in situations where the employee requires accessibility equipment to help address or overcome a disability.

Non-barrier youth may also be eligible for pre-approved relocation costs at the 50% funding level to a maximum of $5,000. All expenses you claim must involve a cash payment. Taxes you pay for barrier-related expenses are not eligible for reimbursement.

Upper cost limits may be imposed on certain types of items or services.

Once your project receives conditional approval and an eligible employee is identified, you can then submit a request for the additional funding for relocation costs and/or barrier-related expenses.

Ineligible costs or limitations

Family members of the Employer (partner, son, stepson, daughter, stepdaughter, brother, stepbrother, sister, stepsister, grandchild, step-grandchild, niece, step-niece, nephew, or step-nephew) are not eligible for relocation, travel or accommodation expenses, or barrier related costs (except in some very rare circumstances).

Equipment and clothing purchases must be made by the mid-point of the project to be eligible.

Bonuses are not eligible.

Employer mileage allocation to pick up employees is not eligible (considered in-kind contribution) Only mileage for employee to and from the main (primary) work location and home is eligible.

Salary is limited to a maximum of $60,000 per annum.

Contracted employees’ wages are not eligible.

Please note that even if a project meets all eligibility criteria, the submission of an application creates no obligation on the part of the Minister or of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada officials to provide funding for the proposed project. The Minister retains discretion to determine, based on other public policy and public interest considerations, whether an application that meets the criteria identified in this guide will ultimately receive funding.