A new job placement program aims to keep University of Windsor graduates in Windsor-Essex.
The University of Windsor is partnering with Invest WindsorEssex and the Canadian Career Apprenticeship Initiative on the program to help students in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences land their first jobs upon graduation.
Invest WindsorEssex will recruit employers wanting to hire a FAHSS grad into a full-time, permanent position, and UWindsor's office of Career Development and Experiential Learning will match students to those positions. The Canadian Career Apprenticeship Initiative will donate up to $16,000 per placement to cover one-third of the first year of salary.
The program will be called the Windsor-Essex Career Apprenticeship Program (WECAP).
Wendy Stark, Director of Business Retention and Expansion with Invest WindsorEssex, says it's open to any employer in Windsor-Essex, but they must have at least seven employees.
"We're hoping that some employers that have maybe struggling a little bit to find new employees such as in manufacturing, in ICT, perhaps in tourism, there are some positions that need to be filled," she says.
Stark says they're looking for the student and the employers to commit to the program for one year.
"Looking at other communities that have run this, it's around 90 per cent of graduates that stay with the employers. So it's a real good outcome," she adds.
In this first year of the program, Invest WindsorEssex will recruit only enough local employers to offer placements to 10 FAHSS grads.
About 1,000 students graduate from FAHSS each year.
Employers and graduates commit to a placement of at least one year. Students must be graduating from an undergraduate program this spring and be legally eligible to work full-time in Canada. Workplaces must be located in Windsor-Essex and have at least seven employees.