FedNor investing over $560,000 to create internship opportunities for Northern Ontario’s youth

Providing opportunities for young graduates and connecting organizations and businesses with a skilled and enthusiastic workforce is precisely what the Government of Canada’s internship initiative is helping to accomplish in Northern Ontario. Since its inception more than three decades ago, FedNor’s youth internship initiative has helped create 1824 jobs in Northern Ontario, which has helped keep young people in the region.

In recognition of International Youth Day, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for FedNor, announced today a Government of Canada investment of $563,831 to create 12 paid youth internships in Northern Ontario. These internships will support businesses and organizations, and help grow and strengthen the region’s economy.

Provided through FedNor’s Northern Ontario Development Program, this funding will support 12 separate initiatives throughout the region designed to create employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, while supporting sustainable economic growth. Specifically, the funding will enable the recipients to hire a youth intern with expertise in a specific field for a one or two-year period, helping the employer to advance key projects. These internships include IT support with Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, marketing for the Canadian Institute of Forestry, project support for the Township of Moonbeam, and many other exciting initiatives. For the full list of projects, please see Backgrounder.

With backgrounds in science, communications and marketing, the interns’ responsibilities will range from assisting with the development of communication tools and social media strategies, to strategic plan implementation, market research, and municipal asset inventory and analysis.