Synaptive Medical hosts Government of Canada’s student work placement funding program announcement

Toronto, ON (August 28, 2017) — Giving post-secondary students the chance to learn in a hands-on work environment is part of the Canadian Government’s plan to put Canada’s greatest strength—its skilled, hard-working people—at the heart of a more innovative new economy.

Cameron Piron speaks at the Student Work Placement announcement

The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, today announced that the Government of Canada will help create 60,000 student work placements over the next five years.

The Government of Canada is rolling out a $73-million investment in the Student Work-Integrated Learning Program to create 10,000 paid student work placements over the next four years, facilitating stronger partnerships between employers and partnering polytechnics, universities and colleges. Budget 2017 also announced $221 million in funding over five years for Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that provides research internships with a goal of creating 10,000 work placements per years.

“When Canadian students get on-the-job education, they’re getting the experience they need to succeed,” said Minister Hadju. “Our Innovation and Skills Plan is putting Canada’s skilled, talented and creative people at the heart of a more innovative future economy.”

Minister Hadju made the announcement at Synaptive Medical during an event hosted by BioTalent Canada, one of several industry partners working with the Government of Canada.

“Synaptive Medical has recruited students from a range of co-op programs,” said Cameron Piron, Synaptive’s Co-Founder and President. “These students bring energy and enthusiasm to project teams, ranging from software and mechanical engineering through to marketing and finance, and some have joined us as full-time employees. We are pleased that the Government is supporting the Student Work-Integrated Learning Program and allowing us to hire more bright young talent to augment and complement departments across the company.”

BioTalent Canada, a national non-profit organization, is the human resources partner of Canada’s bio-economy and focuses on building partnerships and skills for Canada’s bio-economy to ensure the industry has access to job-ready people. BioTalent, which has taken a leadership role in providing student work placements, will receive close to $5.6 million. It is expected that more than 1,000 student work placements will be made available to post-secondary students through this partnership.

“Giving students the opportunity to get hands-on experience while finishing their studies will strength Canada’s bio-economy by bridging the gap between industry and academia,” said Rob Henderson, President and CEO, BioTalent Canada.