WORKING FOR YOU
Graduate to Opportunity program opens possibilities for employers, recent grads Charting the success of the Department of Learning, Skills, and Immigration program By Emily Bednarz
O
n the surface, it might seem counter-intuitive to hire someone fresh out of school. After all, when you’re running a small business, every new hire is critical, and particularly now, after two years into a global pandemic. But hiring a recent graduate could turn out to be the smartest thing you’ll do this year. Employers like Smarter Spaces, a nominee for the 2022 Halifax Business Awards in the Innovative Business of the Year category, have seen innovation surge and opportunities multiply after hiring a recent university or college graduate with the province’s Graduate to Opportunity (GTO) program. “The grad we hired is a rock star,” says Smarter Spaces Inc. CEO Colin Gillis. “In a matter of months, she’s grown beyond her original job and taken on entirely new responsibilities. She’s contributing directly to our company’s success, and we’re so impressed. We’re getting her to help us recruit more post-secondary graduates for future hires.” Graduate to Opportunity reimburses 25% of the first-year salary and 12.5% in the second year for a new, permanent, full-time job paying at least $35,000. The incentive jumps to 35% if you hire an international graduate or someone who identifies as a member of a designated equity-seeking group: African Nova Scotian or racially visible, Mi’kmaq or Indigenous, person with a disability, or a woman in an under-represented occupation. Applications are quick and easy and they’re typically turned around in less than a week. Employers who use the program love it: satisfaction rates in surveys top 90%. According to Jill Balser, the
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Glen Myers (left), Managing Partner at Global Courseware Inc., hired Katelyn Roy (right) as Marketing Coordinator through the GTO program.
province’s Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration, the best reason for a business to hire a grad is the bottom line: they’ll help your business grow. But she says there are other good reasons for looking at a university or college graduate, like keeping skilled, well-educated young talent living and working in Nova Scotia. “We’ve been able to celebrate reaching a million residents at the end of 2021 and we're targeting two million by 2060. The recruitment and retention of young grads is a very effective way to support that population growth,” says Balser. The program is succeeding in its retention goals. More than 85% of recent grads hired through GTO are still working in the province when the funding runs out, and more than half are with their original employer. MARCH 2022
“Most graduates want to live and work in Nova Scotia and if we can help them launch their careers here, the vast majority will stay, have families, shop in local stores, and contribute to their communities and the economic health of the province,” says Balser. “GTO is supporting many hundreds of jobs in HRM, of course, but it’s also having an impact on graduate employment and business growth in every region of the province.” A GTO hire has led to a boost in export sales for Global Courseware, a business training company in rural Nova Scotia. 90% of Global’s business is exports, and all marketing and promotions responsibilities are in the hands of recent Mount Saint Vincent University graduate Katelyn Roy. “It’s hard to over-state Katelyn’s contribution,” says owner Glen Myers.
