Employers can apply for an Innovator Skills Initiative hiring grant valued at up to $10,000 to supplement a new employee’s salary. Employers may receive up to 10 (ten) Innovator Skills Initiative grants through Innovate BC for 10 (ten) different employees per program year and maximum one grant per candidate per employer. Each application is for ONE employee, please submit a separate application for each employee.
Employer Eligibility
The Employer:
Geographic Location
The company must be legally registered and headquartered in British Columbia (BC).
The primary operations and hiring must occur within BC.
Type of business
A technology business/organization hiring for a business role or tech role*
A non-tech business/organization, including public body and Indigenous community, hiring for a tech role*
*A tech role is one that is enabled with technology. A business role is one that requires knowledge of business functions and processes. Both roles must require a level of education, certification or micro credential to perform.
Business Stage
The company must be actively pursuing growth through hiring, fundraising, product expansion, or new market entry AND have at least one of the following:
A minimum of 5 full-time employees at the time of application; OR
Demonstrated revenue growth, user growth, or market expansion over the past 12 months; OR
Have secured investment (seed, angel or VC)
Employee Eligibility
The Employee:
- Must meet all eligibility criteria below on the date of employee form submission or placement start date, whichever is earlier.
- Self-identifies as under-represented, as provided in the list of groups below:
- Categories:
- Women
- Indigenous
- Visible Minority
- Youth (<30)
- LGBTQ2S+
- New Immigrant (Moved to Canada within the past five years)
- Person living with a visible or invisible disability
- Other
- Categories:
- Must be living in B.C. and be eligible to work in B.C., including:
- A Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada or authorized in writing to work in Canada under the federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
- 16-years of age or older as per B.C.’s Employment Standards Act.
- Must be a new hire on or after April 1, 2025. A new hire is defined as an individual who has not worked for the employer or related companies in the last 6 months before the placement start date.
- Must have completed their training or education, whether at a post-secondary institution or through other recognized pathways on or after December 1, 2022 and before the placement start date.
- Can be a student, including co-op students and international students, enrolled in an accredited post-secondary institution in B.C.
- Is not a relative or family member of the employer and/or principal shareholder.
- Agrees to complete a brief survey during the placement.
Placement Eligibility
Placements:
- Must be at minimum a 4-month period.
- Must start no earlier than April 1, 2025 and end no later than December 31, 2025.
- May be retroactive (an application may be submitted and approved after the hire date).
- Must be at minimum an average of 15 hours per week, for a total minimum of 240 hours during the 4-month placement.
For more information about the program requirements, please click here
Innovator Skills Initiative 2025
Employers can apply for an Innovator Skills Initiative hiring grant valued at up to $10,000 to supplement a new employee’s salary. Employers may receive up to 10 (ten) Innovator Skills Initiative grants through Innovate BC for 10 (ten) different employees per program year and maximum one grant per candidate per employer. Each application is for ONE employee, please submit a separate application for each employee.
Employer Eligibility
The Employer:
Geographic Location
The company must be legally registered and headquartered in British Columbia (BC).
The primary operations and hiring must occur within BC.
Type of business
A technology business/organization hiring for a business role or tech role*
A non-tech business/organization, including public body and Indigenous community, hiring for a tech role*
*A tech role is one that is enabled with technology. A business role is one that requires knowledge of business functions and processes. Both roles must require a level of education, certification or micro credential to perform.
Business Stage
The company must be actively pursuing growth through hiring, fundraising, product expansion, or new market entry AND have at least one of the following:
A minimum of 5 full-time employees at the time of application; OR
Demonstrated revenue growth, user growth, or market expansion over the past 12 months; OR
Have secured investment (seed, angel or VC)
Employee Eligibility
The Employee:
- Must meet all eligibility criteria below on the date of employee form submission or placement start date, whichever is earlier.
- Self-identifies as under-represented, as provided in the list of groups below:
- Categories:
- Women
- Indigenous
- Visible Minority
- Youth (<30)
- LGBTQ2S+
- New Immigrant (Moved to Canada within the past five years)
- Person living with a visible or invisible disability
- Other
- Categories:
- Must be living in B.C. and be eligible to work in B.C., including:
- A Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada or authorized in writing to work in Canada under the federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
- 16-years of age or older as per B.C.’s Employment Standards Act.
- Must be a new hire on or after April 1, 2025. A new hire is defined as an individual who has not worked for the employer or related companies in the last 6 months before the placement start date.
- Must have completed their training or education, whether at a post-secondary institution or through other recognized pathways on or after December 1, 2022 and before the placement start date.
- Can be a student, including co-op students and international students, enrolled in an accredited post-secondary institution in B.C.
- Is not a relative or family member of the employer and/or principal shareholder.
- Agrees to complete a brief survey during the placement.
Placement Eligibility
Placements:
- Must be at minimum a 4-month period.
- Must start no earlier than April 1, 2025 and end no later than December 31, 2025.
- May be retroactive (an application may be submitted and approved after the hire date).
- Must be at minimum an average of 15 hours per week, for a total minimum of 240 hours during the 4-month placement.
For more information about the program requirements, please click here