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Implementation

The implementation and delivery processes differed substantially between Graduate Employment and Self-Employment.

Graduate Employment

Graduate Employment (GE) provided a wage subsidy of 60 percent, to a maximum of $10,000, to employers who could provide graduates with one year of experience related to their field of study. GE targeted, but was not restricted to, the following sectors identified in the Province’s Strategic Economic Plan as having growth potential:

• Manufacturing and technical industries:
• non-resource-based manufacturing
• innovative technologies
• information industries
• professional services
• environmental industries
• Tourism and culture industries
• The energy sector:
• electricity generation
• petroleum exploration both offshore and onshore
• energy efficiency and alternative energy industries

Employers had to state in the contract that the job was new and they were not to lay off a permanent employee in order to access the program. Employers were not permitted to cycle through a graduate each year unless the prior year’s graduate had been retained or had resigned.

The provincial Department of Employment and Labour Relations (now the Department of Human Resources and Employment) delivered the program. Matched applications, where the employer submitted a proposal for a subsidy with the graduate already identified, were encouraged in order to ensure the suitability of the placement for the needs of both parties. It was also hoped this would result in placements generated by graduates through their job search. This program feature was a change from the previous Graduate Employment Program. A registry of eligible graduates was made available to employers, but interest in this service was minimal. Employers generally preferred to identify graduates directly.

After a completed application was received, the screening and approval process had three components:

• An Employment Services Officer reviewed submitted applications, rated them according to the criteria developed, and recommended either approval or rejection of each;
• An Assessment Review Committee reviewed the recommendations of the Employment Services Officer and submitted recommended applications to the Management Committee;
• The Management Committee reviewed the recommended applications.

The Employment Services Officer then communicated the decision to the individuals concerned and prepared contracts for approved applications. Contracts set out plans for follow-up by officials and final reports on the placement to be completed by the employer and the graduate.

The GE component was a continuation of an existing provincial program, which had been assessed several times since its introduction in 1989. Reviews have consistently been positive about the employment outcomes of participants. The most recent review in 1996 (of participants from 1991–94) found that 41 percent of participants were still working with their program employer. Of those who were laid off, 84 percent found new jobs directly related to their education. Participants were very satisfied with the quality of the placement.³⁸ One feature missing from previous reviews was an assessment of the incremental impacts of the program through comparison with the experiences of a group of non-participants. This evaluation report provides that assessment.

Self-Employment

This component was intended to encourage new graduates to consider self-employment and to support those who were already in the early stages of setting up small businesses. Self-Employment (SE) provided a number of assessment, training and networking supports that differentiated the program from other self-employment measures in the province. The program included:

• Income support of $260/week for one year ($13,520);
• Assessment for suitability for the program by the P.J. Gardiner Institute, a division at Memorial University of Newfoundland;
• Training needs identification;
• Training allowances of up to $800;
• Access to a distance education program relating to the operation of a small business;
• Ongoing access to a facilitator through site visits, email contact and a 1-800 number;
• Internet access;
• Counselling in regard to successful entrepreneurship;
• Two participant workshops.

The screening and approval process incorporated four steps:

• An Employment Services Officer reviewed submitted applications and determined whether or not eligibility criteria had been met;
• Applicants satisfying eligibility criteria were assessed, through personal interviews and assessment tools, by the P.J. Gardiner Institute to determine their potential for successful entrepreneurship;
• The Assessment Review Committee reviewed the recommendations of the Employment Services Officer and the P.J. Gardiner Institute and submitted recommended applications to the Management Committee;
• The Management Committee reviewed recommendations and made a final decision on funding.

Program Activity and Expenditures

Graduate Employment/Self-Employment Program (GESEP) was initially allocated a total of $3.5 million for both components over the three-year period of the agreement, with a target of 350 participants. Due to reallocation of funds from another Strategic Initiative component, GESEP actually contracted for over $6 million to support 535 participants. The funding profile is shown below.

Expenditures for the two components consist of:

• Wage subsidies to employers under GE;
• Income support and training allowances paid to SE participants;
• Program supports (P.J. Gardiner Institute for assessments of SE applicants and Eastern Community College for SE facilitation);
• Salary and other administration costs.

The estimates of the costs by the above categories are reflected below.

Activity by Region

One objective of the program was to distribute placements equitably among rural and urban areas of the province. The following chart shows the notional funding targets set for each region and the final distribution of activity, which shows the program was mainly concentrated in the urban areas.

Graduate Employment Program

No regional targets were set for the SE component, but the activity was similarly distributed.

Footnotes

38	Summative Evaluation of Graduate Employment Program, 1991/92-1993/94, Department of Development and Rural Renewal, 1996.
39	While 477 placements were funded, only 473 distinct graduates could be identified in the administrative data. All analysis presented in this report are based on these 473 graduates.