Hiring Youth - Youth Action Programs

The Youth Action Division is responsible for the majority of CIDA's youth related programming. It is also the focal point for youth activities within the Agency. It administers the International Youth Internship Program (IYIP), the Scholarship Program, and partners with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) whose activities involve youth.

Eligibility Criteria

Partner organizations must meet the following criteria:

• be legally registered in Canada;
• have international projects or affiliations in CIDA's eligible countries;
• be able to provide participants with a minimum six-month professional work experience, including a minimum five-month assignment abroad, which complements and enhances the educational training of the participants;
• be able to reasonably guarantee the security of the interns;
• assist interns to find meaningful and career-related employment opportunities; and
• invest in the internship costs (in-kind and/or in cash).

Summary

Programs

International Youth Internship Program

Implemented by the Youth Action Division of CIDA’s Canadian Partnership Branch, IYIP gives young Canadian college or university graduates between the ages of 19 and 30 the opportunity to apply their knowledge, gain international work experience, and develop employability skills by being placed for at least six months with Canadian NGOs and host organizations in developing countries. Each year close to 400 young graduates participate in IYIP, part of the Government of Canada's Career Focus stream of the Youth Employment Strategy (YES), which is aligned with the Innovation Strategy.

Scholarships

CIDA offers a Marine Scholarship Program for mid-career professionals from coastal developing countries to pursue a master's degree in specific marine-related programs. The three universities participating in the program are Dalhousie University, Université du Québec à Rimouski (program offered only in French), and World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden.

For detailed information on, and requirements of, each academic program, please visit the universities’ Web sites:

For more information on the Marine Scholarship Program, please contact the Development Officer at (819) 956-9717 to request an application form.

The Programme canadien de bourses de la Francophonie is offered to students who wish to pursue a university or college education and are from developing countries that are members of La Francophonie.

For more information about how to apply, please contact a CIDA officer at (819) 956-9717.

Non-governmental organizations

Youth Action works with the following Canadian organizations that offer young Canadians and the youth from developing countries the opportunity to contribute directly to international development. The program helps them strengthen the local partnering organizations and, in return, they increase the awareness of global citizenship and worldwide interdependencies. This awareness is increased in their community and within the general Canadian population.

Organizations sending Canadian Youth abroad

Colleges

Ontario Contact(s):
See National Contact.