Hiring Incentives

LAE has a number of programs to save you money as you strengthen your business with new talent.

• The Graduate to Opportunity (GTO) program provides 25% of the first year's salary - 35% if the new hire is a member of a diversity group - and 12.5% of the second year's salary when you hire a recent university or college grad for a permanent, full-time job.
• The Co-op Education Incentive offsets the cost of hiring post-secondary students for co-op placements in your organization.
• The START program offers a combination of wage, onboarding and training incentives to help you hire an unemployed Nova Scotian.

Learn more at https://novascotia.ca/grow-your-business/ or call us at 902 424 6000 or 1–800 –424-5418.

Training Supports

A sure-fire way of improving productivity is by upskilling your employees. LAE has Business Workforce Consultants to the with HR planning, workforce development programs and a trove of free training resources.

• Workplace Education helps you assess the learning needs of your business and organize and deliver education and training programs.
• The Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive (WIPSI) provides money for training and certification to improve productivity and competitiveness.
• SkillsOnlineNS provides easy access to hundreds of free online courses for employers ad workers, from software applications to customer service, business writing to finance.

Find out about all of our hiring and training incentives at novascotia.ca/grow-your-business/

Innovation Supports

The Nova Scotia Sandbox Program is a joint project hosted by our universities and Nova Scotia Community College’s to bring together students, mentors and advisers to develop an entrepreneurial mindset to bring into any work environment.

• The Post-Secondary Education Sandbox program leverages the creative and innovative minds of Nova Scotia's universities and community college system to tackle business challenges. They could help you. https://nssandboxes.com/
• The Innovate To Opportunity program provides 3 years of salary subsidies for hiring masters and PhD grads for innovation-focused work.

• LAE supports Mitacs so businesses can hire graduate and college-level students for internships focused on R&D. https://www.mitacs.ca/en/programs#business

Apprenticeship

If your business employs workers in the skilled trades, apprenticeship is one of the best investments you can make. The Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency can make it easier.

• The Apprenticeship START program provides funding to eligible employers who employ and support Nova Scotians through their apprenticeship program. Funding for a four-year apprenticeship can be $25,000 to $30,000, depending on location and if the apprentice is from an underrepresented group. nsapprenticeship.ca

Safety Support

Safety makes a difference in everyone’s lives and is important for your business’ peace of mind, reputation and its bottom line. The Safety branch can help with any questions or concerns about health and safety in workplaces, and technical safety of regulated equipment in public places. We value the opportunity to speak about safety and encourage people to call to ensure they have current and accurate information for their business and their workers.

• Please call 1-800-LABOUR (1-800-952-2687) or email LAESafetyBranch@novascotia.ca.
• The Safety Branch can also provide tools and supports to encourage a strong safety culture within your business such as guidance around prevention of COVID-19 in the workplace: https://novascotia.ca/working-during-covid and the Small Business Safety Toolkit: http://workplace-safety-toolkit

Labour Services

As an employer, you have certain rights and responsibilities under labour and employment laws. We have experts to answer questions, help you avoid labour and employment-related problems, and services to help you resolve disputes.

• For questions about rights and responsibilities under the Labour Standards Code, call 1-888-315-0110
• If your workplace is unionized and you needs dispute-resolution support, visit https://novascotia.ca/lae/conciliation/