A new program launched by a Vancouver-based not-for-profit is benefiting small businesses and business students across the province.
Mitacs, a government-funded national research organization, aims to foster growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research from Canadian universities. The biggest challenge B.C. businesses are facing currently is coronavirus (COVID-19) which has caused over 350,000 British Columbians to lose their jobs. This immense job loss has also affected business students looking for their first jobs out of university or work experience to complete their programs.
The Mitacs Business Strategy Internship (BSI) aims to fix both those issues for businesses and not-for-profits by covering about half the cost to bring on a student, meaning employers pay $5,000 of a student’s $10,000 stipend for a four-month internship.
“This is welcome news for both organizations impacted by the pandemic as well as the students, many of whom lost job opportunities they had lined up when COVID-19 hit,” said Mitacs CEO and scientific director John Hepburn.
According to Hepburn, one of the biggest challenges businesses face is the inability to scale and access new markets. Research suggests that compared to their U.S. counterparts, Canadian businesses undervalue the importance of marketing and sales, and struggle to commercialize their innovations.
“By providing students with work opportunities during the current economic downturn, we’re ensuring Canada’s homegrown talent continues to build the skills they need to contribute to our recovery in the longer term,” Hepburn said. “At the same time, we’re giving Canada’s businesses and not-for-profit sector valuable support required to modify or pivot their operations as they adapt to the new economic reality.”
According to a news release from Mitacs, since the program launched in May of last year, about 1,000 interns have been placed in business positions across Canada, with about 350 of those in B.C. More than 260 of those students are from the UBC Sauder program.
Other UBC Sauder interns are lending their skills to fast-paced companies and not-for-profit organizations that are working to advance innovations such as high-tech edible gardens, sustainable baking, AI-powered real estate tools and cassava-based food products.
The BSI program has also attracted the participation of a half dozen B.C. schools including SFU Beedie School of Business, Emily Carr University, and University of Victoria’s Peter B. Gustavson School of Business.
