Employer Resource Corner

Recruitment and Retention are two major challenges currently facing local employers in Waterloo Wellington Dufferin. There are resources out there, but they can take some time to find. We hope this page will serve as a one-stop shop of recruitment and retention resources for you!

Do you have feedback or additional resources? Please email: [email protected].

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Active Job Seekers
Youth
Post-Secondary Schools
Immigrant Workforce

Active Job Seekers

Staffing Agencies

Also known as employment agencies, placement agencies, or recruiting firms. These are businesses that act as a middleman between employers and workers, helping to match qualified candidates with companies that have job openings. Some agencies may offer additional business support services. There is a fee charged to the employer.

Map of local Staffing / Employment Agencies
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Gig Workers

Conestoga College’s Gig Marketplace – Canada’s business incubator for freelance entrepreneurs.

Youth

School Boards & Programs

The School Boards in Waterloo, Guelph, Wellington and Dufferin have many programs that link their students to employers.

Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP): OYAP provides students with the opportunity to complete studies towards a high school diploma while beginning an apprenticeship program. Connect to the OYAP coordinator in your region via the OYAP Employers page.

The Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program offers students in Grades 11 & 12 the opportunity to explore a specific community, or economic and/or industrial sector in preparation for apprenticeship, college, university or the workplace. Students select a major as their focus in their senior years and complete three components (Certifications, Courses & Co-op) to earn their designation on their high school diploma.

Co-op: Cooperative Education allows students to earn secondary school credits while completing a work placement. The program consists of a co-op course monitored by a cooperative education teacher, a related curriculum course in any subject and a work placement.

Local Organizations

Post-Secondary Schools

Local Colleges

Conestoga College

• Conestoga’s Employer Services can assist you with your recruiting, employee assessment and training needs.

Georgian College

• Georgian’s Employers and Partners link includes resources for accessing talent, building and growing your business, investing in innovation, and information on using Georgian’s event spaces and services.

Private Career Colleges

• Private career colleges that are recognized by the Province of Ontario can be found here:
  https://www.ontario.ca/page/search-private-career-college-ontario

Local Universities

University of Guelph

• Employer Account Login/Registration

University of Waterloo

• Employer Resources
• WaterlooWorks Login/Registration – post jobs, review applications, schedule interviews, rank candidates and more

Wilfrid Laurier University

• Information for Employers and Community Partners
• Co-op Recruiting Dates and Process

Private Universities

• Private universities that are recognized by the Province of Ontario can be found here:
  https://www.ontario.ca/page/private-postsecondary-schools#section-3

Immigrant Workforce

Government Resources

• The Employer’s Roadmap to hiring and retaining internationally trained workers
• Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada: How to access global talent
• Hire a Foreign Worker
• Help Centre: Hiring a foreign worker
• Services for employers to help attract global talent (Outreach officers & info sessions)

Employment, Mentorship, and Settlement Programs for Newcomers

The organizations below are working directly with newcomers that want to find work! Employment programs provide job search assistance. Mentorship programs help internationally trained professionals widen their local network. Settlement services help people get settled into their new community: connecting to healthcare, enrolling children in school, register for language classes, how to get an Ontario driver’s license, and much more.

Local Immigration Partnerships

Local Immigration Partnerships are made up of businesses, community agencies, current residents, governments and investors. They plan together how to attract newcomers to their area and improve their experience in the community.

Translation / Interpretation

Trained professional interpreters should be used for all legal, medical, and other situations that require informed consent, confidentiality, specialized terminology or impartiality. Trained interpreters are covered by Errors and Omission insurance and adhere to a strict code of conduct and industry approved Standards of Practice.

Local Professional Interpreters & Document Translators

On-Demand Remote Professional Interpretation

• MCIS Language Solutions (CAN$ fees; Toronto based) – 300+ languages
• RIO (Remote Interpretation Ontario) Phone Network (CAN$ fees; Toronto based) – 180+ languages
• Language Line: On Demand Interpreting Services (USD$ fees) – 240+ languages

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Labour Market Information
Retention
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Labour Market Information

Retention

Workplace Literacy

As the Canadian workplace continues to evolve and automation decreases the need for routine work, jobseekers and workers may struggle to keep up with the changing skill demands of the modern labour market. The Government of Canada has identified nine (9) key Skills for Success. When these skills are underdeveloped, this can impact:

• adapting to new technology
• attendance
• communication
• health and safety
• productivity
• time sheets and paperwork

There are local organizations that can help improve these skills, customized for workplace, apprenticeship, and/or academic goals. Some may offer organizational needs assessments or other workplace supports, and others focus solely on providing service at the individual level.

Mental Wellness

• Mental Wellness in the Workplace: A Playbook for Employers
  (from Ontario Chamber of Commerce)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Disability & Accommodations

Accommodations are personalized adjustments that remove specific barriers to ensure an individual can perform their job duties.

Online resources include:

• CCRW’s Disability Confidence Toolkit
• The Inclusive Workplace helps workplaces become more inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities and on the autism spectrum
• Ontario Corporate Training Centre (OCTC) offers tools and resources to help your company create an inclusive workplace

Local organizations include:

2SLGBTQIA+

2SLGBTQ+ is a shortened form of an umbrella term that refers to the most commonly discussed queer identities and/or orientations (2-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer / Questioning). The + is used to include all of the other identities not covered by the shortened initialism – there are many more queer identities and orientations, and the list changes and grows as our understanding evolves.

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Federal & Provincial Government Supports
Municipal Government & Economic Development
Local Business Supports

Federal & Provincial Government Supports

Federal

• Government of Canada – Business Benefits Finder
• Business grants and financing
• Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP):
  • Boost Your Business Technology grant – get advice on the technologies that can propel your business forward
  • Grow Your Business Online grant – set up e-commerce and grow your sales online
• Support for technology innovation
• Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev)
  • delivers programs and services to support innovation and economic growth in southern Ontario
  • FedDev Small Business Services

Hiring Incentives

Incentives offered directly, or in part, by the Government of Canada. Some are offered through delivery partners.

• Funding programs and grants for jobs, training, and social development projects
• Canada Summer Jobs
  • wage subsidies to create summer work experiences for young people aged 15 to 30
• CLAC Apprenticeship Support Program (CASP)
  • grants for hiring a new first-year apprentice. Also offers assistance with recruiting, onboarding, and retaining apprentices
• Science and Technology (S&T) Internship Program – Green Jobs
  • funding to hire and mentor youth in the natural resources sector, including in energy, forestry, mining, earth science, and clean technology
• Student Work Placement Program
  • wage subsidies for employers that offer work placements (practicums, co-op, internships, mentorship programs) to post-secondary students
• Trucking HR Canada – Career ExpressWay Program
  • supports employers with trucking industry financial incentives: training grants, work placements, and wage incentives
• Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) – Funding programs
  • helps young people, particularly those facing barriers to employment, get the information and gain the skills, work experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition into the labour market

Tax Incentives

• Ontario co-op education tax credit
  • if you provided a work placement for a student in a post-secondary co-op program
• Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentives
  • encourages businesses of all sizes and in all sectors to conduct research and development (R&D) in Canada

Provincial – Ontario

• Hiring and training incentives for employers
  • Hiring apprentices, youth hiring incentives, and more.
• Business, workplace, and economy
  • Information for entrepreneurs who want to start and run a business in Ontario. Learn how to register your business, apply for funding and tax credits, and get free, personalized help to start your business.
• Business Advisory Services
  • Tailored options, advice, analysis and recommendations for established small and medium-sized businesses and producers of tradable goods and services.
• Entrepreneurship funds and resources for people under 30
  • Start-up grants, microlending, investment capital, mentorship, and more.

Municipal Supports & Economic Development

Services offered by the City or Townships to support their local businesses.

Economic Development services may be offered by the municipality and/or additional local organizations. Services include programs, policies, and activities to improve the economic well-being of their communities.

Local Business Supports

Chambers of Commerce & Community Futures

Chambers of Commerce advocate on behalf of the business community, and serve as a local business network.

Community Futures organizations provide small business services to people living in rural and remote communities. Each office delivers small business loans, tools, training and events for people wanting to start, expand, franchise or sell a business.

Business Improvement Areas (BIAs)

The mission of a BIA is to make the area a better place to do business. It is an association of local businesses and commercial property owners who join together to promote the economic development of the district through various marketing, beautification, safety and advocacy initiatives.

Business Centres & Local Organizations

More Business Supports

• Canadian SME Magazine
  • Aims to equip Small & Medium Enterprises with expert knowledge and insights from industry leaders on everything business.
  • Ontario Small Business Guide
• Communitech
  • Helps tech employers start and grow their company
• Digital Main Street
  • Grants and services including digital how-to guide and program to help you grow your business
• HelloHire
  • Online speed-hiring platform
• MaRS
  • Seed stage investor in Ontario, investing in IT, health and cleantech companies

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This Employment Ontario project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.