SMALL BUSINESS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM RENEWED FOR 2011/12

The Small Business Internship Program (SBIP), which provides businesses with financial support to hire interns to improve their online business, has been renewed for 2011/12. 

What is the Small Business Internship Program?

The SBIP has been created to support you, the small business owner, improve your online competitiveness.  The program will support your business by funding an intern for twelve weeks, to develop an online marketing and e-business strategy. If your business has a website but does not have an active online presence; or if you would like to develop your online marketing strategy to include new social media trends, you could be eligible for funding of up to $10,000. 

With an investment of $3.5 million from the Government of Canada, the SBIP will reimburse successful applicants with up to 75% of the eligible wage and relevant expenses incurred by the internship. Through the program, which runs from April 1st to March 31st, Industry Canada will support your employment of a post secondary intern for a total of 420 hours (12 weeks) on a full time bases.  You may extend the duration of the internship according to your needs, however funding will only be provided for the initial 420 hours. 

Who is Eligible?

To be eligible for the program your business must:

• Have less than 500 employees.
• Operate in Canada.
• Have been in continuous operations for a minimum of one year.
• Be a registered corporation of sole proprietorship.
• Have an active company website.
• Be looking to develop an online marketing strategy for current products and services.

Eligible interns must be:

• Aged 30 or under.
• A citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
• Studying in a post-secondary institution and will return to studies on the completion of the internship.
• Have advanced knowledge and use of online technologies in the Small to Medium sized business environment.
• Available for a total of 420 hours (12 weeks).

How to Apply

Your proposed project will be assessed by the above criteria as well as its ability to provide significant and relevant work experience to the intern.  Before applying for funding you must consider if you are able to provide a student with 12 weeks of work and if you can afford to cover at least 25% of the intern’s wages and costs.

Applications for the program in BC are coordinated by Langara College and the Community Futures Development Association.  All forms and relevant supporting guidelines are provided through theIndustry Canada website.

Applications consist of two components:

• Application form
• Supporting documents
  - Legal documents confirming the legal status of your business e.g. incorporation certificate, business number.
  - A budget forecast for the current fiscal year.

Once you have completed your application and gathered the supporting documents, contact either Langara College of Community Futures, to submit your application. All applications must be received by December 1st 2011.

On submitting your application you will receive a notification of receipt.  You will then be notified by program coordinator as to whether it your project has been approved.  Once approved you may commence with advertising the position and hiring of the successful intern.

Maintain a Balance

Maintain a Balance

As well as your relationship with your employees, it is important to understand the relationships they have with each other.  Learn about the rapport between each of your employees and how you need to balance each of their personalities and needs when working together.

6. Create a Positive Atmosphere 

Your employees look to you for leadership. Being passionate and excited about your business is contagious. By cultivating this positive atmosphere amongst your employees, you will reap the rewards of a motivated and dedicated workforce.

7. Invest in Your Employees

As your business grows it is important help your employees grow their careers along with the business.  Making this investment will not only make your employees feel valued, but will also encourage their own investment in your company.

8. Get your Employees Invested in the Business

Other than you, the people who know your business best of all are your employees. With different perspectives, experience and education they can bring new ideas and insights to help with business growth. Encouraging them make suggestions to the business, and then implementing those suggestions can help develop loyalty and offer job satisfaction.

9. Be the Boss Your Employees Need You to Be

It is important that as the leader of your business you take responsibility for your employees, think proactively about your business and motivate them with the vision you have for success, no matter the challenges your face.

10. Consult your Network

Your peers, suppliers, contacts and clients will all have an opinion about how you should expand and develop your team of employees.  So ask them.  Sometimes that outside opinion can be the key to realising the skill set or the type of person you need to take your business to success.

Think You’re a Great Employer?

The Small Business BC Successful You Awards contest is now open for nominations.  If you think that you’re a great employer who invests in their employees and creates a positive and structured environment for them to grow, take a look at the contest’s award criteria.  

10 TIPS TO BUILDING A GREAT SMALL BUSINESS TEAM

It’s not always easy being the boss, but if you have a team of employees around you who are motivated to work to their full potential, you are in a great position to achieve success.  Being a great employer does not always have to be about the size of the pay cheque or the number of perks you offer, the smaller things like creating a positive environment and paying attention to your employees’ needs can make all the difference.

 

Here are our top 10 tips to remember when looking to make the most of your workforce:

1. Hire Only When You Have a Reason

Once your business starts to gain momentum it is tempting to start hiring immediately; but do you have enough business to pay for a new employee? Do you have enough work to give them? Make sure you base your decision to expand your workforce on whether you really require the support.

2. Hire the Right People

Don’t rush into employing people just to fill a role.  It’s important in a small business that the employees fit with the company and with each other. Determine the type of work you need the new person to do, they type of employee that person needs to be and how they will be able to enhance your business.

3.  Hire Who You can Afford

If a potential employee is looking for the type of salary and benefits you can’t afford, don’t hire them.  If you bring on someone who is not going to be satisfied with the position or salary, they will only stay around long enough to find the job they really want. It’s in the best interest of your business to take your time and find someone who will stay long term.

4. Build a Relationship with Your Employees 

One of the many hats that you will wear as a small business owner is that of the human resources manager.  From the day you hire an employee, you are responsible for getting to know them, their needs and their career goals. Building this relationship will encourage loyalty and motivation to help building your company with you.

How the BC PNP has Contributed to the Jobs Market

How the BC PNP has Contributed to the Jobs Market

From 2005 to the end of 2011, the BC PNP has assisted more than 15,000 workers, from over 6,200 companies, in obtaining their permanent residence status.  Employers who have participated in the program cover a broad range of industry sectors; with the tourism and hospitality sector accounting for the largest share of both businesses and nominees.

 

According to the 2011 Evaluation Report conducted by Grant Thornton LLP on behalf of the Ministry; 87% of nominees surveyed were still working in the same occupation as the one they were nominated for, and 77% were employed in the same position with their original employer. The report also found that 84% of the nominees had met or exceeded their employer’s performance expectations demonstrating that the program benefits both the employer and employee.

Is my Business Eligible to Apply for BC PNP?

To be eligible to apply to the PNP your business must meet some basic requirements:
 

• Be an incorporated company or extra-provincially registered in BC
   
• Have a permanent business location in BC
   
• Employ at least five permanent, full-time employees if the business is located within Metro Vancouver.  If the business is outside Metro Vancouver at least three permanent, full-time employees are required.  The BC PNP may consider applications that do not meet these minimum requirements if an employer has substantial business operations outside of BC or can present a compelling business case
   
• Offer a competitive wage to the candidate
   
• Be operating for at least one year (two years for the Entry Level and Semi-Skilled category)
   
• Be financially sound and have a history of good workplace and business practices, including compliance with all applicable employment, labour, immigration, health, and safety laws and regulations
   
• Not involved in the production, distribution, or sale of pornographic or sexually-explicit products, or in the provision of sexually-oriented entertainment or services
   
• Not an employment agency or similar placement firm

How to Apply for BC PNP

So if you know that you are eligible and you are looking to hire a foreign worker, retain a temporary foreign worker you already have on staff, or hire a foreign student who has recently graduated a Canadian institution, there are a number of steps you will need to take:
 

1. Identify the Candidate.  If you have not already, identify a qualified candidate who is eligible for your vacancy and agree to support their application for permanent residency.
   Note: If the nominee candidate has an ownership stake in the applying company, that share must be less than 10%. Individuals who own 10% or more are not eligible under the Strategic Occupations component of the BC PNP.
    
2. Submit an Application. Both you and your candidate must submit a joint application to the PNP, which includes the job offer and information about the company and candidate.
    
3. Nominate for Permanent Residency.  If the application is approved, the candidate will then be asked to submit an application for a permanent resident visa.  If the candidate does not have a work permit, the PNP will provide a support letter so that they can start working in BC as soon as possible.  This also means that you will not need to apply to Service Canada for a Labour Market Opinion.
    
4. Finalize Application.  The permanent resident visa application will be accelerated through CIC’s application process and will normally be finalised in 10 to 15 months.

The PNP currently accepts applications for managers, professionals, technicians and skilled trades.  Applications for select entry level or semi-skilled occupations in tourism, hospitality, long-haul truck driving and food processing are also accepted.

Find out More

To find out how the PNP could help your company meet its staffing needs, visit WelcomeBC.ca or contact them at 604 775 2227 orpnpinfo@gov.bc.ca 

 

 

Note: All figures in this article were taken from the 2011 BC Provincial Nominee Program Evaluation Report written by Grant Thornton LLP on behalf of the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation.

EMPLOYING FOREIGN WORKERS: THE CHANGE IN BC’S LABOUR MARKETS

What is the Forecast for British Columbia’s Labour Market to 2020 ?

Between 2010 and 2020 demand for workers in BC is expected to grow by an annual average rate of 1.4 percent; with over 1 million job openings expected in that period.  Due to this growth rate it is expected that by 2016 the number of workers needed, will exceed the number available province wide.  In fact, by 2020, it is projected that supply will outgrow demand by 61,500 workers.

 

And this trend is likely to be experienced even sooner in some regions. The Northeast region is expected to have the highest growth in demand for workers at 1.7 percent annually, followed by Mainland/ Southwest (1.6 percent) and North Coast and Nechako (1.3 percent).

 

Nearly two-thirds of these projected job openings (676,400) will be due to replacement demand, such as workers retiring and deaths. The remaining third will be new jobs (351,000) that result from the region’s economic growth.

 

In BC, the number of new labour market entrants (those who leave the education system and enter the labour market for the first time) is expected to decline steadily throughout the period of 2010 to 2020. This reflects a broader demographic shift to an older population.  As a result, the B.C. labour market will rely increasingly on migrants for new labour supply. In fact it is forecasted that new migrants to B.C. are projected to fill one-third of job openings to 2020.

Thinking of Employing a Foreign Worker?

Finding the right staff for your small business can often be a challenge, especially if you operate in an industry which is experiencing a skills shortage, such as tourism or construction.

 

The BC Provincial Nominee Program (“BC PNP”) operates under an agreement between the federal and provincial governments and was designed to help address these shortages.

The program has two streams:

 

• Strategic Occupations: Helps employers in BC recruit or retain qualified foreign workers to meet current and projected labour market needs.
   
• Business: Targets entrepreneurs who plan to invest in and actively manage a business within BC that will provide economic benefits to the province.

Foreign nationals who are selected by the program become eligible to make an application for permanent residence to the federal government in a special immigration category that will be processed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada on a priority basis. 

The free Google map

The free Google map listing service, Google Places has been around since 2009 and in that time things have changed a lot.  

 

In the most recent change, Google has removed the reviews from third party sites such as OpenTable, TripAdvisor and Yelp, and replaced them with reviews from Google users.  Links to the third party sites can still be found at the bottom of the place listing; however the content of the review is no longer shown.

 

This move follows complaints against Google from the third party review sites, for taking their content without permission. 

What Does the Google Places Update Mean for Your Small Business?

According to data released by Google, 93% of consumers looking for local businesses look online. With millions of people using Google Places to find these businesses; this update is likely to have a big impact on small businesses and how they handle the online reputation.

Chances are that if you are a tourism or hospitality based business, you are already monitoring review websites and encouraging customers to write reviews on your behalf; however for other industries this may be a new consideration.

 

With Google actively asking their users to review businesses through their shiny new ‘Write a Review’ button; it is likely that the small number of reviews on the site now will increase rapidly in the future.  It is therefore important for you to focus more on building and managing the reputation of your business by encouraging customers to write reviews and keeping an eye on the reviews that are posted.  Schedule a regular time to check on the reviews and to respond to any messages.  Remember to thank the reviewers which praise you and offer apologies or solutions to those giving negative reviews.  The more engagement you have with your customers the better.

 

As an added incentive, Google’s increasing focus on social sharing, now means that users can receive recommendations for places to visit, based on the reviews they have posted or reviews their friends have written. Therefore by encouraging and developing the customer reviews on Google Places, it will not only increase your presence in Google, but will help you find more customers for your business.