For Immediate Release
January 24, 2005

Background Information

Northern Ontario Youth Internship and Co-op Program

The new Northern Ontario Youth Internship and Co-op Program, part of the refocused Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), will help young northerners make the transition from school to the workplace.

The program responds to the long-standing issue of youth out-migration by encouraging young people to remain in the North or return to Northern Ontario to work.

Both private sector and public sector employers (for example, municipal governments, First Nations and not-for-profit corporations) are eligible under this program. Eligible applicants must be involved in health care, social services, value-added manufacturing, telecommunications, biotechnology, emerging technologies, environmental sciences and other activities that will result in an economic development advantage for Northern Ontario.

The program will provide conditional contributions toward the wages of northern p ost-secondary students aged 29 and under.

For more detailed information on the program, eligibility criteria and available assistance, please see the NOHFC website at www.nohfc.com or visit an MNDM office, Government Information Centre or Small Business Enterprise Centre in Northern Ontario.

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Contacts:

Laura Blondeau
Minister's Office - Sudbury
(705) 564-7454