Small Business Internship Program

I love finding interesting ways to help small businesses grow their online presence. This week I came across the Small Business Internship Program (SBIP) from the Government of Canada that provides small businesses the opportunity to develop their internet marketing and online selling capability by hiring a post secondary student. The Small Business Internship Program is a fantastic opportunity for small businesses that don’t have the time or money to develop their online strategy to bring in a student for the summer to work at growing their business online. Students will greatly benefit from this internship program by working on a relevant internet project and applying what they have been learning in school.

The Small Business Internship Program provides small and medium-sized enterprises financial support to hire a post secondary student intern to assist them in their adoption of e-business strategies to increase their productivity and competitiveness. ~ Industry Canada

 

How does the Small Business Internship Program Work?

In order for a business to be eligible for this program, the company must:

• be a Canadian small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) with less than 500 employees;
• be incorporated or a sole proprietorship and for-profit;
• have been operating as a business for a minimum of one year;
• have an existing web site and wants to enhance their internet presence;
• contribute a minimum of 25% of the student wages and related expenses.

What Kind of Internet Projects Apply?

A student intern can help plan and execute an internet marketing strategy for a small business by using social media, tracking website effectiveness and finding ways to drive traffic to a website. Here are a few examples of internet marketing projects that a student could undertake under this internship program:

• E-mailing: The student intern could sending e-mails to clients and others individuals that sign up to receive an e-newsletter. The student intern could be used to create the email newsletters and manage contact with customers through email.
• Blogging: The student intern could be tasked to create a blog for your business. Having a student intern working full-time on writing blog content would create a wealth of value for a small business. The blog could be used to reach out to potential customers and highlight the activities of your business. The intern could also visit other blogs related to your industry and post comments to build your online presence.
• Search Engine Optimization: A student intern could be used to review your company website to find ways to improve the visibility of your website on popular search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The student intern could research keywords, build incoming links to your website and create content for your website.
• Social Networking: A student intern could be tasked to manage the social networks for your small business. Have the student create a Facebook Page for your business and create an online community. The student intern could also manage a Twitter account to build awareness of your company online.
• YouTube Videos: The student intern could create YouTube videos about your business. The videos could be informational about your company products and services or try to create a creative video that stands out among your competitors.

What are the Benefits of this Internship Program?

The biggest benefit of the Small Business Internship Program is having the government heavily subsidize the wages of an employee. It would be great to have an internship student working on an building your online business! Having an extra body dedicated to internet marketing is very beneficial for any small business. I believe that the businesses that take advantage of the Small Business Internship Program will increase their competitive advantage by improving their business online! With people using the internet to research products and services before purchasing, it will be more and more important for businesses to build an online presence through SEO, blogging, and social media.

Businesses that participate in the Small Business Internship Program will be reimbursed up to 75% of the wages of the full time intern up to $10,000! The government will support the cost for a maximum of 12 weeks. This will provide a post secondary student a great job opportunity for the summer.

How to do I Apply to the Small Business Internship Program?

I can’t really comment on how to apply to the program yet, as the forms will be available online on April 1st. The Small Business Internship Program forms will be found at this Industry Canada page. It would be a good idea for small businesses to start to think about what kind of internet project that they would like an intern to implement for their business. Industry Canada has outlined how the projects will be assessed, so use the following criteria to help you plan your internet project:

• Will the internship meet SBIP’s objectives?
• Will it give a student intern meaningful work experience?
• Will it give the student intern 12 weeks of work?
• Will the employer provide a minimum of 25 percent of intern wages and related eligible costs?
• Will the internship run between April 1st and March 31st of any given year?

All businesses will be notified once the project is approved. Once project has been approved the small business owner can then proceed to hire a post secondary student to do the work! I hope that if you qualify for this program that you will take advantage of it!

I would also encourage any post secondary student that is looking for a summer job to proactively approach a small business and let them know about this government internship program. Small businesses that wouldn’t normally be financially able to support hiring an additional full-time employee, may be able to cover the 25% wage cost of the program. Letting a small business know about this program may be a way for you to land a great summer job and would show the company what a proactive, go-getter you are. The program is open to post secondary student between 18-30 years old and students returning to school are preferred over graduates. Good Luck!

If you aren’t able to take advantage of the program this year – don’t worry – the program will continue until March 31, 2014.