Quebec Announces $10 Million Wage Subsidies To Hire 5,000 Young Graduates

Quebec will offer wage subsidies to companies that hire recently graduated individuals as the unemployment rate has continued to rise among young people in recent years.

“Buenos Aires, 9 junio (NA) -- Las dos CTA (Trabajadores y Autónoma), la Unión de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Economía Popular (UTEP) y el Sindicato de Docentes de la UBA (FEDUBA) se manifestaron este martes en el microcentro porteño, en rechazo al plan de ajuste del presidente Javier Milei”

Agencia Noticias Argentinas

Radio-Canada says the measure could cost up to $10 million and facilitate access to the labor market for about 5,000 young people, with Minister of Employment Jean-François Simard announcing it Thursday morning in Quebec City.

Agencia Noticias Argentinas

Concretely, Quebec will cover, for a maximum of 16 weeks, up to half of the salaries of young employees while capping the subsidy at the minimum wage, and if the employer is a nonprofit organization the subsidy can rise to 100% of the salary under the same ceiling.

Eligible individuals must be aged 16 to 30, actively seeking employment in their field of study, and have earned their diploma between April 1, 2025 and December 31, 2026.

Young graduates interested in the subsidy must obtain an eligibility letter from an employment assistance officer in Services Québec offices, and the cost is funded by the Labor Market Development Fund (FDMT) through March 31, 2027.

La Presse reports that Quebec will invest tens of millions of dollars in the initiative, funded by the Labour Market Development Fund (FDMT) largely financed through transfer agreements with the federal government but administered by the province.

The plan aims to cover part of the employee's salary on behalf of the employer through a subsidy during the first weeks after hiring, to offset lost productivity caused by training the employee and to combat structural unemployment among young graduates.

La Presse

La Presse says the measure will target people aged 16 to 30 who graduated between April 1, 2025 and December 31, 2026, and applicants must be actively seeking employment in their field of study.

Diplomas and certificates in vocational and technical training are eligible, as are bachelor’s degrees and undergraduate certificates, and graduates must go to the Services Québec office in their territory to obtain a letter of eligibility.

Radio-Canada adds that the initiative, titled A First Job for You!, also provides for personalized support from organizations specialized in employability to promote integration and retention in employment, and when necessary it reimburses the fees of a person accompanying the new employee.

In Argentina, movements sociales, universitarios y gremiales marched in the center against the Government, with Buenos Aires, 9 junio (NA) describing demonstrations in the microcentro porteño in rejection of the adjustment plan of President Javier Milei.

“Facing an unemployment rate that has continued to rise among young people in recent years, Quebec will offer wage subsidies to companies that hire recently graduated individuals”

Radio-Canada

Agencia Noticias Argentinas says the two CTA (Trabajadores y Autónoma), the Unión de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Economía Popular (UTEP) and the Sindicato de Docentes de la UBA (FEDUBA) joined the week closing of “Ayuno y oración para despertar las conciencias,” convened by the Mesa Ecuménica together with Premio Nobel argentino Adolfo Pérez Esquivel.

The agency quotes Hugo 'Cachorro' Godoy calling for "a la rebelión de las conciencias contra las injusticias" and says Hugo Yasky argued that the country has "peores derechos laborales" and that "hay que parar a Milei".

Agencia Noticias Argentinas also reports that UTEP will push for "asambleas en todo el país" to discuss how to “terminar con el ajuste” del Gobierno Nacional, and it says FEDUBA leader Pablo Perazzi demanded that the Corte Suprema de Justicia pronounce itself on the fulfillment of the Ley de Financiamiento Universitario.

In the same Argentine context, the agency records that Godoy said, "El destino de nuestra patria se define en las calles de Argentina" as the march unfolded in the capital.