(St. John’s, NL; 06 Oct. 2014) Eligible businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador are invited to apply for ACOA’s Export Internship Program. But time is running out to apply. The deadline is noon, Friday, 17 Oct. 2014. This program was designed by ACOA to offer work opportunities for Newfoundland and Labrador university and college graduates, and to provide potential and existing exporters with quality trade-advisory services. Selected companies will engage a graduate for a period of one year, with substantial funding support through the Export Internship Program.

Since 2011, this program, administered by NATI,  has provided valuable assistance to exporting and export-ready firms in Newfoundland and Labrador. For 2014 – 2015, eight positions are available to eligible NL firms. As before, to be eligible companies must be willing to contribute a minimum of 25 percent ($10,000) of the graduate’s salary and benefits to the minimum per annum salary of $40,000, including all mandatory employer-related costs (MERC). The Program contributes 75 per cent of the intern’s salary to a maximum of $30,000. The Program will also provide an individual training allowance of $3,000 per intern, with the program providing 75% support and the company contributing 25per cent of this cost.

The Export Internship Program provides hands-on work experience for NL graduates and contributes towards strengthening the export performance of the province by encouraging SMEs to initiate and expand export activities.

The Program is open to eligible NL-based firms who are exporting or are export ready. The selected graduates will have graduated within the past three years from a recognized post- secondary institution, and reside in Newfoundland & Labrador. Participating companies must ensure the employment contract commences on or before December 01st, 2014.

The selection of participating companies is competitive. Successful applicants will:

  • Be committed to making exporting or trade support services part of their business strategy;
  • Demonstrate that they can equip the Intern with the necessary resources for their career development in their role; and
  • Demonstrate that they have the commitment, desire and means to implement an export strategy.

For more information, please click here or contact: Natasha Hudson,  Business Development Executive at natasha@nati.net or 709.757.3253.

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