Student Summer Skills Incentive

For Nova Scotia non-profits planning their summer programming, finding affordable help while creating meaningful student jobs can be a challenge. The Student Summer Skills Incentive (often called SKILL) is designed to ease that pressure by helping charities, registered societies, and social enterprises bring post-secondary students onto their teams for the summer months. Delivered by Nova Scotia Labour, Skills and Immigration, the program focuses on youth employment while strengthening the capacity of community-based organizations across the province.

Through SKILL, approved organizations can receive a wage subsidy to offset a significant portion of a student’s pay during an 8- to 14-week summer work term. Funding is provided on an hourly basis, roughly around ten dollars per hour, with enhanced support available when hiring students from designated diversity groups or those enrolled in co-op or other work-integrated learning programs. This makes it easier to match students’ academic backgrounds with real organizational needs, whether that’s marketing support, research, technology projects, or community outreach.

The program is currently accepting applications for upcoming summer placements and is well suited to non-profits that want to invest in both their mission and the next generation of workers. For organizations interested in understanding how much support they could receive and how to structure a strong student role, exploring the full program details is a smart next step.