Cultural Human Resources Council offers help with paying magazine interns

The Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) in partnership with Canadian Heritage and Human Resources Development Canada is offering youth internship programs whereby it covers up to half the cost of paying an intern to work in, say, literary and cultural magazines. The deadline for application is February 1.

Through Career Focus (Human Resources Development Canada), employers must contribute twice as much as the amount requested from CHRC, with the whole amount going towards the gross salary of the intern and the employer's mandatory employment-related costs (such as Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan contributions, vacation pay and other mandatory deductions.

Through Building Careers in Heritage (Department of Canadian Heritage), employers must contribute 50 to 75% of the costs of the project in cash and in kind, with at least one-half of the employer's contribution in cash.

CHRC says it bases its contributions on a yearly salary of $30,000 (which in the case of most small magazines would mean the intern would be paid as much or more than the editor!). A minimum wage of $10 to $12 an hour is also acceptable in some cases and some of the magazine's contribution can be in-kind.

Interships could start at the earliest April 1 (Building Careers in Heritage) and May 1 (Career Focus). Internship lengths vary from 4 to 12 months depending on which program is being accessed.

To find out more, go here: Youth Internship Program.