YCW Employer FAQ
Application approved – before job starts
Application submission
Applications are referred to as job funding applications on the YCW website. To receive funding for student jobs and internships, employers start the process by submitting job funding applications through their YCW accounts that are then screened for eligibility and assessed via a peer review process.
Can I resubmit past applications that have been successful year after year?
It is recommended that all Applications should be reviewed every year and customized to the needs and tasks of the position requested.
Should I apply for a position with Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations (YCW-HO) or one with Young Canada Works in Building Careers in Heritage (YCW-BCH)? What’s the difference?
The Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations (HO) funds jobs for young Canadian students whereas the Young Canada Works at Building Careers in Heritage (BCH) program funds internships for young Canadian graduates. The program you apply to should be based on whether the job and project is for a student job or an internship.
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- Duration of 6 to 16 weeks (or 180 to 640 hours)
- Part-time employment is permitted, but priority will be given to employers that submit applications for full-time jobs (30-40 hours per week)
- The majority of positions take place from May to early September but may also take place during the fall and winter until March 31.
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- Duration of 4 to 12 months in Canada, 6 to 12 months for international projects
- Part-time employment is permitted for internships in Canada, but priority will be given to employers that submit applications for full-time internships (30 to 40 hours per week). Part-time work is not permitted for international internships.
- The entire internship must be scheduled within the Government of Canada’s fiscal year (April 1 to March 31)
- Most YCW-BCH internships typically begin in the autumn Please refer to the Employer Guide – Young Canada Works (YCW) for more information.
I am also applying for Canada Summer Jobs funding for this position. Can my position be approved if I receive that funding?
Yes, but your maximum YCW funding amount will depend on the amount received from Canada Summer Jobs. Please include Canada Summer Jobs amounts and any other external sources of funding in reports requesting budgetary info submitted through your YCW account.
What do I do if there is going to be a minimum wage increase during the work term?
Wages must adhere to provincial labour standards. If a minimum wage increase occurs during the work term, and the position’s salary is at minimum wage, the salary must be adjusted accordingly. Upon completion of final reporting, we ask that you please provide a detailed breakdown of the start and end dates as well as the number of hours paid at each wage.
What is an equity statement and why do I need it?
An equity statement is recommended to:
- Encourage participation from the Government of Canada’s job equity groups;
- Encourage the establishment of working conditions that are free from barriers;
- Seek to correct conditions of disadvantage in employment, and;
- Promote the principle that special measures are required to accommodate differences for equity-deserving groups (i.e. individuals facing barriers to employment due to systemic discrimination.)
Awaiting approval
I received an email saying my application has been placed on hold. What do I need to do to resolve this?
An evaluation committee assesses applications submitted. If the evaluation committee has made a request for more information on certain sections of your application, a hold will be placed on your application. A program officer will be in contact with you to address the specific details about your application.
How do I know when my application will be approved?
All applicants should expect to receive an initial funding decision no later than 10 weeks after the application deadline as per YCW program’s service standards. If you don’t receive notification of a decision on your application within this timeframe, please contact ycw@museums.ca.
Can I request feedback on why my application was rejected?
If you would like feedback on a rejected application, contact your program officer or ycw@museums.ca. We will place you on a waiting list to receive individual feedback about your application.
Application approved – before job starts
Can I hire the same person I had last year? How many times can I hire the same individual?
Students and graduates who have not previously participated in YCW positions will be given priority for candidate consideration. In exceptional cases, a student/graduate may be hired up to 3 times with the same organisation under YCW-HO, as stated in the Employer Guide. The Canadian Museums Association allows interns to participate in the YCW-BCH program twice. In either case, the YCW team at the CMA requires proof of open competition from the employer, along with a brief explanation how the new position differs from the previous position and builds upon skills developed in previous years.
How does a candidate create a profile?
Candidates will need to register on the Young Canada Works website. Once registered, they will receive an email with a confirmation link which expires after 24 hours. Once the link is clicked, the candidate will be able to create their profile.
My selected candidate created a profile, but I can’t find them. What do I do?
It is likely that the student created the profile, but either did not click the “Submit” button on the website, select the current program year, or did not click the link in the confirmation email. Ask the candidate to double-check these possibilities. If the candidate remains unavailable, reach out to your Program Officer or ycw@museums.ca for further assistance.
Can we hire a current employee? … my nephew/niece/son/daughter?
Employers must undertake a fair and transparent selection process when selecting candidates, including open competitions and unbiased evaluation of eligible candidates. Immediate family members of the employer, or the officer or director of the employer, may not be hired, unless we determine that the recruitment of the employee was not the result of favouritism due to the employee’s familial relationship, and that the employee was subject to a fair and transparent selection process. "Immediate family” is defined as the father, mother, stepfather, stepmother, foster parent, brother, sister, spouse (including common-law spouse), child (including child of common-law spouse), stepchild, ward, father-in-law, mother-in-law or relative permanently residing with the employer, officer or director. Additionally, the following clauses apply when hiring candidates:
- The candidate must not displace or replace an existing employee or volunteer, an employee on lay-off, or an employee absent due to an industrial dispute or on lay-off and awaiting recall;
- The position must not be for a candidate who has already been hired by the employer in that specific job;
- The participant (employee) to be contracted by the employer must not have worked as an indeterminate, full-time employee for the employer (as defined by the employer’s collective agreement) at any time during the two (2)-year period immediately preceding the work term. Note: Contract positions with defined end dates are not usually considered indeterminate.
It’s taking longer than expected to find a candidate. Can we change the job’s start date?
Yes – a job’s start date may be adjusted, if the candidate will still be working the minimum work term length. You may request changes to your online job poster through the Young Canada Works website. If you need assistance, please contact your program officer or ycw@museums.ca.
The candidate I would like to hire for a student job is under 16 in a province that does not have a lower age limit for full-time work. Can exceptions be made for this?
Candidates 15 years and older can be approved for the program. Some provinces require documentation or training be completed when hiring a student under 16 years old. Please contact your program officer or refer to the employment laws for your province to determine whether any additional paperwork is required.
What is a Candidate Eligibility Form (CEF), and when do I need to complete it?
A Candidate Eligibility Form (CEF) provides us with information on your selected candidate, which will confirm whether your candidate is eligible under the YCW criteria. To prevent situations where a candidate has already started in the position, but is found to be ineligible for the program, we ask that the CEF is completed and submitted before the candidate’s first day of work. This will ensure that the student or intern is not promised a position they may not be eligible for, and that the employer does not need to pay the employee without YCW funding.
My candidate will be moving a long distance in order to work onsite. Can they be reimbursed for travel costs?
A candidate can be reimbursed if they need to relocate more than 125 km to work onsite. In this case, we require candidates to submit a travel claim with receipts to verify the amount reimbursable.
Can a candidate’s commute be reimbursed?
A candidate’s commute cannot be reimbursed. Travel reimbursement only applies to travel costs incurred during relocation.
Can a candidate’s housing be reimbursed?
A candidate’s housing cannot be reimbursed under the travel policy. However, if receipts are provided, we can reimburse overnight accommodations if when relocating the participant travels in excess of 9 consecutive hours by public transit or 650 km by personal vehicle on the first day of travel.
I am unable to find a candidate. Can my position be cancelled?
Yes, we ask that you contact the program officer responsible for your file requesting the cancellation of the position and an explanation describing the reason. Should you not have the contact information for your program officer, please contact ycw@museums.ca.
How late in the year can my candidate begin working? Do they have to work from June to August?
Your candidate’s work term may be any time between the release of funding decisions and March 31st of the following year, as long as their total work term length adheres to the program-specific minimum number of hours or weeks. We do not require that candidates work only in the summer.
The amount of funding we were approved for is not enough to cover the full work term. Can we do anything to adjust how much funding we receive?
If the amount of funding you were approved for will not cover enough of your candidate’s salary, please contact your program officer. Your program officer may be able to amend your position's budget to better align it with the funding amount it's been approved for. Should you not have the contact information for your program officer, please contact ycw@museums.ca.
I was approved for funding some time ago, but still have not received my contract. What is going on?
Contracts are sent after both the Candidate Eligibility Form and the Staffing Reports are completed. If you have selected your candidate, please submit these forms, and a contract will be issued to you by email.
Staffing Reports serve to confirm the actual budget once the employer and employee have had an opportunity to discuss any needed changes.
YCW-BCH internships also require completion of the first part of a Competency Development Plan.
Candidates approved
My candidate is only able to work part-time. Is this okay?
You can contact your program officer to discuss whether the position’s budget can be amended to accommodate part-time work hours.
We were approved for more weeks than my candidate can work (e.g. candidate is a high school student and can only work for 8 weeks), Can we reduce the length of the work term?
You can contact your program officer to discuss whether the position’s budget can be amended to accommodate a shorter work term.
What if I don’t know the exact number of hours that the candidate will be available to work when filling out initial reports (Candidate Eligibility Form, Staffing Report)?
We ask that you make as accurate of an estimate as possible when filling out your initial reporting. If at any point you think that the number of hours will change, please reach out to your program officer so that we can adjust your budget accordingly.
Can I change the wage that I intend to pay my candidate?
Employers must pay at minimum the wage approved in their application. Should you choose to pay your candidate a higher wage, it is the employer’s responsibility to cover the difference.
My candidate left the position early. What happens now?
Contact your program officer. If the student had not yet reached the program-specific minimum hours of work, we can help process a replacement candidate and/or reimburse costs for the candidate who resigned early. Should you not have the contact information for your program officer, please contact ycw@museums.ca.
My candidate has not completed the number of hours listed in the contract and are now going back to school. Are they able to switch to a part-time schedule to complete them?
Yes, a student or intern may work part-time in the fall after a period of full-time work, if their work term adheres to the program specific minimum hours of work. Please ensure that your final reporting reflects this as accurately as possible.
Contract issued
What is the SMME Declaration document that was sent with my contract?
The Small and Medium Museum declaration confirms that your organization is a museum as per the definition provided in the document and that the budget is $999,999 or less. The organization will then be able to receive funding from a dedicated funding envelope which supports small and medium museums, which represents a large portion of our overall funding.
What is the Competency Development Plan and when would we have to fill that out?
The Competency Development Plan is specific to YCW-BCH funded internships and is completed together between the employer and intern. The intern and employer select the capabilities or qualities that the intern would like to improve or develop during their YCW internship experience. We ask that all employers funded through the YCW-BCH program complete and return the first part upon confirmation of the intern’s eligibility. At the end of the internship, we will ask you to sit down again with the intern, evaluate the results of the plan, sign it, and at that time email us an updated copy of the document. If you would prefer to substitute a different document for the Competency Development Plan that achieves a similar purpose, please contact your program officer.
How much of the contract do I need to return? Can I send just the signature block?
Please return the entire contract. This ensures that the contract is unaltered, as returning only the signature block does not reflect the specific contract details unique to your institution’s funding application.
How often do I need to submit banking information for payment?
Once we have your current EFT (electronic funds transfer) information on file, it will not need to be renewed unless the bank account your institution uses is changed. If we do not currently have your EFT information on file, your program officer will reach out with instructions on how to submit your banking information before your first payment is remitted. If you believe that we do not already have your current EFT information, or would like to know if we need it, please contact your program officer or ycw@museums.ca.
Why do you need my banking information?
The CMA requires your banking information to provide payments electronically and credit your bank account.
Direct deposit doesn’t work for us, can you send us the payments by cheque?
Yes, upon request a payment by cheque can be provided. Please contact your program officer or ycw@museums.ca.
Final month of work term
For YCW-BCH funded internships:
What are the final reporting requirements?
Please note that all reporting requirements listed below must be submitted no later than 30 days after the end of the internship.
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Intern End of Work Term Report (available through the intern’s YCW account)
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Intern Evaluation Questionnaire (available through the intern’s YCW account)
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Intern Narrative Report (guidelines attached in final reporting email sent to the employer – the intern should email their completed report to your program officer)
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Please email us your completed Competency Development Plan, signed by employer and the intern (if you lost track of the plan you filled out at the beginning of the internship, please let us know, as we should have it on file and can provide it to you)
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Employer End of Work Term Report (available through your YCW account)
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If you are struggling to fill out the End of Work Term Report, please consult this guide o Employer Evaluation Questionnaire (available through your YCW account)
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Employer Narrative Report (guidelines attached in final reporting email sent to the employer – you may email the completed report to your program officer)
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Payroll records
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For YCW-HO funded student jobs:
What are the final reporting requirements?
Please note that all reporting requirements listed below must be submitted no later than 30 days after the end of the job.
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End of Work Term Report (available through the intern’s YCW account)
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Evaluation Questionnaire (available through the intern’s YCW account)
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Employer End of Work Term Report (available through your YCW account)
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Employer Evaluation Questionnaire (available through your YCW account)
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Payroll records
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When should we start working on final reporting?
Final reports include End-of-Work-Term (EWTR) reports and Evaluation Questionnaires (EQ), which both employers and candidates must complete. These become available to fill out on the website as soon as the Staffing Report is approved by the delivery organization. Employers must complete the EWTR and EQ within 30 days following the end of the work term and advise that students complete their section before the last day of employment; we suggest that you complete these forms with your student or intern in their last week of work to avoid delays to your final payment. Final reports also include payroll records, for which your program officer will send you a secured submission link . Payroll records should be kept consistently throughout the work term and sent to the delivery organization within 30 days following the end of the work term.
YCW-BCH-funded internships also require employer and intern narrative reports to be completed and submitted.
When should we send our payroll records and end of work term report?
All end of work term reports, payroll documents and any supporting documentation must be sent to the delivery organisation within 30 days following the end of the work term.
Payroll
How do I submit payroll records?
We ask that you contact the program officer responsible for your file to receive a secure link to submit payroll records. Please do not send these documents by email. Should you not have the contact information for your program officer, please contact ycw@museums.ca.
What do I need to include on the payroll?
Payroll records should consist of printouts from your payroll system that show the following detail:
- Employee’s name
- Start and end dates
- Hours worked
- Regular wages
- Additional wages (overtime, statutory holiday pay, etc.)
- Mandatory Employer Costs:
- Vacation pay
- CPP contributions (if applicable)
- EI contributions
- Worker’s compensation premiums (if applicable)
- Provincial health and/or other social program contributions (if applicable)
- MERCs (mandatory employer costs) do differ from province to province, so if you have questions regarding the specific provincial MERC's, please contact your Program Officer
If you don’t have access to such a print-out, we can also accept the employee’s pay stubs.
Another acceptable alternative is to contact your Program Officer for a payroll template, which can then be filled out and signed by your treasurer, bookkeeper, or other representative of your payroll services.
Please note: for these purposes, the Canadian Museums Association does not accept the ROE (Record of Employment) that you provide to Service Canada. Additionally, please be sure to remove the Social Insurance Numbers (SINs) from any documentation provided to us.
What do I do if I paid too much or too little vacation?
If a candidate was underpaid on vacation, we ask that you submit proof of an outgoing payment that makes up the difference to the candidate. This may be a scanned cheque, digital confirmation, or other form of receipt that shows the amount owed. As with payroll records, please remove the candidate’s Social Insurance Number (SIN) from any documents submitted to us. In the case of overpayment, we will still process final payroll as normal, covering the eligible extra expenditure for vacation pay up to the maximum allowable in our contract.