Youth Land Career-path Jobs in Wolfville
John Read says there’s a key ingredient in the growth of his Wolfville-based IT company: smart young graduates
The president of Colibri Software has seen first-hand the new ideas and business opportunities that youth bring to the workplace.
“If I’ve got an idea for a new aspect of the business, I’ll build that idea with a new graduate.
“You give them advice and they give you performance, energy and enthusiasm. There is so much to be achieved with young talent.”
Hiring youth has always been a priority to John, who focuses on developing innovative technical solutions for smaller companies and large U.S.-based multi-nationals. The Graduate to Opportunity (GTO) program made it even easier for him to invest in bright minds to creatively advance the company’s software development projects.
“GTO provided us with the opportunity to offset some of the costs associated with hiring recent graduates, while providing new grads with the opportunity to gain real world experiences in their field,” says John.
Employers eligible for GTO receive 25% of the 1st year salary — 35% if the new grad is a member of a designated diversity group — and 12.5% of the 2nd year salary.
John’s company is based out of the Rural Innovation Centre on Acadia University’s campus in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Colibri Software and sister start-up, Fundy Language Analytics, have brought on several recent graduates through the GTO program in the last few years.
Somayeh Kafaie is an Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Programmer, who graduated with a PhD in Computer Engineering from Memorial University. She is also an immigrant from Iran and she’s thrilled to have made Nova Scotia her home.
“Living here gives me an opportunity to be involved in the community,” says Somayeh.
“I finished school and was looking for a job. GTO gave me the opportunity to start working in a very nice environment, with a great company.”
“Not only do I use the skills I have learned, but I develop new ones while learning about state-of-the-art technology through training opportunities with Fundy Language Analytics. I was amazed that I had this opportunity in a small town.”
Somayeh is working on an accent detection research project which helps people learn English. Her teammate, Martin Main, is a computer science graduate from Acadia University and another GTO hire.
“Being right here in Wolfville — being able to enjoy the small-town life, while having a tech job here is amazing,” says Martin.
“Most importantly the work I do is very interesting, every day we are being challenged and offered opportunities to advance our skills.”
Somayeh and Martin work alongside 6 other start-ups in the Rural Innovation Centre, many of which have also hired young talent to grow their businesses.
“They grads we hire really do amazing things,” says John. “If you talk with them about possibilities, rather than just giving them a series of tasks, you will reap the benefits. The grads have great ideas of their own that will bring value to your business.”
GTO is available to small business with fewer than 100 employers, a start-up company, social enterprise, non-profit or registered charity. Eligible graduates must have graduated within 12 months of the date the employer application is received.
Learn more about Graduate to Opportunity.
