Nova Scotia jobs program targets graduates with advanced degrees

The province has launched a program it says will help more than 200 recent graduates with advanced degrees find employment.

On Thursday, Labi Kousoulis, minister of labour and advanced education, announced the Innovate to Opportunities program at the Innovacorp Enterprise Centre in Halifax.

“I hope this program can help companies to foster, to grow, to explore, and hire many students,” said Kousoulis. “I hope the next major companies can come from this area.”

The provincial government has given $1.7 million for the three-year program. Small and medium sized businesses will receive funds to hire applicants with master’s degrees or PhDs, whom they have to pay a minimum salary of $60,000 a year.

Applicants must have graduated from a recognized university within a year of applying. They can be from anywhere, but must commit to staying in Nova Scotia indefinitely.

The province says there are up to 240 graduates who want to participate.

The program has two streams. The first, an innovation stream, is where participants are expected to spend at least one-quarter of their time doing applied research. The research aspect is increased to at least 75 per cent under the advanced stream. This stream also focuses on export development.

Rimot in Dartmouth hired a recent computer science graduate with a master’s degree.

“It is such an advantage for the company,” said James Craig, chief technology officer of Rimot. “We develop locally and we sell it globally.”

Walter Dhekkekara Adbe, the graduate that Rimot hired, said he’s fortunate to get the job. He graduated from Dalhousie University in September and now is Rimot’s IT data insight visualization analyst.

“The most attractive part for me is my position. I didn’t get many opportunities in data and visualization when I was working away; it is always related to programming,” Adbe said in an interview with The Signal. “But I can pursue what I actually intend to pursue when I came here for.”