Fellowship Partner Program

Prepared post-secondary grads to help your business grow

Meet eager to succeed recent graduates. Our partnership saves you time, money, and hassle on your next entry-level hire. VFC Fellows are dynamic, adaptive, and selected for our Fellowship program based on their grit at a time when resilience is as important as technical skills.

Heavy-vetting
We screen our Fellows for entrepreneurial competencies like commitment to learning and growth mindsets. Your team reaps the benefits and avoids the financial, morale, and cultural costs of churn.
Innovation Mindsets
Meet the right candidates. VFC Fellows are startup candidates eager to solve the challenges faced by new ventures. The valuable experience and role-specific training make them comfortable with independent problem-solving sooner.
Job-ready
Fellows participate in soft skills and job-readiness training from educators and ecosystem leaders at successful startups. Plus they’re prepped with role-specific knowledge to ease the onboarding process for you.
By The Numbers
80%
Partners Agree Hiring & Onboarding is Accelerated
365
Fellowship Partner Startups since 2015
200+
hours of job skills training
How It Works

A collaborative process

Hiring VFC Fellows links you to resourceful future leaders.

1
Tell us About Yourself & Book a Call
Complete the form below to see if you qualify; our team will ensure you meet the criteria and reach out to you personally to book a call. We connect with founders, people-operations, human resources and management teams.
Let’s Partner
You'll tell us about your startup and hiring needs so we can present multiple opportunities to connect with young talent. Our partnership agreement unlocks access to the job board, candidate profiles, community events, and employer brand features. You don't pay a fee until you hire.
2
3
Ongoing Access & Connections to Talent
You'll set up a profile on our Fellow exclusive job board. Post open positions. Put interdisciplinary and diverse startup-aligned talent at your fingertips. You'll be invited to attend our dynamic 'Connect Events' for speed interviewing and to accelerate your hiring process.
Secure Your Hires
Peak hiring times are April – September, with opportunities to hire year-round. Once you find your fit, go ahead and make your offers.
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5
Ongoing Continued Support
Fellows build a valuable toolkit of entrepreneurial skills over 12 months of ongoing training, group meetups and informal mentoring from VFC’s perpetually growing alumni and stakeholder network. We finalize our annual cohort every April.
This program is funded by fees, sponsors, and private donors.
Learn more
''The Entrepreneurial skills VFC grads bring with them are invaluable. Working remotely, and in a constantly changing world, we need empathetic, resourceful, and resilient thinkers now more than ever.''
Lisa Elder
Director, People and Talent
#paid
“Working with us”

Want a recent grad trained to succeed at a start-up, deal with ambiguity, and is entrepreneurial-minded?

Your startup must meet the following criteria to qualify:

Operates in a Canadian province or territory

Under 10 years in business

Fewer than 250 staff

No fee to partner, review, or interview VFC Fellows

Small fee upon success hiring supports participants' 12 months of participation in the Fellowship

Find out if you qualify
$1000-$4000
Hiring Fee Based on Company Size
Details
Why do you need a fee to hire?
The Fellowship Program is 100% privately funded.   The fee for Partner Employers specifically helps to cover the costs of:
  • Finding and selecting Fellows to save you time,
  • Facilitating the job readiness training of Fellows before and during Training Camp, and
  • Providing ongoing entrepreneurial and leadership skills training to Fellows over the 12-month Fellowship.
Fee Breakdown
The fee you pay is dependent on your permanent full-time staff-count: 
  • 5-10 staff: $1000
  • 11-25 staff: $1,500
  • 26-50 staff: $2,500
  • 51-100 staff: $3,500
  • 100+ staff: $4,000
  • Non-profit: $1,000
    Hiring multiple Fellows:
    • 2+ Fellows in the same year: 15% discount
Fellow Education Backgrounds
  • Business: 40.3%
  • STEM: 35.5%
  • Arts/Humanities: 17.8%
  • Other: 6.4%
Typical Fellow Roles
Sales, Operations, Customer Success, Marketing, Product, Analyst, Research, and more!
Fellowship Training
Fellows receive entrepreneurial skills training in three phases:
  • PHASE 1 | Job seeking training, coaching & support starts as soon as Fellows are accepted 
  • PHASE 2 | Entrepreneurial, role-specific, and soft skill training happen during the mandatory three-week Fellowship Training Camp in-person in May 2023. 
  • PHASE 3 | Ongoing “in-time” training designed by our team ensures the learning is relevant takes place post-Training Camp, with monthly live sessions with industry experts and entrepreneurs, and courses, resources, and more. Fellows have a community of 280+ Alumni and peers to problem solve with. 
OUR PROGRAMS ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH 300+ PARTNER COMPANIES LIKE: