Last year, Lighthouse Labs took advantage of Innovate BC’s Tech Co-op Grant program to bring talent to their organization and support their Community and Admissions teams.
Lighthouse Labs’ immersive bootcamp experience equips participants with industry-relevant full-stack web development experience. Students pave the way for a new career in the booming tech industry through this unique model, with a 93% of candidates starting a new developer role within 120 days of graduation.
Through our Tech Co-op Grant program, Lighthouse Labs received $5,400 to hire a 2-term student from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.
Lighthouse Labs General Manager (Western Canada) Remy Hall believes that the program has been invaluable.
"Our co-op student was a fantastic addition to our Vancouver team. She was essential in supporting many of our branch managers in critical administrative work, as well as significant client facing duties. She contributed novel ideas and was responsible for updating and creating new processes, marketing collateral, and internal assets still in use today.
“Having access to this program, and the ability to subsidize the hiring of co-op students, has been invaluable for my team, which is a small group of people who are expected to deliver a lot. Having quality junior hires, who can hit the ground running and bring youthful energy and new insights to our campus is significant in our success.”
Q: What made the Tech Co-op Grant program stand out from other options?
Remy: Speed of application process and focus upon co-op students, specifically ones who are interested in working in tech/startups.
Q: What’s the main reason you would recommend the Tech Co-op Grant Program?
Remy: How successful our experience was with the first hire and attention to discrete follow up with the student as well as the employer. In general, I think the initiative is awesome, both in what it is doing for tech and innovation organizations in BC, as well as the opportunities it is creating for Canadian post-secondary students to get their foot in the door within the tech community.
Q: What are some company milestones you’re most looking forward to in the year ahead? Or are there any recent successes you’d like to talk about?
Remy: We recently launched a new, extended 12-week curriculum. Building on the success of our previous program, we deepened the fundamental foundations to further equip students with more of the skills they need for a competitive industry. We also qualified for Student Aid in British Columbia, and we just celebrated one year of Devhub, our co-working space in Vancouver. In the coming months, we're expanding our offerings across the country, starting with the launch of Bootcamp in Ottawa.
Are you looking to hire a co-op student this summer to grow your business? Apply today get up to $10,800 per year to hire a student through our Tech Co-op Grant program.
