{"id":15061,"date":"2020-06-11T10:55:15","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T14:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.yorku.ca\/?p=15061"},"modified":"2020-06-11T10:55:15","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T14:55:15","slug":"new-funding-doubles-york-u-students-helping-small-businesses-move-to-online-commerce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/news\/2020\/06\/11\/new-funding-doubles-york-u-students-helping-small-businesses-move-to-online-commerce\/","title":{"rendered":"New funding doubles York U students helping small businesses move to online commerce"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TORONTO, ON<\/strong>, <\/strong>June 11, 2020<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2013<\/strong> A second wave of students from York University\u2019s Schulich School of Business are being deployed to aid businesses across the GTA struggling from the impacts of COVID-19 quickly gear up for online commerce.<\/p>\n

With new support from the governments of Canada<\/a> and Ontario<\/a>, York will double the number of students from Schulich\u2019s MBA, Master\u2019s and Undergraduate degree programs, bringing the total amount to 100 students. The students will be selected for paid summer placements and work-integrated learning opportunities in York Region, Peel Region, Durham Region and Halton Region.<\/p>\n

Building on Toronto\u2019s foundational investments in Digital Main Street<\/a> and, most recently, ShopHERE, this new investment from FedDev Ontario and the Government of Ontario will extend direct support to businesses across the province as they adapt to a digital economy. The new $57 million funding announced today<\/a> will help small businesses across Ontario go digital by building on Toronto\u2019s investments into Digital Main Street and, ShopHERE powered by Google.<\/p>\n

\"ShopHere<\/p>\n

York\u2019s new cohort comes in addition to the original 50, announced<\/a> on May 12, in the DMS ShopHERE<\/a> program. This major new\u00a0initiative is supported by a team\u00a0of leading global technology companies committed to helping Toronto's main street retailers survive the COVID-19 crisis.<\/p>\n

York\u2019s partnership with DMS ShopHere and the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA), offers students a hands-on learning experience, specialized training, and academic credit, all while lending their training and expertise to help small businesses and artists move their businesses online at no cost. The selected students will be a mix of recent graduates, international and domestic students.<\/p>\n

The students will also benefit from the support of leading\u00a0technology and e-commerce firms such as Shopify, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, eBay\u00a0and Mastercard Canada. To help develop the stores, volunteers from Toronto\u2019s technology community are contributing their time, including: Global Skills Hub, Scotiabank, General Assembly, Brain Station, Juno, FreshBooks, NEXT Canada, TechTO and TribalScale.<\/p>\n

Quotes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are pleased to see the growing recognition that work-integrated learning benefits both students and businesses. York is proud to be a leader in creating these opportunities to enhance learning and increase employability. Today\u2019s investment by the federal government ensures that an additional 50 students will have an opportunity to apply their learning outside of the classroom, engage with potential employers, and directly support local businesses across the GTA as they recover from the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n