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This program has two parts. One side supports businesses digitize. The other provides digital marketing education to students and grows them into eCommerce Advisors. These students turned Advisors are connected to businesses in the program and will apply what they’ve learned to help them grow online.
If you are looking to apply as a business, please see
Alacrity and GYBO will also support eCommerce Advisors, and will hire, train, mentor, and deploy students to support participating BC businesses that require guidance to build their eCommerce and digital capabilities.
The eCommerce Advisory Bootcamp is an overview course built for early-stage entrepreneurs, like yourself, looking to understand the fundamentals of eCommerce so you can begin your journey of building a digital-based company.
Within the course, you will be guided through the beginning stages of ideation, validating your business model, understanding the competitive landscape, to choosing your platform and systems involved in running an online storefront. Upon completion, you should have a grasp of the ecosystem, systems, and competencies required in operating a successful eCommerce store.
You will also learn about the Grow Your Business Online Program, the objectives of the program, eligibility requirements for businesses, eligible activities and eligible & ineligible cost and develop communication skills.
Organizational structures of an eCommerce business
Terminology and acronyms for eCommerce
Setting up your business and what to be aware of with finances and banking
Contracts, policies, and legal documents
Hiring staff vs. contractors, or agency
Selecting an eCommerce platform
User experience, customer journey mapping, and information architecture for eCommerce websites
Deciding on templates vs custom designs
Understanding your eCommerce marketing funnel and how to measure and optimize
Email marketing automation for eCommerce
Non-dilutive financing options, banks, or raising capital
Understanding of e-commerce pillars
such as Returns, 3PLs, Inventory Management, Payments, Shipping, and more...
eCommerce Advisor applicants who have graduated from high school and are planning on pursuing a post-secondary education; or currently pursuing post-secondary education; or has recently graduated from a post-secondary institution, must meet all the following eligibility criteria:
Alacrity Canada acts as an intermediary for GYOB Program on behalf of the Canadian Government. Should you apply through us, we’ll be leading you through your studies.
Because this is a government-funded grant program, provided you meet the requirements, we will not be interviewing you before you receive a contract.
Yes, E-Commerce Advisors will be employed by Alacrity Canada at $20 per hour, for the duration of the training and the placement with any businesses up to the maximum work hours covered by the grant.
The training is self-directed and includes about 20 hours of content.
Work hours will depend on the number of available businesses.
While our office hours are Monday to Friday 8 am – 4 pm, your work hours are quite flexible.
You will have to be available during these times for any scheduled meetings and to connect with the businesses at a time they are able to meet.
Outside of that, you choose the times you need to work on your projects.
We will adjust the total hours to meet the requirements for your CoOp program.
Yes, participants who complete the course requirements will receive a Certificate of Completion.
Yes, you will still complete the online training but you might be able to move faster than someone new to the subject.
Depending on the time spent with each business you work with until your maximum hours for the grant have been exhausted, on average between 8 – 10 businesses.
E-Commerce Advisors will be available, at no cost to the business, to review current digital strategy, review requirements and provide a recommendation on strategies for digital marketing, social media, SEO, paid advertising, and analytics to help you determine the best options for the business.
Businesses can be located anywhere in B.C.. Communication with the business will be via an email account that will be setup for you when you start your training. Voice or video meetings will be held via Google Meets.
All meetings should be virtual using the tools provided.
On average about 30 hours per business, this time will be spent on assessment, recommendation and some implementation of the solutions.
You will have access to a dedicated Liason that will facilitate the connection with the assigned businesses. You also have access to an eCommerce expert for questions.
If you have a question, support is available from Alacrity Canada. Support can be provided in both English and French at this time. Please contact Alacrity Canada by email: cdap@alacritycanada.com
Alacrity Canada acknowledges and is grateful to be working on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Lkwungen peoples (Songhees and Esquimalt), where the Songhees, Esquimalt, and WSÁNEĆ peoples’ relationship with the land continues today.