October 15, 2014
Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development, and Reza Moridi, Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, announced in mid-September that Ontario is accepting employer applications for the Canada Job Grant.

Employers are encouraged to apply to the program. Effective immediately, employers in Ontario can apply for the Canada Job Grant by visiting the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities; http://gfl.me/x2hI.

The Canada Job Grant will provide up to $15,000 per person for training costs, such as tuition and training materials, which includes up to $10,000 in federal contributions.

The training is intended for employed individuals acquiring new skills for their current job, or to prepare for another job with the same employer, and for unemployed individuals seeking a new job. The employer must have a job available at the end of the training for the individual being trained. Training must not exceed one year in duration and must be provided by one of the following: colleges of applied arts and technology, publicly-assisted universities, school boards, private trainers operating in compliance with the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 and union-based training centres.

Employers applying for the Canada-Ontario Job Grant must contribute a minimum of one-third of eligible training costs in cash, with additional flexibility for small employers with 50 or fewer employees.

The Canada Job Grant is an employer-driven approach to help Canadians gain the skills and training they need to fill available jobs. It is designed to be flexible enough to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, in all industries and regions. “By requiring employers to put more skin in the game, the Canada Job Grant will result in training that leads to guaranteed jobs,” says Kenney.

On average, private-sector forecasters expect employment in Ontario to grow by 0.8 per cent in 2014 and by 1.3 per cent in 2015. Over the past three years, employment has increased by over 4 per cent in Ontario. In the next 10 years, Canada is expected to need 300,000 new workers in the construction sector by 2020.