As part of the 2013 federal budget, the government has announced plans to introduce a new federal training initiative called the Canada Jobs Grant.
Back in 2007, Canada unveiled its $3 billion Labour Market Agreements (with the provinces and territories) which offered assistance over three years to low-skilled Canadians or those who were not eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. The agreements will expire on March 2014, but the Government intends on renewing the Labour Market Agreements and reforming them to closely connect skills training and employers with the Canada Job Grant. Economic Action Plan 2013 announced the Government’s intention to renew the Labour Market Agreements in 2014 with investments of $500 million per year. The Canada Job Grant will consist of $300 million of the total annual Labour Market Agreement funding from the federal government, upon full implementation in 2017–18. As for the remaining $200 million per year, it will continue to be transferred to provinces and territories to assist in delivery of critical employment services like counselling and job search assistance, and administration.
One thing that makes the Canada Job Grant unique is the fact that provinces and employers will be required to match the government’s contribution of up to $5,000 per person towards training at eligible training institutions. The budget estimates that roughly 130,000 Canadians will be able to benefit from this grant. That being said, there are also numerous other workforce development grants available which offer businesses added incentive to hire interns and students.
