Backgrounder : Team Canada Strong

Team Canada Strong is an $8 billion investment to recruit, train, and hire 80,000 to 100,000 new Red Seal skilled trades workers by 2030-2031. It includes a $2 billion federal investment to help support PT workforce development efforts to better align skills development with local labour market needs and grow apprenticeship opportunities across Canada.

The Team Canada Strong initiative will support more Canadians in pursuing rewarding careers in the skilled trades while helping employers find the skilled workers they need through three key pillars.

Recruit

Increase the number of young people who are ready to explore and pursue good careers in the skilled trades by:

• Supporting young Canadians with paid, entry-level work placements of up to four months through the Team Canada Strong Youth Placements program, a new $880 million investment over five years, which will:
  • help participants develop skills and gain hands-on experience in construction and trades-related occupations;
  • offer meaningful work placements that support career exploration and build professional networks; and,
  • provide supported transitions to apprenticeship pathways and long-term careers in the skilled trades.
• Launching the Build Canada Apprenticeship Service, which will:
  • assist small and medium-sized employers with hiring and training apprentices by providing financial incentives of up-to $10,000 for hiring a first-year apprentice in an eligible Red Seal trade;
  • help match participants from the Team Canada Strong Youth Placements program and other aspiring apprentices to job opportunities in Red Seal trades; and,
  • provide navigation support and other resources for apprentices to meet their career goals.

Train

Boost and modernize apprenticeship training to expedite Red Seal certification by:

• digitizing the Red Seal Program, introducing online exams, digital logbooks and secure credentials to reduce certification timelines;
• creating a single national registered apprenticeship number;
• working with provinces and territories through new bilateral agreements to increase apprenticeship training capacity and strengthen the skilled trades workforce; and,
• expanding the Union Training and Innovation Program to enable union-run training centres to upgrade, expand capacity, and build new facilities for training.

Hire

Address challenges that can stop apprentices from completing their training and moving into permanent jobs by providing:

• income supports through the Apprenticeship Continuation Support for periods of unemployment between in-class training and work; and,
• a $400 weekly top-up through the Apprenticeship Training Grant while apprentices attend mandatory in-class technical training, paid in addition to Employment Insurance benefits.
• a $5,000 Red Seal Completion Bonus for apprentices who completed an apprenticeship and obtained certification in any of the eligible Red Seal Trades designated within their province or territory, including those who completed their certification on or after April 1, 2025.
  

For more information on careers in the skilled trades, visit Canada.ca/skilled-trades.