Prepare to apply

What is your organization's legal name? The legal name is usually:

• the name on your registration with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or provincial/territorial equivalent, or
• the name used on funding cheques, bank accounts, etc.

What is the operating (or common) name of your organization (if it differs from the legal name)?

What is your 15-digit CRA business number? (For example, 123456789 RR 0001).

For registered charities and not-for-profit organizations, what is your registration number?

You can find your CRA business number on tax-related documents or written communications from the CRA.

For more information, please visit CRA.

If you do not have a:

• CRA business number, or
• not-for-profit registration number

You must provide 1 of following documents:

If incorporated:

• a copy of letters of patents
• articles of incorporation
• certificate of incorporation
• memorandum of association
• your rules, by-laws, or constitution

If not incorporated:

• a copy of your rules, bylaws, council resolutions, or constitution

Choose 1 of the following:

• not-for-profit

  Not-for-profit organizations are established for purposes other than financial gain for their members. They primarily receive provincial/federal funding (supplemented by fundraising and fees), often rely on volunteers to deliver programs, and are often governed by a Board of Directors or a Committee. These organizations include:

  • community, charitable or voluntary organizations, including faith-based organizations (for example, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques)
  • associations of workers or employers as well as professional and industrial organizations
  • indigenous not-for-profit organizations
  • non-governmental organizations
  • unions
  • sector councils
  • not-for-profit Band Councils
• public sector employers

  All companies and agencies under the jurisdiction of the Government of Canada are classified as public sector employers. For the purposes of certain statutes, various agencies, such as school boards and hospitals, are considered part of the public sector. They are often referred to as parapublic organizations. Public sector employers can be large or small, though often have numerous employees and are governed by Public Policy mandates.

  Public sector employers include:

  • public community colleges and vocational schools
  • public health, including public hospitals, nursing homes, senior citizen homes, rehabilitation homes
  • public degree-granting universities and colleges
  • municipal governments and agencies, including regional legislative bodies and departments
  • school boards and elementary and secondary institutions
  • territorial governments

  When a public sector employer uses a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) registered charity business number, it does not change the organization’s designation to a not-for-profit.

• private sector employers

  Private sector employers are established in order to generate a profit or to provide an economic advantage to their proprietors, members or shareholders. They primarily operate through company profits but can be supplemented by Provincial/Federal government funding. These employers are privately owned and are independently managed. Note that volunteers may deliver some programs and a Board of Directors may govern the business.

  Private sector employers include:

  • bodies, incorporated or unincorporated, including partnerships and sole proprietorships
  • financial Institutions
  • business, incorporated or unincorporated bodies, which include:
    • federal Crown corporations operating in a competitive environment and not ordinarily dependent on appropriations for operating purposes as indicated in Schedule III, Part II of the Financial Administration Act
    • provincial and territorial Crown corporations recognized as operating in a competitive environment and not ordinarily dependent on appropriations for operating purposes
    • private health and educational institutions
    • independent owners of franchises
  • Indian Band corporations
  • private Band Councils
  • private universities or colleges

Select the most appropriate category from the following based on what you chose in Question 4.

• Not-for-profit sector

  • Local community, charitable, or voluntary
  • Provincial non-governmental organizations
  • National non-governmental organizations
  • Not-for-profit band councils
  • Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) with a focus on encouraging employment
  • Unions
  • Associations of workers and/or of employers
  • Indigenous not-for-profit groups
  • Sector councils
• Private sector

  • Businesses, bodies incorporated or unincorporated
  • Banks
  • Private universities or colleges
  • Indian band corporations (profit basis)
  • Private band councils
• Public sector

  • Public degree school boards / school districts
  • Municipal public health
  • Municipal governments and agencies
  • Provincial governments and agencies
  • Territorial governments
  • Public community colleges and vocational schools
  • Public degree-granting universities
  • Public degree-granting colleges

What year was your organization established?

What is your organization's address? Give a complete address in a format recognized by Canada Post. For more information, please visit Canada Post website.

What is your organization's telephone number, Website (if it has one) and email address?

What is the mailing address of your organization (if it differs from your organization's physical address)?

What is your organization's telephone number?

What are your organization’s main activities, including your mandate, mission and objectives?

Who is the main contact person for the proposed project? Provide the contact information for the person who will be ESDC’s primary contact person in respect to your application for funding. Include the following details:

• Question 22: Given (first) name and surname (last name)
• Question 23: What is the title of the contact person named in Question 22? For example
  • Business Owner
  • President
  • Executive Director
• Question 24: What official language would your contact person prefer to use in written and spoken communications? Choose either English or French.
• Question 25: Indicate if your address is the same as the organization address, same as the organization mailing address, or different. If it is different, provide the following for the primary contact person (Questions 26 to 32):
  • Question 26: Street address (Questions 26 to 31 are mandotry if different from Organization address/number)
  • Question 27: City or Town
  • Question 28: Province or Territory
  • Question 29: Country
  • Question 30: Postal Code
  • Question 31: Telephone number, including extension
  • Question 32: Email address

If we cannot reach the main contact, who else can we contact? Provide the person’s full name, telephone number where we can reach them during business hours and their email address.

• Question 33: Given (first) name and surname (last name)
• Question 34: What is the title of the contact person named in Question 33? For example:
  • Business Owner
  • President
  • Executive Director
• Question 35: What official language would your contact person prefer to use in written and spoken communications? Choose either English or French.
• Question 36: Indicate if your address is the same as the organization address, same as the organization mailing address, or different. If it is different, provide the following for the secondary contact person (Questions 37 to 43):
  • Question 37: Street address
  • Question 38: City or Town
  • Question 39: Province or Territory
  • Question 40: Country
  • Question 41: Postal Code
  • Question 42: Telephone number, including extension
  • Question 43: Email address

A governing board is a group of individuals who are responsible for making decisions, overseeing the activities and direction of an organization. If there is no board, please describe how your organization functions. For example, are there regular meetings held between employees to discuss day to day operations? Is there a decision-making process in place? Are there discussions on the organization’s objectives and who provides oversight and guidance?

• Human resources
• Occupational health and safety
• Other

Please describe how your organization addresses Human resource issues such as hiring, compensation and benefits and employee relationships. How does your organization ensure the well-being and safety of employees? Please describe any other policies your organization may follow to create a supportive and productive work environment.

• Financial management system (for example tracking expenses, general ledger, etc.)
• Policies and procedures
• Staff managing finances

Financial management includes what measures are in place to manage the organization’s finances. Please describe your organization’s ability to manage financial activities. Examples may include financial planning, budgeting, reporting and cashflow management.

Please describe how your organization will manage funding distributed to other parties. For example, how will the organization verify the use of public funds, and that activities and results of the project are being met?

Include the total number of people employed in your organization or business. The number of employees must be a whole number.

For the purpose of this funding process, the expression “important transformations” refers to events such as:

• a change in leadership in the board of directors or at the executive level
• an important reduction, increase or turnover in staff
• a merger with or split from another organization
• a change in mandate or main activities, etc.

If you answer “yes” to this question, provide a description of the changes.

Provide a description of your organization’s experience and expertise in administering projects. This information will help the Department to assess the extent to which your organization is capable of undertaking the proposed project activities and achieving the expected results. You may wish to highlight related past achievements in addition to describing current activities or projects. If you have past projects with ESDC provide information such as dates, outcomes, successes, etc.

You’ll be expected to demonstrate that your organization has:

• recent experience, within the last 3 years, delivering initiatives that support skills and workforce development. This includes designing and delivering training programs leading to certifications and/or career pathways in French and/or English
• in-depth knowledge of skills development, training, and labour market issues with regards to one of the priority areas: low-carbon energy and carbon management, green buildings and retrofits; or electric vehicle maintenance and charging infrastructure. This could include listing recent research, publications, reports, or consultations your organization has completed on topics such as:
  • current and upcoming labour market needs
  • training and upskilling needs
  • labour market information specific to the sector your project is targeting
  • labour market forecasts
  • regulatory requirements
• established partnerships or a proven capacity to develop and maintain partnerships with employers, unions, training institutions and/or other relevant stakeholders. Partners could include, for example, provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous governments and organizations, sectoral stakeholders, or organizations representing equity-deserving groups. Partnerships could include active coalitions, networks, working groups, or committees

If “Yes”, complete the fields for each amount owing. We won’t reject your application for this reason; however, you must provide detail as to the type of debt and the arrangements you have for repayment. (Question 52)

Provide a short title that describes your project.

State the planned start and end dates of your project.

We expect projects will start as early as December 2024 and must end by March 31, 2028.

We’ll notify you in writing (by email) of the outcome of the review of your application. You can’t begin any of the proposed activities or incur any expenses until the approval of your project. As well, both you and the Department must sign a Funding Agreement. Don’t assume any commitment until the signing of the Funding Agreement. If you purchase anything for the project after the approval, but before the signing of the Agreement, you do so at your own risk.

Applicants can only submit 1 application and must select which of the 3 priority areas their project intends to focus on.

Outline the objective(s) of your project. You must clearly link your project objective(s) to the objectives of the program to which you are applying.

You must:

• identify and clearly state which 1 of the 3 priorities your project will focus on:
  • low-carbon energy and carbon management
    As opportunities grow in a net-zero future to use new and existing technologies, the Fund will support projects to help workers develop skills for jobs in energy-related sectors such as wind and solar, geothermal, hydrogen (including vehicles and related infrastructure), and other low-carbon fuels. It will also support skills development for jobs in carbon management, such as carbon capture, utilization and storage.
  • green buildings and retrofits
    The Fund will support projects that help train a workforce to build and retrofit homes and buildings to reduce energy consumption and achieve low-carbon performance. This includes, but isn’t limited to, installing low-carbon heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, (including heat pumps), energy efficient components, or renewable energy systems.
  • electric vehicle maintenance and charging infrastructure
    The global and domestic mandates for electric vehicles (EVs) are resulting in the need to build and maintain charging infrastructure across Canada as well as provide accessible and affordable automotive maintenance for this new type of vehicle. The fund will support projects that help train the workforce across Canada to support the country’s transition to EVs with a focus on repairing and maintaining EVs, as well as charging infrastructure nationally.
• clearly describe how your project objectives link to the program’s objectives and align with federal government priorities and initiatives, such as:
  • 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan
  • Interim Sustainable Jobs Plan
  • The Canada Green Buildings Strategy consultation
  • Clean Electricity Regulations
  • Canada’s Carbon Management Strategy
  • The Hydrogen Strategy
• describe what issue your project will address and how project objectives will be achieved, including how your project will help meet industry needs in the priority area you’ve selected. Include information on how the project complements and builds on existing training within the sector, avoiding duplication
• identify a targeted number of participants and include whether you’re targeting those who are unemployed, new entrants, mid-career workers, or others (please specify). Each project must target a minimum of 1,500 participants and benefit a variety of employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Note: Applications aiming to train less than 1,500 participants will be considered under the low-carbon energy and carbon management priority area only, in which case applicants will need to explain why a smaller target is justified for the type of activities they propose.

• identify the specific sector(s) and occupation(s) targeted by your project
• demonstrate how you’ll embed diversity, inclusion and accessibility within the project design, including a plan to recruit Indigenous participants and members of equity-deserving groups (for example, women, persons with disabilities, Black Canadians and other racialized communities, newcomers, and members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities). Outline how you’ll provide wrap-around supports to those facing barriers

As a reminder, we may also assess the following and priority may be given to projects that:

• • help make sure the Fund has sufficient projects in each priority area
  • align with federal government economic and climate priorities
  • target key sectors and occupations required for the low-carbon economy
  • maximize geographic coverage across the country
  • maximize the number of participants trained through the Fund
  • increase the participation of Indigenous Peoples or members of equity-deserving groups or both
  • support the offering of training in both official languages
  • scale up existing successful initiatives

Describe, in full detail, the proposed project activities. You must break down activities into clear steps.

Project activities are the steps that will be taken to meet the objectives of the project. Activities should be specific, measurable, realistic, and relevant to the project objectives and demonstrate how the project outcome(s) will be achieved. Project activities must go beyond your organization’s normal activities as this program does not fund an organization’s core, existing or ongoing activities.

Your answer to this question must include details regarding all your planned activities.

Eligible activities include:

• convening key stakeholders across the skills and training ecosystem such as workers, unions, employers, and training institutions to identify pressing training gaps, collaborate on the project and ensure it meets the needs of employers, particularly SMEs
• developing curriculum and training tools to address identified gaps
• delivering free or low cost in-person and/or virtual training focusing on, for example:
  • supplemental training interventions for workers that already have some experience or basic skills, only requiring some job-specific upskilling or specialized green skills and competencies (for example, workshops, supplemental training, etc.), and/or
  • more complex training interventions for workers that need more support to seize new opportunities (for example, training that leads to a certification or work-integrated learning
• developing targeted approaches to help SMEs upskill their current workforce or train new workers looking for employment in new occupations or sectors
• offering tailored training initiatives to help Indigenous Peoples and/or members of equity-deserving groups have successful careers in 1 of the 3 priority areas
• the provision of wrap-around supports as needed for participants who are facing barriers to participation, particularly but not exclusively for Indigenous Peoples and/or members of equity-deserving groups. Supports could include temporary childcare and transportation costs, and/or
• promoting the project and its opportunities

Applicants must include the following details:

• a description of each activity and explanation of how each relates to the objective(s) of the project. There should always be a clear link between the project activities and the project objective(s) (see Question 56). List the project activities in a logical sequence, including timelines and/or duration of each, and descriptions where needed
• project milestones, timelines and/or duration of the various activities (milestones are significant events or points of progress during the project). These should demonstrate your expected progress and plans to complete the project on time and within budget. Timelines must be clearly established and feasible
• clear linkages between the project activities and the project costs outlined in the budget (see Questions 66 to 77 in Part 3 - Funding). Costs associated with all identified activities should be reflected in the Budget Detail Template. This should demonstrate your expected progress and plans to complete the project on time and within budget
• a description of training activities, the official language(s) they will be offered in, and their location
  • Projects under Green Buildings and Retrofits and EV Maintenance and Charging Infrastructure must have activities occurring in at least 2 provinces/territories (PT)
  • For projects under the Low-carbon energy and carbon management priority area, a narrower geographic scope may be considered, where justified, to reflect the regional realities of emerging sectors. Priority may still be given to projects that cross jurisdictional boundaries
  • If training is offered online, describe which geographic location will be targeted and how you plan to promote your project to reach your targeted audience

Include details about how the project will be delivered. For example, will there be third-party agreements, or will the organization deliver all aspects of the project?

The information you include here will have a significant bearing on the assessment of your proposed project and of your organization's ability to undertake the project successfully.

Describe the expected results of your project. The expected results of the project must be clearly linked to the project objectives. The expected results must also be specific, concrete, and measurable (qualitative or quantitative) and must be defined as outcomes.

Outcomes are the short-term and intermediate changes that are expected to occur as the result of the project (more than one outcome could be directly related to an objective). They answer the questions: “How do we know the project is successful?” and “How do the activities lead to improvements for the beneficiaries?”

Describe expected outputs of your project and the groups or sectors that it targets.

Outputs are tangible products, including goods and services that will be produced to generate the desired outcomes; several activities could contribute to one output.

Describe how you’ll meet and track the expected results of the project. Include how you plan to gather, measure, monitor and report on results achieved by your project.

A performance indicator provides evidence that results have or have not been achieved. They ensure a proper assessment of the progress achieved towards the intended outputs, outcomes, goals, and objectives of the project. Applicants must provide performance indicators, which will clearly demonstrate how they will measure each anticipated result and ensure their project is progressing as planned.

Proposals must include at least one result measurement indicator for each of the project’s expected results identified under Question 58. In addition, for each result measurement indicator, data collection mechanisms must be provided.

In addition to any specific indicators determined by your organization, funding recipients will also be required to report on the following:

• number of Canadians who participate in training or transition initiatives, including those from equity-deserving groups, disaggregated by province and territory
• number of employers (large, medium, and small enterprises) and stakeholder organizations accessing and using workforce solutions, labour market intelligence and tools. Stakeholders include but are not limited to employers, employer associations, labour groups/unions, training providers, human resources professionals, workers, and Federal‑Provincial‑Territorial government programs
• number and percentage of participants who complete training or transition initiatives, including those from equity‑deserving groups disaggregated by province and territory
• number and percentage of participants employed following participation in an intervention 
• number and percentage of participants who earn a certificate, credential, or certification
• number and percentage of employer end-users of program products that report being better able to:
  • recruit skilled workers
  • recruit workers from equity-deserving groups
  • onboard or train workers more effectively
  • onboard or train workers from equity-deserving groups more effectively
  • retain workers more effectively
  • retain workers from equity-deserving groups more effectively
  • make more informed workforce planning decisions
• number of participants supported by wrap-around services, disaggregated by the type of services they receive
• number of employers or stakeholder organizations participating in the project
• any other indicator required to monitor the performance of the project

Measuring results is a way to ensure that you know how your project is progressing towards meeting the expected results. The Department (ESDC) uses the information you provide in this section to assess your capacity to demonstrate results.

Describe how the project relates to the ongoing work of your organization. You may wish to highlight how achievements and current activities and/or projects are related to your proposed project. This information helps the Department to determine the extent to which your organization is able to undertake the proposed project and to achieve the expected results.

Include any previous work done by your organization, your partners and your potential partners. Include details as to how your project builds on, and does not duplicate, this previous work.

You may also wish to include details on your project management processes.

If "Yes", give the main address first and then add other addresses.

If you have more than 5 locations, please continue your answer in Appendix A.

We commit to enhance the vitality of the English and French linguistic minorities in Canada. We support and assist their development and foster the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society. Official language minority communities are English-speaking communities established within the province of Québec and French-speaking communities established outside the province of Québec.

Answering "No" to this Question will not invalidate your application.

If your proposed project involves official language minority communities, you should answer "Yes" to this Question. Complete the Question following the instructions in the application form.

Find more information about official language minority communities

Indicate the equity-deserving groups your project is targeting, if applicable.

The Fund requires applicants to secure the involvement of other organizations, networks, or partners. If relevant, describe the other group(s) or individual(s) as well as the role(s) and expertise they will bring to the project.

This information will help the Department (ESDC) to assess the support base for your proposed project.

• The Department will accept proposals from organizations that demonstrate that they have:
  • established partnerships or a proven capacity to develop and maintain successful partnerships with employers, unions, training institutions and/or other relevant stakeholders. These could include, for example, provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous governments and organizations, sectoral stakeholders, organizations representing equity-deserving groups

Given the nature of the program, and that you will specify the reach of your project and location of activities in previous answers, this question is not applicable for this Fund. Please write ‘N/A’ in your application form.

If you’re receiving contributions from other sources, tell us the names of all the organizations that will contribute funds and/or in-kind contributions to this project.

Tell us what type of organization is providing the cash contribution from the following options:

• not-for-profit organizations
• municipal governments
• provincial and territorial governments, institutions and Crown Corporations
• Indigenous organizations including:
  • band councils
  • tribal councils
  • self-government entities
• international organizations
• coalitions, networks or committees
• research organizations or institutes
• educational institutions
• for-profit organizations

Tell us how much cash contributions you will receive.

In-kind contributions are non-monetary goods or services that may be contributed to the project by your organization or other organizations or partners for which your organization will not be requesting reimbursement. In-kind support may include donated equipment, services or facilities necessary for the proposed project that would otherwise have to be purchased.

To be considered valid, in-kind contributions should contribute to the success of the project, and their monetary equivalent estimated at fair market value.

Tell us if the cash and in-kind contributions are confirmed.

Applicants should provide free or low-cost training to participants.

If the project will involve subcontracting, a rationale and description of the process to select the subcontractors must be included.

If applicants intend to contract or subcontract for a value of $25,000 or more, a fair and accountable process that includes the solicitation of a minimum of three bids or proposals is required when contracting for the purchase of project-related goods or services. This includes anyone who is hired to deliver the project who is not an actual employee of the contribution recipient. Failure to comply with ESDC requirements may result in these expenditures being ineligible for reimbursement. In the situation where a contract for goods and services is below the $40,000 threshold, it must still demonstrate the principles of accountability, fairness, and best value for money.

We can only pay you back for eligible costs. Eligible costs must directly relate to your project activities. Eligible expenditures are those considered necessary to support the purpose of the funding.

Eligible expenditures include the following:

• overhead costs, including costs related to central administrative functions of the recipient organization that are drawn upon to support agreement activities (for example: utilities, copying, information technology maintenance and head office support)
• materials and supplies
• wages and mandatory employment related costs
• professional fees (for example consultants, research, audit, translation)
• training and professional development for staff
• honoraria costs
• printing and communication
• computer services, library expenses, research and evaluation costs, and collection and analysis of data
• digitization costs, such as adapting existing training, curricula, and other resources to an online platform
• travel - international travel must be specifically authorized
• participant costs, such as services to support the participation of targeted equity-deserving groups (for example career counselling, childcare, transportation, disability accommodation)
• other administrative expenses that are agreed to by both parties (for example hospitality)
• participants' wage and training subsidies, completion bonuses or other incentives, and
• other costs necessary to support the purpose of the funding as approved by ESDC

Give the total planned spending from all sources, including us. The amounts should align with those that you put in section A - Anticipated sources of funding of your application for funding.

"Other" means a cash or in-kind contribution from other sources other than us.

Check all statements that apply to your planned spending of the funding from us.

In carrying out the project, you may need contractors or third parties (outside providers) to carry out part of the project activities, such as reporting.

"Associated businesses or individuals" means:

• an officer, director or employee of your organization, or a member of their immediate family
• a business in which an officer, director or employee of your organization, or a member of their immediate family, has a financial interest
• a business connected to your organization

Third Party: a person or organization that has signed an agreement with the organization under the terms and conditions of a master agreement between the organization and the federal government.

Indicate "Yes" or "No".

If "Yes", explain how your project will benefit from the purchase of capital assets. A disposal plan for the capital assets should also be included.

A capital asset is any single or composite asset with a purchase value of more than $1,000 (before taxes) that is not physically incorporated into another product and that remains functional at the end of the project.

A composite asset is a collection of unique assets that form one identifiable functional unit, where all components are required for the asset to be functional. The collection of assets is treated as a single capital asset if the total cost of all individual items together is greater than $1,000 (before taxes).

For example, a personal computer composed of a hard drive, a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse and cabling is a composite capital asset. Four $300 chairs are not capital assets because each chair is functional on its own and, as single units, fall below the established threshold of $1,000 (before taxes).

Include a breakdown of your total costs per fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).

As an example, this could be the breakdown for a 4-year project with $10,000,000 in eligible costs:

• December 20, 2024, to March 31, 2025: $1,000,000
• April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026: $3,000,000
• April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027: $3,000,000
• April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2028: $3,000,000

A flat rate of 15% of total project costs will be applied to your overhead costs. You have the flexibility to allocate less than 15% towards this cost but won't be required to provide detailed overhead costs in your budget detail template.