Sign three major funding agreements for skills training and employment programs
March 28, 2014 – Toronto, Ontario – Employment and Social Development
The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development, the Honourable Brad Duguid, Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, and the Honourable Ted McMeekin, Ontario Minister of Community and Social Services, signed three agreements today to help connect Canadians with available jobs.
The new Canada Job Grant is an innovative, employer-driven approach to help Canadians gain the skills and training they need to fill available jobs. Ontario worked closely with other provinces and territories to find the best way to launch the Canada Job Grant, which is a feature of the Canada–Ontario Job Fund Agreement that was signed today (formerly known as Labour Market Agreements).
The flexibility achieved in the new agreement will allow Ontario to continue to support successful programs and services for its most vulnerable workers. Ontario’s economy is stronger when everyone has the opportunity to find work and contribute to the province’s growth. The Canada Job Grant will be supported in part through the new Canada Job Fund.
Also signed today was the new Canada–Ontario Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities. With mandatory employer involvement and better reporting of outcomes, the new agreement will better connect Canadians with disabilities with available jobs.
Canada and Ontario also signed the renewal of the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers program, a federal–provincial/territorial cost-shared initiative that provides unemployed older workers in eligible communities with training to re-enter the workforce.
Through these three agreements, Ontario and the federal government are working together to help more people get jobs and skills training to strengthen the province’s economy.
Alexandra Fortier
Office of the Minister
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Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
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media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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Emily Hedges
Office of Minister Duguid
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Tanya Blazina
Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities – Communications Branch
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Canada–Ontario Job Fund
The current Labour Market Agreements, created in 2007, are being transformed into the new Canada Job Fund to ensure greater employer involvement in training. Nationally, the Government of Canada will continue to provide $500 million annually to the provinces and territories for investments in skills training through the Canada Job Fund. Ontario will continue to receive approximately $192 million—Ontario’s per capita share of the $500 million.
The Canada Job Fund will include $200 million of employer-driven training nationally, beginning in 2017–18, which may include funding for the Canada Job Grant or other existing employer-driven training programs.
Canada Job Grant
The Canada Job Grant will be designed to help Canadians get the training they need for available jobs and put skills training decisions in the hands of employers. It 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. Employers will be required to contribute on average one-third of the total costs of training. Ontario will be developing the Canada Job Grant over the coming months.
Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities
As announced in the Economic Action Plan, this new generation of Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities (LMAPDs) represents an investment of $222 million per year by the Government of Canada in the provinces and territories. This will allow provinces and territories flexibility to determine how to best address the needs of Canadians with disabilities, while helping Canadian businesses benefit from their skills and talent. With mandatory employer involvement and better reporting of outcomes, the new LMAPDs will better connect Canadians with disabilities with available jobs.
Under this agreement, the Government of Canada will provide $76.4 million per year to Ontario, a contribution that will be matched by the province. This funding will help Ontario support accessibility programming at colleges and universities, and employer related mental and social assistance programs.
Targeted Initiative for Older Workers
The Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW) is a federal-provincial/territorial cost‑shared initiative that provides unemployed older workers (normally between the ages of 55 and 64) with employment assistance services, skills upgrading and work experience. The TIOW assists unemployed older workers in small communities of 250,000 or less that are experiencing high unemployment and/or significant downsizing or closures to re‑integrate into the workforce. As announced in Economic Action Plan 2014, the TIOW is being renewed for a three-year period, representing a federal investment of $75 million. The TIOW is also being expanded to include communities experiencing unfulfilled employer demand and/or skills mismatches so that communities with tighter labour markets can participate in the initiative, particularly if they have vacant jobs that could be filled by unemployed older workers.
