Winnipeg, Manitoba
10 October 2014
The Government of Canada is committed to helping Canadians get the training they need for available jobs and to putting skills training decisions in the hands of employers. To this end, Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that Oxygen Technical Services Limited, an information technology service provider in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is the first recipient of the Canada Job Grant.
Oxygen Technical Services is a Manitoba-based information technology service provider located in Winnipeg. The company also operates in Saskatchewan. With 20 employees, Oxygen Technical Services provides its clients, such as Cisco Systems and Dell, with procurement, project management and managed services. As a result of being a recipient of the Canada Job Grant, the company will now be able to invest over $56,000 in support of skills training and certification for 15 of its current employees. This includes over $18,000 from Oxygen Technical Services’ own financial resources.
The company was an early applicant for the Canada Job Grant. It was selected as the first company to receive support for several reasons, including that it is a small business in an important economic sector, that the training leads to certification which supports job creation, and that the training is linked to company growth. It also met the basic criteria for the Canada Job Grant by providing a third party trainer, eligible training costs, employer contributions and an available job at the end of training.
The Canada Job Grant, which was announced in Economic Action Plan 2013, helps Canadians get the training they need for available jobs and puts skills training decisions in the hands of employers. 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. When fully implemented, a total of $300 million per year will be invested in the Canada Job Grant nationally.
The Canada Job Grant is for short-duration training provided by eligible third-party trainers, such as community colleges, career colleges, trade union centres and private trainers. Training can be provided in a classroom, on site at a workplace or online.
Private and not-for-profit businesses with a plan to train Canadians for a new or better job are eligible to apply for a Canada Job Grant.
The Canada Job Grant will be flexible enough to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, in all industries and regions. Small businesses may benefit from flexible arrangements, such as the potential to count wages as part of the employer contribution. This helps ensure that all businesses, regardless of size, can fully participate in the Canada Job Grant, particularly in sectors facing skills mismatches and labour shortages.
Canada Job Fund Agreements, which include the delivery of the Canada Job Grant, have been finalized with all provinces and territories.
