January 9, 2015– Oakville, Ontario – Employment and Social Development Canada
The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, on behalf of the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development, today while on a tour of Sheridan College announced the launch of the new Canada Apprentice Loan, an Economic Action Plan 2014 commitment that provides apprentices registered in a Red Seal trade program with access to loans of up to $4,000 per period of technical training. The loans are interest-free until after loan recipients complete or leave their apprenticeship training program, up to a maximum of six years.
Minister Raitt reiterated that enhanced support for apprentices and apprenticeship training are key to power and grow the Canadian economy. That is why, in addition to the Canada Apprentice Loan, the Government also supports apprentices through several other initiatives, including grants and tax credits. Since 2006, the Government of Canada has also provided apprenticeship grants and tax credits for both apprentices and employers to encourage apprenticeships and careers in the skilled trades. To date, the Government has issued over 500,000 apprenticeship grants to Canadians worth nearly $700 million to help them get the skills and training they need to get well-paying jobs.
Minister Raitt emphasized the value of skilled trades and underlined the pressing demand for skilled tradespeople, particularly in areas such as infrastructure projects like the Government’s New Building Canada Plan, which commits $53 billion in funding, including over $2.7 billion to projects in Ontario under the New Building Canada Fund.
“Our Government recognizes the important role the skilled trades play in Canada’s economy and on-going prosperity. With many infrastructure projects underway across Canada today and in the years to come, we need the workers who have the skills to fill the in-demand jobs. That is why our Government has consistently made significant investments since 2006 to help apprentices and the employers that hire them. We are introducing the Canada Apprentice Loan so that more Canadians are able to complete their apprenticeship training and become skilled journeypeople.”
– The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport
“ Our Government’s top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth, and long-term prosperity. Jobs in the skilled trades are in-demand in many sectors and regions across the country. We are taking concrete action to address this challenge by providing even more support for apprentices. This includes the introduction of the Canada Apprentice Loan, which will help more apprentices complete their training and encourage more Canadians to pursue a career in the skilled trades.”
– The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development
“ The high-tech skilled trades training at Sheridan give apprentices the opportunity to learn creativity and leading-edge skills for the increasingly high-demand careers in the skilled trades. The Canada Apprentice Loans will allow more Canadians to access the necessary training to become the high-skilled in-demand tradespeople our economy needs.”
– Jeff Zabudsky, Ph.D., President and CEO, Sheridan College
Alexandra Fortier
Office of Minister Kenney
819-994-2482
Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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Since 2006, our Government has recognized the importance of apprentices to Canada’s economy and to this end has made significant investments to help apprentices and the employers that hire them.
Economic Action Plan 2014
To help registered apprentices with the cost of their training and encourage more Canadians to consider a career in the skilled trades, the Canada Apprentice Loan will offer interest-free loans of up to $4,000 per period of technical training and will defer interest charges and loan repayment until the recipients complete or cancel their study program. It is estimated that at least 26 000 apprentices per year will apply for over $100 million in loans.
A second new Economic Action Plan 2014 initiative, the Flexibility and Innovation in Apprenticeship Technical Training pilot project, will help reduce non-financial barriers to completing training and obtaining certification by using new learning tools such as in-class simulators, e-learning modules, remote learning sites and video conferencing. This will help apprentices continue working and earning while fulfilling the technical training requirements of their study program. This project could potentially support up to 12 multi-year projects through reallocations of $13 million over four years starting in 2014-15.
The Government will ensure increased awareness of existing financial supports available through Employment Insurance (EI) so apprentices can start to receive benefits more quickly while on technical training. Through EI’s Supplemental Unemployment Benefit plan, employers can also invest more in apprenticeship training by choosing to top up an apprentice’s benefits by up to 95 per cent of his or her normal wage.
Support for apprentices
The Government of Canada has provided $4.3 million and the governments of the Atlantic provinces over $3.5 million to harmonize training, certification and standards, leading to increased availability of training, higher apprenticeship completion rates and more labour mobility for apprentices across Atlantic Canada. In turn, these actions mean more jobs and opportunities for workers in the skilled trades and a step forward in addressing the skills shortage faced in certain regions and sectors in Canada.
The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant and Apprenticeship Completion Grant are taxable cash grants that encourage Canadians to pursue and complete apprenticeship training in designated Red Seal trades. As a result of these grants, apprentices could be eligible to receive up to $4,000, which can be used to pay for tuition, tools or other expenses. Since 2007, the Government has issued over 500,000 apprenticeship grants.
The Government of Canada also offers a tax credit to employers to encourage them to hire apprentices and a tax deduction for apprentices and tradesmen to help cover the cost of new tools.
Promoting careers in the skilled trades
Also through Economic Action Plan 2013, the Government proposed to provide more information on job prospects and the benefits of working in the skilled trades, science, technology, engineering and mathematics to promote education in these high-demand fields.
Post-secondary education
The Government of Canada also provides a range of support—including Canada Student Loans, Canada Student Grants, the Canada Learning Bond and the Canada Education Savings Grant—to help young Canadians pursue and save for their post-secondary education, so that they can acquire the skills and training they need to succeed in the job market and in the future economy.
