The Canada Job Grant / What do you think about it ?

Tell us what you think about the Ottawa’s proposed Canada Job Grant. 

Use the DISCUSSION section at the bottom of this page and enter your comment at the end of this post.

As Lina Dib wrote in La Presse, “Ottawa is trying to sell a product that Quebecers do not yet exist and that will probably never exist in Quebec.” Well, not only to Quebecers but too all Canadians.

Job Market Monitor wants to know your opinion. Do not hesitate to let us know. It is important to us.

To learn more about the Canada Job Grant

You can watch the following video which shows an ad and read excerpts from the budget documents after the video.

Finally, we’ve added links to articles on the same subject.

Thank you for your cooperation

Michel Cournoyer

-*-

The ad

-*-

Chosen excerpts from the Budget Plan: Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity – Economic Action Plan 2013

Canada’s demographics are changing. The country’s population is aging rapidly and becoming increasingly diverse. Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and newcomers are important segments of the Canadian population that are underrepresented in the labour force.

Employer Demand for Skilled Labour

• The Construction Sector Council declared that between 2012 and 2020, the construction sector will need 319,000 new workers.
• Engineers Canada projects that 95,000 professional engineers will retire by 2020 and Canada will face a skills shortage because the workforce cannot be replaced fast enough.
• The Mining Industry Human Resources Council forecasts that more than 100,000 workers, mostly skilled new hires, will be needed for Canada’s mining sector to sustain even “modest growth” in the next decade.
• The Environmental Careers Organization of Canada says that with 100,000 employees reaching retirement in the next decade, numerous opportunities are opening up for students and new graduates in the sector.
• The Conference Board of Canada predicts that by 2020 the gap between the supply and demand of truck drivers will be 25,000 to 33,000.
• The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers notes that the sector will need 9,500 new employees by 2015 and between 50,000 and 130,000 by 2020.
• The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Council declares that by 2016 Canadian employers will need to hire some 106,000 ICT workers—over 17,000 per year—“posing a significant recruitment challenge.”
• The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association states that over 30 per cent of restaurants in Canada report that a shortage of skilled labour is having a negative effect on their business.
• The Canadian Electricity Association reports that the sector will have to recruit over 45,000 new workers—almost 48 per cent of the current workforce—by 2016.
• The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council reports that there is a 10 per cent deficit of farm workers.
• The Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council forecasts that Canada faces a shortage of 357,000 workers in the supply chain sector—at least 50,000 job openings in supply chain in Alberta alone—between now and 2020.

Investing in Skills Training for Canadians

The Government transfers $2.7 billion per year to support labour market programming through:

• $1.95 billion annually to provinces and territories through Labour Market Development Agreements.
• $500 million annually to provinces and territories through Labour Market Agreements, introduced in Budget 2007.
• $218 million annually to provinces through Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities.

The Canada Job Grant

Economic Action Plan 2013 announces that the Government will transform skills training in Canada through the introduction of the Canada Job Grant, as part of the renewal of the Labour Market Agreements in 2014–15. Upon full implementation of the Canada Job Grant, nearly 130,000 Canadians each year are expected to have access to the training they need to fill available jobs. The Government will also renegotiate the Labour Market Development Agreements to reorient training toward labour market demand.

In Budget 2007, the Government introduced the Labour Market Agreements with an investment of $3 billion over six years to assist Canadians who are low-skilled or not eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. The Agreements are set to expire in March 2014. An additional $1.95 billion is transferred from the EI Operating Account each year to provinces and territories under the Labour Market Development Agreements to provide training to EI-eligible individuals.

The Government will negotiate a transformation of the Labour Market Agreements with provinces and territories, to ensure that skills training funds are being used to help Canadians obtain the qualifications they need to get jobs in high-demand fields. Employers and employer groups will be consulted during these negotiations. The Government will also renegotiate Labour Market Development Agreements with provinces and territories, along similar lines.

Economic Action Plan 2013 announces the Government’s intention to renew the Labour Market Agreements with provinces and territories in 2014 with investments of $500 million per year. The Agreements will be reformed to directly connect skills training with employers and jobs for Canadians with the Canada Job Grant—the centrepiece of the new Agreements. The Grant will account for $300 million of total annual Labour Market Agreement funding from the federal government on full implementation in 2017–18.

The Grant, as delivered through Labour Market Agreements, will require matching from employers as well as provinces and territories. Businesses with a plan to train Canadians for an existing job or a better job will be eligible to apply for a Canada Job Grant. The Grant will provide access to a maximum $5,000 federal contribution per person towards training at eligible training institutions. This means the Grant could provide $15,000 or more per person, including provincial/territorial and employer contributions.

Upon full implementation of the Grant under the Labour Market Agreements, nearly 130,000 Canadians each year are expected to be able to access the training they need to take gainful employment or improve their skills for in-demand jobs.

The remaining funding of $200 million per year will continue to be transferred to provinces and territories to support delivery of critical employment services, such as counselling and job search assistance, and administration.

The Government will work in cooperation with its provincial and territorial partners to transform the way Canadians get training to help achieve our shared objectives of creating jobs and economic growth.

via Budget 2013 – Budget Plan: Chapter 3.1 – Connecting Canadians with Available Jobs.

-*-

Related Posts

in French @ Moniteur de l’emploi

La Subvention pour l’emploi, qu’en pensez-vous?

Dites-nous ce que vous pensez du projet de Subvention pour l’emploi d’Ottawa. Utilisez la section DISCUSSION au bas de la présente page et entrez votre commentaire à la fin du présent billet. . Comme l’écrivait Lina Dib dans La Presse, “Ottawa essaie de vendre aux Québécois un produit qui n’existe pas encore et qui risque fort de … Lire la suite »

On Job Market Monitor

Canada / Budget’s job training program hits provincial reluctance

When the premiers of the four Atlantic provinces met on April 29, their joint communiqué noted “significant concerns with the recent unilateral decisions of the federal government regarding skills, training and employment supports.” The four provinces expressed concerns about the Canada Job Grant, “particularly the ability of small-and medium-sized businesses to participate in the program.” … Continue reading »

Canada / The Government Training Agenda

Speaking at the Canada 2020 Conference on Skilled Trades in the Energy Sector in Ottawa Feb. 28, Diane Finley, minister of human resources and skills development, noted labour shortages and skills mismatches have become a “dominant policy concern.” A number options are under consideration, including: • Helping Canadians make more informed career choices, including at …Continue reading »

Canada – Ontario – Quebec / A confrontation emerges on workforce training

The Minister of Finance of Canada, M. Jim Flaherty and his colleague Human Resources and Skills Development, Mrs. Diane Finley launched theirs courses of action in workforce training last week. It might be a political football, but Quebec and Ontario were fast to react. Those reactions are certainly fuelled by the media, as always. Ottawa … Continue reading »

Canada and the Provinces / New voucher plan for training being weighed by Flaherty to replace agreements

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty this morning met with Canada’s largest trades union, the AFL-CIO, to discuss transferring nearly $2 billion of funding for labour training from the provinces to a voucher system for individuals ahead of the 2013 budget. The transfer was part of a broader discussion between Flaherty and Robert Blakely, the chief operating … Continue reading »

Canada / Youth Unemployment : hundreds of programs but do they deliver value for money?

Ottawa, the provinces, municipalities and non-profit agencies offer hundreds of youth employment programs. They include internships, training allowances, tax credits for apprenticeships and career development for marginalized groups. The question is not so much, do we need more programs but, rather, are they effective? Do they deliver value for money? This problem is not unique … Continue reading »