Funding available for employers looking at bringing in new apprentices

Canada’s workforce is getting older. Its working age population has never been older, with more than one in five people close to retirement age, according to Statistics Canada’s job vacancy study. There are also more persons aged 55 to 64 than young adults 15 to 24, the ages that typically enter the labour market.

Attracting the youth to the skilled trades has been a hot topic amongst those in the industry for quite a while, with several industry associations holding panel discussions and webinars as brainstorming sessions on best practices. The labour shortage was even frequently discussed at the Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada’s (HRAI) annual general meeting in Ottawa from Sept. 18 to 20, 2022.

There are several initiatives that have been introduced, many of which are funded by government programs. For the most part, they aim to support companies looking to find apprentices or they provide funding directly to the apprentice.

Helping employers

Recently, the BC Construction Association announced a program which will aid small to medium-sized construction employers. They could receive up to $40,000 for hiring and/or registering a first-year apprentice in any of the Red Seal trades.

The campaign will run until March 31, 2024. Employers will receive payments for either hiring a new employee and registering them as a first-year apprentice, registering an existing employee as a first-year apprentice, or switching an existing apprentice or journeyperson into a different Red Seal trade as a first-year apprentice.

Payments include $5,000 for hiring or registering a first-year apprentice. Employers can also receive an additional $5,000 for hiring or registering workers from undervalued groups such as women, new Canadians, LGBTQ2+, Indigenous, and workers with a disability or a visible minority.

Through BCCA Apprenticeship Services, employers can receive payments for up to two employees per fiscal year during the two years of the campaign for a maximum of up to $40,000.

The apprentice must be hired between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, to qualify for the program. An additional two first-year apprentices can then be hired between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024.

To qualify for the campaign, the company can be unionized or non-unionized and must have less than 500 employees. The company must also be registered in B.C.

Attracting females

A new pilot program was introduced by the federal government, which aims at attracting more women into the trades. The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women (AIG-W) will offer female apprentices up to $3,000 to help pay for expenses while training as an apprentice in a designated Red Seal trade. The deadline to apply is March 31, 2023.

Recipients of the AIG-W grant must have their first year/level and can apply for this grant twice during their training for a maximum of $6,000.

In addition, to be eligible for the grant, the individual must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or protected person, not be a high school student, demonstrate registration and completion with acceptable provincial apprenticeship authority as an apprentice in an eligible trade where women are underrepresented.

Recipients already attending school must be a registered apprentice enrolled in adult learning classes, be a registered apprentice taking professional development courses, or a Quebec apprentice completing vocational training.

Marginalized groups

The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has launched the National Apprenticeship Program (NAP), which aims to create opportunities for Indigenous women in the skilled trades.

Medium and small-sized businesses that take on apprentices from the program can receive $10,000 in funding for apprentices for a maximum of $20,000 annually. The NAP program was designed to connect Indigenous women, two-spirit, transgender, and gender-diverse people as new, first-year Red Seal apprentices. A job board provides opportunities for businesses to connect directly with potential apprentices.

Eligible businesses must have fewer than 500 employees, have adequate facilities and equipment to teach apprentices, and must meet any regulations and ratios applying to said trade, such as wage rates and ratios. :