If your company is looking to spend money on training in the next year, the Canada Job Grant Program (CJGP) has received a new round of funding effective April 1st to assist with the costs of training existing employees. CJGP opened in 2014 and is available in all provinces and territories across Canada with $500 million available annually in funding until 2020. CJGP covers third party training including vendor training on software and equipment, quality system training and sales training. The CJGP’s goals are to increase the skill level of Canada’s workforce and help Canadian companies to become more globally competitive.
If your company is interested in applying for CJGP funding it is recommended that you do so as soon as possible. Once the funding is used up for the year you will have to wait until the start of the government’s next fiscal year, April 1, 2018 for the next round of CJGP funding.
What types of training will the CJGP funding cover?
CJGP funding will cover the following types of training:
College or university courses
School board courses
Union-based training courses
Vendor product courses
Fees charged by training providers
Mandatory student fees
Textbooks, software and other required materials for all approved courses
Examination fees
All vendors must have a valid HST or GST number in order for your company to qualify for funding.
If you are interested in receiving CJGP funding you must get approval for funding before the employee training occurs. If you apply for CJGP funding when training is in process, or after the employee completes the training, your company will not be eligible to receive the grant. It takes at least two weeks from the time of submitting your application to receiving funding approval.
If your company applies for CJGP funding and the funds are not used by your company, there is no penalty. The CJGP funds will simply be redirected to other successful CJGP applicants.
What types of training does CJGP funding not cover?
CJGP does not cover the followng types of training:
routine training including forklift and WHMIS training
training done outside of Canada
training done internally by in-house trainers
How much is the CJGP Funding?
The funding is very generous and is up to $10,000 per employee. The funding depends on the number of employees within your company.
(A) Funding for companies with less than 50 employees
CJGP covers 80% of the training costs to a maximum of $12,500 per employee. For example if a company spent $15,000 in training an employee, they would receive the maximum training grant amount of $10,000. Of the 20% in training fees paid by the company, half of this money must be in cash, with the remainder being in-kind wages paid to the employee while they are taking the training.
(B) Funding for companies with more than 50 employees
CJGP covers 66% of the training costs to a maximum of $10,000 per employee. For example if a company spent $15,000 in training an employee, they would receive the maximum training grant amount of $10,000 per employee. The company is responsible for paying 33% of the training fees and any required employee wages.
When does my company receive the CJGP funding?
Proof of payment needs to be provided to the government in order to receive reimbursement for the training costs. It takes at least six weeks to receive your training CJGP funding from the date proof of payment is submitted.
How do I apply for the CJGP?
The CJGP application can be found on the Government of Canada website:
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/job-grant/info.html
Once the CJGP application form is completed you submit it online. Someone from the government will be in touch with you. When the government representative comes to visit they will review the application and ask for any additional details they need. The approval decision will be made within a few weeks of your meeting with the government representative.