Are you eligible for funding?

According to two recent Statistics Canada surveys (the Labour Force Survey and the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey), the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio in Canada is at a historical low of 1.4 unemployed persons per vacancy.

Compared to an average 4.5 ratio in 2016, employers are struggling to fill positions that help their businesses perform well. Thankfully, resources are available to Canadian businesses that can address the labour market shortage, which has caused significant setbacks internally and on a greater economic scale.

Of the sectors driving total job vacancies, manufacturing, health care and social assistance, construction, retail trade, and accommodation and food services make up the top five. It is now considered a great obstacle to recruit skilled employees for necessary manufacturing roles, creating challenges to processes and systems that have long been in place.

It seems that nearly every person in this current landscape knows that the job market is hot right now. While that may be a good thing for individuals looking to advance within or change their career, what it means on a greater level is that many companies are having problems filling skilled positions. From an economic view, this can’t continue.

Numerous ways exist to reduce the manufacturing labour and skills shortage in Canada, including increasing immigration, increasing employment of youth and under-represented groups, and investing in automation.

You may be reading this and thinking that all three methods sound great, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. And you’re right. That’s why provincial and federal governments have created targeted funding programs to specifically address the labour market shortage happening across Canada.

Your business can receive grants to help recruit, train, and hire Canadians for skilled positions, and to adopt new technologies that can, in turn, create new roles for automation monitoring. Examples of eligible projects include the capital cost of new equipment, virtual employment and training services, and R&D of new methods to attract employees.

What Funding Is Available?

The Skills Development Fund (SDF) is the largest and most widely available program for addressing the skilled labour market shortage at this moment, helping fund the implementation of innovative workforce development projects. In fact, the Ontario government recently announced an additional $90 million in available funding through the SDF, bringing the total program investment to more than $560 million.

Eligible non-profit and for-profit businesses now can apply to receive funding (no minimum or maximum amount, but projects for over $150,000 will be prioritized) until January 31, 2023.

It is important to note that applications will be assessed on a first come, first served basis until funding is no longer available.

Monte McNaughton, minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development, has put out the message that he is “calling on Ontario’s employers to help [the Ontario government] deliver programs that lift people up and give them the tools they need to earn bigger paycheques and lead purpose-driven lives.”

So, who is eligible to apply for SDF support?

Eligible Applicants

The following businesses are eligible to apply to the SDF:

• Employers with a presence in Ontario.
• For-profit professional, industry, employer, and sector associations.
• Non-profit organizations with a physical presence in Ontario, including Indigenous Band offices and Indigenous Skills and Employment Training agreement holders.
• Apprenticeship training delivery agents (other than those listed below as being eligible to apply as co-applicants).
• Trade unions or union-affiliated organizations.
• Municipalities, district social services administration boards, consolidated municipal service managers, and hospitals.
• Publicly assisted colleges, universities, Indigenous institutes in Ontario, and private career colleges registered under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005.

Eligible Projects

The SDF applications must demonstrate how projects will:

• Empower workers and job seekers that face higher barriers of entry and help them find work.
• Encourage partnerships across the economy and support innovative ideas and training solutions to address the labour shortage.
• Help create a resilient workforce by supporting access to the labour market.

Eligible Expenses

Some examples of eligible expenses complementary of these eligible projects may include, but are not limited to:

• Staffing, training, marketing, and mental health related costs.
• Capital costs including new training equipment, vehicles, and mobile unit purchases that will be directly related to delivery of services.
• Virtual employment and training services.
• Apprenticeship training supports (virtual, in-class, and even equipment) and on-the-job support.
• R&D of new and innovative approaches to training (such as e-learning delivery, online assessment, and virtual simulation).
• Wraparound supports for job seekers and apprentices.
• Materials and consumables used in the delivery of project by participants.

Additional Funding Programs

Aside from the SDF, which provides funding in the form of grants to businesses looking to address the labour market shortage with workforce projects, other niche programs are looking to do the same thing.

One of these programs is the Women in Skilled Trades Initiative, which has an upcoming deadline of December 1, 2022.

The Women in Skilled Trades Initiative is a federal program that specifically focuses on providing eligible organizations with government grants to recruit, retain, and help Canadian women succeed in any one of the 39 recognized Red Seals trades, many of which are found in the manufacturing.

Eligible organizations can apply to the Women in Skilled Trades Initiative for up to 90 per cent of costs to a maximum of $3 million per eligible project that is up to 48 months in duration.

It’s important to note that eligible organizations can only submit one application under this program and successful projects are expected to begin in the summer of 2023. Eligible project and associated costs are similar to those of the SDF. It is available for any project that includes training capabilities and technology adoption with a focus on filling skilled trades positions.

Alena Barreca is a marketing specialist at Mentor Works, a Ryan Company, 28 Bett Court, Unit B, Guelph, Ont. N1C 1B9, 888-599-3111, www.mentorworks.ca.