Note: The following questions and answers have been developed by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)

Q1. What changes are being made to ESDC’s apprenticeship programs or services?
A1. ESDC working to implement the new investments proposed in Budget 2024. This includes an investment of $90M over two years beginning in 2024-2025 in the Apprenticeship Service. The Apprenticeship Service provides incentives to small and medium-sized employers to hire apprentices so they can get the hands-on experience they need for a career in the skilled trades. It also includes an investment of $10M over two years beginning in 2024-2025 in the Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness (STAR) initiative. The STAR aims to encourage Canadians, including groups that face barriers (e.g., women, Indigenous people, newcomers to Canada, persons with disabilities and youth), to explore and prepare for careers in the skilled trades.

In addition, as part of the Department’s ongoing work to improve services to Canadians, the Apprenticeship Grants—which has historically demonstrated mixed results in addressing barriers to successful entry, progression and completion of apprenticeship—will sunset.

Sunsetting the Apprenticeship Grants will enable funding under the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy to be refocused on other components of the CAS—such as the Apprenticeship Service, the STAR and the Union Training and Innovation Program, putting more money into the activities and the areas that are having the greatest impact in bringing new entrants at the rate needed to fill job openings, build the country’s housing supply and grow tomorrow’s low-carbon economy.

Project funding through these measures will better respond to industry needs, enable support for individuals, and offer flexibility to address a wide array of barriers to apprenticeship success with wrap-around supports. In the context of a transition to a net-zero economy, housing shortages, and the pressing need for skilled trades labour, this is expected to lead to improved apprenticeship outcomes—including for those from equity-deserving groups.

It will also help target supports by allowing the government to make additional investments in activities such as supporting more women in the trades, removing barriers to completion, and promoting the trades as a good career choice.

Q2. What is the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant?
A2. The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant is a grant of $1,000 (to a maximum of $2,000) awarded to apprentices who complete their first or second year within an approved apprenticeship program in a Red Seal trade.

Q3. What is the Apprenticeship Completion Grant?
A3. The Apprenticeship Completion Grant is a grant of $2,000 awarded to apprentices who complete an apprenticeship and receive a journeyperson certificate in a Red Seal trade.

Q4. How well has the Apprenticeship Grants performed?
A4. Approximately 48,000 Apprenticeship Incentive Grants (AIG) and 23,500 Apprenticeship Completion Grants (ACG) are issued annually.
Take-up for the AIG decreased from 74.8% to 65.7% between 2010 and 2018, while take-up for the ACG decreased from 85.9% to 73.3% between 2011 and 2018.
A 2019 evaluation of the Apprenticeship Grants found that while it did contribute to the decision to continue in and ultimately complete apprenticeship training, the Apprenticeship Grants were widely viewed as a “bonus” and not as an incentive.

Q5. What are the expected impacts on recipients and stakeholders?
A5. Apprenticeship Grants intake will end on March 31, 2025: this will be the last day for applications to be submitted. Supporting documents can follow within 12 months of the application date. ESDC will continue to accept applicants missing information until March 31, 2026.

Q6. Can apprentices apply without supporting documents?
A6. Apprentices should be advised to apply before March 31, 2025, even if they have not yet received supporting documents from their apprenticeship authority. The deadline for submitting supporting documents is 12 months from the date of their application and no later than March 31, 2026.

Q7. Where can I find more information on the Apprenticeship Grants Sunsetting?
A7. To get more information about the sunsetting of the Apprenticeship Grants, please consult the program website Canada.ca/apprenticeship-grants or visit your local Service Canada Centre.

Q8: What investments is the Government of Canada making to support the skilled trades?
A8: The Government of Canada is investing nearly $1 billion annually in apprenticeship supports through grants, loans, tax credits, Employment Insurance benefits during in-school training, project funding, and support for the Red Seal program.

The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy offers a suite of skills and training supports to encourage youth to consider a career in the skilled trades, and to help apprentices and key skilled trades stakeholders, including employers, unions and training institutions, to participate and succeed in the apprenticeships.

Apprentices can also find support through the interest-free Canada Apprentice Loan, Employment Insurance income support during technical training, the Tradesperson’s Tools deduction, the Apprentice Mechanic Tools deduction, the Tuition Tax Credit, the Canada Training Credit, and the Labour Mobility deduction. Apprentices may also be eligible to receive additional measures offered by their province or territory. Canada.ca/skilled-trades provides Canadians with information about what the skilled trades are, how to become a tradesperson and what financial supports are available to them while in training.

Budget 2024 Initiatives
Budget 2024 and Canada’s Housing Plan have charted a path to unlocking 3.87 million new homes by 2031. This means Canada needs to hire and train thousands of new skilled tradespeople who can help build these houses. To help address the growing need for skilled trades workers, in Budget 2024, the Government will invest $10 million in the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy’s Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness program to encourage Canadians to begin and succeed in careers in in-demand skilled trades. Budget 2024 is investing an additional $90 million over two years, starting in 2024-25, in the Apprenticeship Service to support employers in creating apprenticeship opportunities to train and recruit more first-year apprentices.

Other recent investments
In the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, the government announced that it will work to remove barriers to internal labour mobility and encourage provinces and territories to cut the red tape that impedes the movement of workers, particularly in construction, health care and childcare, within Canada. The work will include expanding on the success of the Red Seal Program to improve the mobility of tradespeople and eliminate further barriers, such as duplicative credential recognition.

On April 1, 2023, the Government of Canada implemented a permanent elimination of interest on Canada Apprentice Loans and Canada Student Loans. In Budget 2022, the Government provided $84.2 million over four years for the Union Training and Innovation Program, which is a key pillar of the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy. The UTIP program helps apprentices, including those from equity-deserving groups to begin and succeed in careers in the skilled trades through mentorship, career services and job matching. Budget 2022 also introduced a new Labour Mobility Deduction, which provides tax recognition on up to $4,000 per year in eligible travel and temporary relocation expenses to eligible tradespersons and apprentices.

The 2022 Fall Economic Statement announced a new Union Training and Innovation Program Sustainable Jobs stream under the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy to support unions and their partners in the development and delivery of green training for workers in the Red Seal trades, and it is expected that 20,000 apprentices, and journeypersons would benefit from this investment. A call for proposals has been launched on June 20, 2024 and is open for 11 weeks.

Q9: What is the Government doing to support individuals from equity-deserving groups, including women in the skilled trades?
A9: To achieve a trades workforce that is skilled, inclusive, certified and productive, the Government supports equity-deserving groups such as women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, newcomers, racialized communities and 2SLGBTQI+ communities, participate and succeed in the trades.
With the demand for skilled tradespeople at an all-time high, the Government of Canada is making targeted investments under the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy aimed at developing a diverse and inclusive skilled trades workforce that will help more Canadians—including women—build good careers.

The Apprenticeship Service provides small and medium-sized employers a financial incentive of $5,000 when they hire a first-year apprentice in eligible Red Seal trades. They can get an additional $5,000 when they hire an apprentice who is a member from an equity deserving group, including women. In addition, employers can also access other supports, such as welcoming workplace training, which will make it easier for them to hire first-year apprentices.

The Women in the Skilled Trades complements the Apprenticeship Service by providing $43.5 million in funding for projects that support the recruitment, retention and success of women in the same eligible Red Seal trades.

The Union Training and Innovation Program’s helps to improve the quality of training in the skilled trades enabling a more skilled, certified and productive workforce. The Program also aims to improve the participation of key groups in the skilled trades to have a more inclusive workforce. The UTIP has supported equity-deserving groups, for example: women, Indigenous people, newcomers, persons with disabilities and racialized communities.

Budget 2022 invested $84.2 million over four years for the Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP), which is now part of the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy. This funding will help apprentices from equity deserving groups – including women – begin and succeed in careers in the skilled trades through mentorship, career services, and job-matching. Projects funded under this initiative are expected to be announced later this year.