Ottawa, November 1, 2022 – It’s now easier for small and medium-sized employers in the construction and manufacturing sectors to hire first-year apprentices. Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) has launched Career Launcher Apprenticeships.
Funded by the Government of Canada under the Apprenticeship Service, this new $37-million program provides small and medium-sized enterprises with financial incentives to offset the hiring and training costs for up to 6,000 new apprentices in 39 Red Seal construction and manufacturing trades.
Eligible employers can receive $10,000 to hire an equity-deserving first-year apprentice, or $5,000 to hire an apprentice that is not part of an eligible equity-deserving group. Eligible equity-deserving groups for this program are women, Indigenous people, newcomers, persons with disabilities, racialized communities including Black Canadians, and 2SLGBTQ+. Employers can hire a maximum of two new apprentices per fiscal year.
The financial incentives are flexible and can be used at the discretion of the organization to support their hiring needs. This could include salaries, training costs, buying new equipment, or a hiring bonus for new apprentices. Participating employers will also receive support with locating, hiring, onboarding, and retaining new apprentices.
The new initiative is part of CICan’s Career Launcher suite of programs that provide employers with wage subsidies and hiring incentives to help address labour shortages, strengthen industries, and improve equity and diversity in the workplace.
Interested employers can register for the program at careerlauncher.ca/apprenticeships.
Quotes
“Canada needs more skilled trades workers. We need more women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous people, 2SLGBTQ+, racialized Canadians and other traditionally marginalized people to get into the skilled trades. That’s why the Apprenticeship Service program is so critical. It’s helping more and more Canadians seize these great job opportunities, and it’s making sure businesses have the skilled workers they need to thrive.”
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough
“Colleges and institutes across Canada know that apprenticeships, with their combination of on-the-job and in-class training, are effective in preparing workers to enter the skilled trades. As the country faces a critical shortage of these workers, it’s imperative that learners have increased access to training opportunities to meet the labour market demand. This program, with its financial incentives to employers, responds to that need by reducing barriers to recruiting, onboarding, and training new apprentices. The program also encourages employers to build a strong, diverse, and equitable workforce by hiring from groups who are often underrepresented in the construction and manufacturing sector.”
Denise Amyot, President and CEO, Colleges and Institutes Canada
About Colleges and Institutes Canada:
CICan is the national and international voice of Canada’s largest post-secondary education network. It advocates, builds capacity, and drives knowledge to strengthen Canada’s publicly supported colleges, institutes, CEGEPs, and polytechnics. With more than 95% of Canadians living within 50 km of a member institution, and thanks to its extensive reach around the globe, CICan works to future-proof communities in Canada and abroad.
We respectfully acknowledge that CICan’s offices in Ottawa are located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation.
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For more information:
Leah Jurkovic
Director, Communications
Colleges and Institutes Canada
Email: ljurkovic@collegesinstitutes.ca
Twitter: @CollegeCan