The federal government has announced they will overhaul an already existing skills program to counter the growing skilled labour shortage currently crippling the Canadian job market.
A cornerstone of the 2013 budget, the Canada Jobs Grant would replace the current Labour Market Agreements in the 2014-15 fiscal year.
Companies and industries would be able to apply for a grant of $15,000. The cost would be divided equally with companies, the provinces, and the federal government contributing $5,000 per grant.
If implemented, it would mean businesses would have more say over employee training, while the provinces will be forced to cede control over skills development to Ottawa.
The government says the grant would aid in reducing skilled labour shortages in a number of sectors, including constructing, engineering, mining, trucking, and agriculture, to name a few.
It’s a move that has been largely applauded by Canadian employers and colleges. In a press release, the National Association of Career Colleges (NACC) welcomed the revamped program.
“Thanks to . . . the new Canada Job Grant an increased number of unemployed and underemployed Canadians will be able to obtain the training that they need to access jobs that are in demand now, and will be in the future,” said Serge Buy, NACC’s chief executive officer.
The grant program is expected to train more than 130,000 people, with the majority of training happening via career colleges and union programs.
“Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has put his finger squarely on the problem: far too many well-paid jobs are going unfilled because employers can’t find people with the right skills,” the council’s president and chief executive officer, John Manley, said in a statement. “What Canada needs now is a comprehensive strategy to better align education and training with the skills employers need.”
While industry and employee officials say the project is a step in the right direction, much more is still needed to ensure this skill shortage does not strangle economic growth, Manley said.
“It’s a problem today, and if left unchecked it will only get worse, undermining opportunities for Canadian workers and contributing to slower economic growth,” he said.
Still, the grant will benefit employers more than it will help students, according to the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA).
“This budget offers support for employers to hire new graduates as interns after graduation,” CASA national director Zachary Dayler said. “Unfortunately, it does little to support those individuals who struggle to access post-secondary, which would help more people get a foot in the door of the labour market.”
Achieving this comprehensive skills training strategy, however, is not without its challenges.
The joint federal-provincial-employer program has already hit a major snag. The Quebec government has announced they want nothing to do with the grant, leaving the program already in jeopardy. Quebec won jurisdiction over their labour training in 1995 after an independent vote.
“We’re asking for Quebec to be excused from this federal program,” Labour Minister Agnes Maltais told the Canadian Press March 22. “We refuse to go 15 years backward.”
Participation from other provinces is far from assured, although the Ontario government has said they are willing to talk to Ottawa about the plan.
The program is also receiving support from the Alberta government, where the demand for skilled labour in a number of sectors, including the oil patch, mining and construction, continues to grow.
The program is expected to cost the federal government $500 million dollars annually.
