Who can apply

Ineligible employers

Employers aren't eligible if they:

• operate solely for the purpose of carrying out the administration of a government program/activity, such as:
  • municipalities, or
  • Government or publicly owned corporations, such as crown corporations
• are self-employed

Eligible employees

To be eligible to receive the income top-up, the employee must be in receipt of EI Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing benefits.

Eligible project (training)

To be eligible, projects must:

• offer training opportunities for a minimum of 40% of the weeks covered by the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program – Retraining Grant agreement
• offer the training to all eligible employees in the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing Unit
• not exceed 152 weeks duration and be no longer than the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement
• be completed by Saturday, March 25, 2028, at the latest

You can apply to start receiving the grant (the latter of):

• the Sunday following the submission of your Worker Retention Grant application, or
• the implementation date of your Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing retention support agreement

You can apply for the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program – Retraining Grant for Workforce Retention and Retraining Program – Work-Sharing projects that have already started, subject to certain conditions. However, you assume the risk of not being reimbursed if:

• the project is not approved
• the costs are deemed ineligible

Any costs incurred prior to the establishment of a Retraining Grant agreement are incurred solely at your risk without obligation of reimbursement by ESDC.

The design of the Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Retraining Grant takes a flexible approach to defining eligible training offerings. Employers can choose training most relevant to their business, including those related to business adaptation, transformation, diversification, recovery, and worker retention (upskilling/re-skilling).

Eligible training offerings can be provided using an online format, in person or part-time, and through flexible formats such as facilitator-led and/or peer-to-peer training provided in the workplace during non-work hours.

Examples of eligible training include:

• supporting skills development specific to an employer's operations
• supporting skills development for an employer’s business adaptation, transformation, and diversification
• widely applicable foundational skills such as digital and AI literacy, workplace safety, linguistic proficiency, problem-solving and numeracy
• informal training such as on-the-job training and peer-to-peer knowledge transfer that builds meaningful skills and knowledge that could be valuable for professional growth
• skills development that supports the growth of the sector and expansion into new markets

There is no set delivery format required for eligible training.

• It can be delivered online or in person, including sessions led by a facilitator arranged by the employer or conducted in the workplace during non-working hours
• Can be provided by different types of trainers (for example, in-house trainers, or external training organizations)

To assist with identifying training options, employers are encouraged to visit Job Bank, Canada's national employment service, which has a dedicated section for Workforce Retention and Retraining Program employers. In this section, Workforce Retention and Retraining Program employers can explore Job Bank's new Training Finder and connect to upskilling platforms from partner organizations for free to help their employees find training relevant to their industry and career goals. Thousands of courses of various durations are available.

Note: You must commit to supporting upskilling and training opportunities for your eligible employees for at least 40% of the weeks covered by the grant agreement (for example, 30 weeks of training offerings for a 76-week agreement, that is 40% x 76 = 30.4).

Ineligible training

Ineligible training includes but is not limited to:

• attending conferences
• training that employers are legally required to provide

Eligible costs

Eligible costs are limited to the:

• income top-up supplement paid to eligible employees, and
• Mandatory Employment Related Costs applicable on the income top-up supplement. This is limited to the employer portion only of the:
  • EI premiums
  • Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan contributions
• Costs related to the design and/or delivery of training and administration including;
  • Administrative costs directly related to the project (a maximum of 15% of total training funding requested) including costs related to:
    • Accounting
    • Phone
    • Internet
    • Bookkeeping
    • Scheduler
  • Staff wages: wages of staff involved in the design/ or delivery of the training. This includes salary, wages, and mandatory employment related costs (MERCs)
  • Professional fees - fees for professionals not employed in your organization and required to support training including:
    • Training Instructor
    • Training Presenter(s)
    • Training Facilitators
  • Materials and supplies to support training

The employee top-up supplement is not payable for any non-Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing weeks (for example, plant shutdowns, weeks of sick or vacation leave, etc.).

Ineligible costs

The costs that may be associated with the core operational expenses of an organization are not eligible under this Grant.

Examples of ineligible costs (not limited to):

• Salaries and wages not related to project activities
• Utilities
• Management consulting
• Travel and accommodation
• Repairs or renovations to a building or the purchase of equipment not related to the training activities
• Purchase of alcohol, tobacco (outside of specific cultural rituals), cannabis, etc.
• Capital cost (purchase of any equipment)
• Costs incurred to prepare and submit the application for funding, such as:
  • Costs used to pay for third parties assisting the applicant in obtaining Government of Canada funding usually seen under professional fees (for example: lobbyists)
  • Grant writer costs to submit the application
• Costs incurred before the agreement has been signed by ESDC and the organization

Note: Since employee top-up is deemed to be employment income, it is subject to CPP or QPP and EI deductions. As a result, employers must make sure to properly deduct and remit the required amounts for CPP or QPP and EI from their payroll, including any relevant payments related to the Grant.

Other eligibility requirements

In the application, the employer will have to provide a training plan and specify the total Grant amount necessary to support the employee income top-up supplement. Also, the employer will be required to provide the following:

• average weekly earnings for each employee of the Work-Sharing Unit(s), and
• the EI Benefit rate for each of these employees