Who can apply

Eligibility

Eligible applicants

In order to be eligible for funding, your organization must be one of the following:

• Not-for-profit organizations
  • Note: funding recipients cannot represent the interests of a single enterprise. Eligible initiatives must represent a collaborative effort among multiple stakeholders that share common workforce needs or skills gaps
  • Note: workforce intermediaries, sector councils and convening organizations that can aggregate employer demand and coordinate workforce solutions across sectors or regions are encouraged to participate
• For-profit organizations
  • Note: funding recipients cannot represent the interests of a single enterprise. Eligible initiatives must represent a collaborative effort among multiple stakeholders that share common workforce needs or skills gaps
• Indigenous organizations, including band councils; tribal councils; self- government entities
• Provincial and territorial governments, post-secondary institutions, training institutions, agencies and Crown Corporations
• Municipal governments

Note to organizations located and operating in Alberta and Quebec

If your project proposal is selected for funding, you may be required to obtain approval from the Alberta or Quebec government before you can accept funding from ESDC.

• Alberta: Please consult the Provincial Priorities Act (Bill 18). Only available in English
• Quebec: Please consult the Act respecting the Ministère du Conseil exécutif (M-30)

Applicants for this Continuous Intake process must notify the Department whether they are subject to Quebec's M-30 or Alberta's Bill 18.

Eligible projects

To be eligible for funding, all project concepts must adhere to the program principles.

In addition, eligible projects must demonstrate specific requirements for each program objective included in your concept:

• for objective 1 eligible projects must demonstrate:
  • a systemic, multi-jurisdictional labour supply-demand mismatch and outline how the project will address current or anticipated gaps within 2 to 3 years
• for objective 2 eligible projects are required to:
  • show proven success of a pilot or evidence-based approach being expanded and be demand-driven while aligning with a national priority
• for objective 3 eligible projects must:
  • address workforce adoption barriers
  • produce skills development initiatives for technology adoption and implementation, and
  • build talent pools for emerging sectors that are aligned with current and anticipated workforce demand including:
    • acquiring highly skilled individuals who have advanced/specialized skillsets in technology adoption (Artificial Intelligence (AI) for example) for emerging roles; and
    • training the broader workforce on the use of the emerging technology in the workplace (to ensure widespread implementation)

Ineligible projects

The following project types are not for funding, regardless of their objectives:

• direct institutional funding to colleges, universities, or provincial/territorial training institutions as primary recipients, with the exception of one-time investment to develop new curriculum tailored to immediate sector need
• single-company projects without multi-employer sector benefit
• projects primarily benefiting one province without national applicability
• ongoing operational funding or projects creating federal funding dependencies
• general awareness or information campaigns without direct training/employment linkages
• research projects without tangible workforce development outcomes
• projects duplicating existing provincial/territorial programs without demonstrated value-add
• capital infrastructure projects (facilities, equipment) as primary focus - unless tied to IT platforms to scale up online training across multiple provinces

Eligible activities

Eligible activities must be aligned with at least one program objective.

• Eligible activities under objective 1 include:
  • recruitment and retention strategies
  • curriculum development
  • certifications, digital platforms
  • credential or training linked to jobs
  • labour mobility initiatives, and
  • programs for equity-seeking groups to address workforce shortages
• Eligible activities under objective 2 include:
  • expanding and accelerating rapid training initiatives
  • micro-credential development
  • amplifying talent pipelines
  • strengthening industry-academia partnerships
  • replicating talent pipeline models, and
  • mobilizing workers for major federal projects
• Eligible activities under objective 3 include:
  • addressing capabilities of emerging technologies on productivity through the development of targeted workforce solutions (curriculum development, training, certification, etc.) to support early technology including:
    • development of modular, competency-based, and portable credentials aligned with employer and sector needs

Concepts must demonstrate the impact of project activities on the labour force, clearly distinguishing between direct and indirect benefits.

• Direct benefits should take precedence and include evidence of concrete and measurable outcomes, such as:
  • letters of intent or commitments from employers indicating that trainees will receive job offers or employment opportunities
• Indirect benefits may include broader sectoral impacts, such as:
  • improved workforce readiness or enhanced business capacity.

Projects must:

• explain how these benefits will affect the sector's workforce and businesses
• include robust performance measurement frameworks

Ineligible activities

Ineligible activities include, but are not limited to:

• generic technology training without sector-specific application
• technology adoption projects without workforce skills component
• research-focused initiatives without direct employment/training outcomes
• capital improvements including the construction or renovation of buildings
• Projects that unnecessarily duplicate existing training programs, curriculum development efforts, or digital workforce platforms without demonstrated value-added or transferability may not be prioritized

Who can participate in your project

When there is a participant, they must be:

• legally entitled to work in Canada according to the relevant provincial and federal legislation and regulations; and
• Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or persons who have been granted refugee status in Canada

What the funding can be used to pay for

Eligible expenditures include and are not limited to:

• overhead costs, including costs related to central administrative functions of the recipient organization that are drawn upon to support agreement activities (such as: shared postage, telephones, information technology maintenance, and head office support) up to 15% of the total Department of ESDC financial support for the project
• materials and supplies
• the purchase or rental of tools, equipment, computers, and furniture
• wages and mandatory employment-related costs
• professional fees (consultants, research, audit, translation)
• training and professional development for staff
• honorary costs limited to industry standards
• hospitality costs
• travel costs in accordance with the National Joint Council's Travel Directive
• printing and communication
• computer services, library expenses, research and evaluation costs, and collection and analysis of data
• digitization costs, such as adapting existing training, curricula, and other resources to an online platform; and/or
• other administrative expenses that are agreed to by the recipient and the department
• wrap-around supports for participants in specific cases where a barrier to entry and participation is clearly identified
  • These include but are not limited to:
    • accommodation costs
    • child care costs; and
    • transportation costs
  • Each participant can receive up to $2,000 for the entire project. Organizations that provide wrap-around supports during the project must continue offering the same supports after the federal funding ends, as part of their sustainability plan

Additional eligibility requirements

• Project outputs, including tools, products, and/or reports, should be made available in both official languages, where appropriate
• As needed, program officials will engage with other government departments throughout the assessment phase to ensure that proposals are aligned with federal government priorities and initiatives. Project proposals may be shared with other federal officials
• On an exceptional case-by-case basis where a strong rationale has been provided and it is deemed necessary for the success of the project, the program may support retroactive reimbursement of eligible costs a recipient incurred prior to the signing of the Funding Agreement but not earlier than the date on which the application is approved by the Minister or the delegated authority
• Contribution agreements will include concrete milestones, and payments will reflect progress towards desired outcomes

How we assess your Statement of interest

We will contact you to request any mandatory information if it is missing from your statement of interest (SOI). We will do this before we determine if your SOI is eligible. If you receive such a request, you must respond otherwise we will not be able to move forward with your SOI screening.

We will screen for eligibility based on whether the:

• SOI is complete
• organization is eligible
• project is eligible
• concept alignment with program objectives, principles and outcomes

It is important to submit a complete SOI. We will assess your concept only if all of the eligibility requirements are met.

We will screen your SOI based on the following criteria:

Things that may impact your eligibility

Your past performance or issues of default in projects with ESDC may impact the eligibility of your concept.

When determining the eligibility of your concept, ESDC may review information in the public domain including, but not limited to, materials on your website and media articles.