The Canada Job Grant – delivering change for the better

May 21, 2013 · 0 Comments

Peter Van Loan, MP York-Simcoe

York-Simcoe residents, like most Canadians, are known for their work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit.
These strengths have helped our community and Canada to weather the economic downturn better than most other countries. People want to work, and our government believes that it is important to support those getting back to work in fields where jobs are available.
In Canada, there is a labour gap caused by a great demand for skilled workers and a lack of workers with the matching skills. Our plan is to bridge this gap – to connect Canadians with available jobs by equipping them with the skills and training needed to obtain high-quality, well-paying employment.
The Harper government has a three-point plan to help Canadians get trained with the skills that are in demand and connect them with employers. The centerpiece of our plan is the creation of the Canada Job Grant. This will take control of money for training out of the hands of government bureaucrats and put it in the hands of those who want to work and the people who want to hire them. Finally you will be trained for a job that actually exists. The three points of our plan are as follows:
1. Creating the Canada Job Grant, to provide $15,000 per person, including the federal contribution and matching contributions from provinces and employers, to train you for a job that exists.
2. Creating opportunities for apprentices by making it more practical and easier to get the experience needed to make the leap to journeyperson status.
3. Providing support to those facing challenges in the current market, including people with disabilities and youth.
The Canada Job Grant will take skills-training choices out of the hands of government and put them where they belong: if somebody wants to hire you for a job for which you need new skills training they could provide up to $5,000 to provide the training. That would then be matched by up to $5,000 from the federal government, and up to another $5,000 from the provincial government.
The Canada Job Grant will require the agreement of the province of Ontario as a new way to deliver skills training. But, for the first time, instead of a government bureaucrat in an office telling you what course to take, and then hoping you could find a job – you will actually be trained for a job that exists, and one which someone wants you to fill.
By matching employers with those who want to work, and providing them with the funding for the skills training we will see better results for families, and for the economy. What’s more, it will mean less spending on bureaucratic overhead – focusing spending where it will make a positive difference.
It just makes sense to help hard-working Canadians get trained with skills that are in demand. Canadians will be able to find long-term, well-paying jobs faster. We are working hard to set Canadian families and businesses up for success now and in the future. We remained focused on creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity – something I think all Canadians can agree, is a change for the better.