Feds offer up to $10,000 in apprentice hiring incentive

August 31, 2022



The federal government has announced $45 million in funding for a national program to boost the hiring of thousands of apprentices in construction and manufacturing trades.
Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough says the money will fund 13 programs to help small- and medium-sized employers offer apprenticeship training. The programs include ones run by the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) and the B.C. Construction Association.
It is part of an almost $247 million national initiative to create more than 25,000 apprenticeship positions in the skilled trades.
“Canada is facing a severe shortage of skilled trades workers,” said Colin deRaaf, CLAC's training Ontario director. 
Under the program, a small or mid-size construction contractor can receive up to $5,000 per apprentice hired under the two-year program. However, if the apprentice hired is anyone except a white, heterosexual, non-disabled Canadian male, the funding doubles to $10,000.
“To boost diversity in the Red Seal trades, the incentive will be doubled for employers who hire from equity-deserving groups, specifically women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous people, members of the LGBTQ2+ communities, newcomers and visible minorities including Black and other racialized communities,” Qualtrough said.
The government says about 700,000 skilled trades workers are expected to retire in Canada by 2028.
The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum said in a news release that, to meet demand for skilled workers, an average of 75,000 new apprentices will need to be hired per year over the next five years.
“We need Canadians to be able to seize these opportunities and to have the tools, training and resources they need to thrive,” Qualtrough said. “Apprenticeships are one of the best ways to do that.” Demand for construction trades is likely to remain high. According to Buildforce Canada, the industry needs to recruit 309,000 new construction workers by 2030—driven predominantly by the expected retirement of 259,100 workers.