VERMILION, Alberta - May 08, 2009 - Leon Benoit, Member of Parliament for Vegreville-Wainwright today highlighted the Apprenticeship Completion Grant (ACG), which will offer $2,000 to eligible apprentices who successfully complete their apprenticeship training and certification in a designated Red Seal trade. This measure was proposed in Canada's Economic Action Plan, delivered in Budget 2009.
"By providing the Apprenticeship Completion Grant, our Government is helping individuals become tradespeople and ensuring that we have the skilled workforce our country needs to fill available jobs in the labour market" said Benoit. “Lakeland College is an integral part of that process, providing skills and trades training to hundreds of young Albertans.”
“As an educational institution, Lakeland College is pleased to play an important role in developing skilled and trained workers to strengthen the workforce and the economy,” says Bert Samuelson, Dean of Lakeland College’s School of Trades and Technology. “The Apprenticeship Completion Grant program will help ease the financial burden for many students pursuing careers in trades.”
The Apprenticeship Completion Grant complements the existing Apprenticeship Incentive Grant under which registered apprentices are eligible for a $1,000 grant when they complete their first or second year/level of apprenticeship training in a designated Red Seal trade to a maximum of $2,000. The Apprenticeship Completion Grant will be offered to apprentices who complete their apprenticeship training and become certified journeypersons in a designated Red Seal trade. By combining the two grants, completing apprentices can be eligible for up to $4,000 upon certification in a designated Red Seal trade.
The Red Seal Program promotes a national standard for training excellence in the skilled trades and is highly valued by employers. The Apprenticeship Completion Grant will boost worker mobility, as the Red Seal worker's credentials are recognized in most provinces and territories of Canada.
Apprentices can begin applying for the Apprenticeship Completion Grant in July but their eligibility will be retroactive to January 1, 2009. Each year, an estimated 20,000 completing apprentices could benefit from the Apprenticeship Completion Grant once they are certified in a designated Red Seal trade, totalling an annual government investment of $40 million.
Canada's Economic Action Plan demonstrates the Government of Canada's commitment to do what it takes to help Canadians weather this economic storm. While Canada currently faces economic uncertainty, skills shortages remain a significant challenge. The Government will assist individuals in developing skills for the future so they can take advantage of opportunities for themselves, their families and their futures.
Backgrounder attached. For more information, visit www.hrsdc.gc.ca.
Backgrounder
As part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, introduced in Budget 2009, the Government of Canada made a commitment to encourage skilled trades and apprenticeships by offering the Apprenticeship Completion Grant (ACG). The ACG encourages Canadians to get the skills they need to qualify for available jobs in the skilled trades. Canada needs a highly skilled and mobile workforce is in order to meet the increasing demand for skilled tradespeople.
The Apprenticeship Completion Grant will build on the existing Apprenticeship Incentive Grant by offering an additional $2,000 for apprentices who complete their apprenticeship training and obtain a Red Seal or a provincial or territorial Certificate of Qualification in a designated Red Seal trade.
To meet eligibility requirements, apprentices need to be registered in a Red Seal trade that is designated as such in the province or territory where they complete their apprenticeship training and receive their journeyperson certification. They must also have successfully completed their apprenticeship training and became certified in a designated Red Seal trade on or after January 1, 2009.
Under the existing Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, registered apprentices are already eligible for a $1,000 taxable cash grant when they complete their first and/or second level of their apprenticeship program in a designated Red Seal trade, to a maximum of $2,000.
As a combined result of the new Apprenticeship Completion Grant and the existing Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, apprentices who complete their apprenticeship training and become certified in a designated Red Seal trade could be eligible to receive a total of $4,000.
This $40 million per year investment will boost worker mobility, as the worker’s Red Seal credentials are highly valued by employers and recognized in the skilled trades for improving mobility in Canada. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 apprentices who complete their training certification in a designated Red Seal trade will be eligible each year for the ACG. Apprentices will be able to apply for the ACG in July 2009 with eligibility made retroactive to January 1, 2009.
While provincial and territorial certification will initially be accepted, it is the federal government’s intention to link the ACG after two years to registered apprentices who complete their Red Seal apprenticeship program and receive a Red Seal endorsement.
Accordingly, over the next two years, the Government will work with those provinces and territories that do not use or promote the Red Seal endorsement to determine the barriers to its use and to develop solutions to overcoming any identified issues.
The existing Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, which was effective January 1, 2007, offers $1,000 to registered Red Seal apprentices who successfully complete their first and/or second level of apprenticeship training. Currently over 70,000 apprentices have received the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant.
While Canada currently faces economic uncertainty, skills shortages remain a significant challenge over the medium term. The Government will assist individuals in developing skills for the future so they can take advantage of opportunities.
APPRENTICESHIP COMPLETION GRANT
New in Canada’s Economic Action Plan
As part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the federal government made a commitment to encourage skilled trades and apprenticeships by investing $40 million per year in a new Apprenticeship Completion Grant (ACG), which complements the existing Apprenticeship Incentive Grant. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 apprentices who complete their apprenticeship program and become certified in a designated Red Seal trade will be eligible for the ACG each year.
About the Program
The Apprenticeship Completion Grant is a $2,000 taxable cash grant designed to encourage apprentices registered in a designated Red Seal trade to complete their apprenticeship program and receive journeyperson certification. Apprentices will be able to apply for the ACG in July 2009, with eligibility made retroactive to January 1, 2009.
How It Works
Upon successful completion of an apprenticeship program and receipt of their journeyperson certification in a designated Red Seal trade, apprentices can apply to receive the $2,000 ACG.
A Red Seal trade is a trade that is recognized under the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program and designated as such within a province or territory. The Red Seal Program represents a national standard of training excellence in the trades and provides recognition of tradespersons’ qualifications.
Under the existing Apprenticeship Incentive Grant (AIG), apprentices are already eligible for a $1,000 taxable cash grant when they complete the first and/or second level of their apprenticeship program in a designated Red Seal trade, to a maximum of $2,000.
As a combined result of the new Apprenticeship Completion Grant and the existing Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, apprentices who complete their apprenticeship program and become certified in a designated Red Seal trade could be eligible to receive a total of $4,000.
Who Is Eligible
Apprentices registered in a Red Seal trade that is designated as such in the province or territory in which they receive journeyperson certification are eligible to apply. Apprentices must successfully complete their apprenticeship training in a Red Seal designated trade and become certified journeypersons on or after January 1, 2009, to be eligible for the grant.
How to Find Out More
Detailed information on the ACG, along with the application form, will be available on the Service Canada website at www.servicecanada.gc.ca by July 2009.
