Governments of Canada and Yukon announce agreements to help Canadians improve their skills and prepare for the future of work with good quality jobs

Changing demands of the workplace

Canada is home to a well-educated and highly skilled workforce, but rapid technological change and globalization are accelerating the need to learn and develop new skills. As the demands of the workplace change, so too must the skills that workers bring to their jobs. The Government of Canada is taking action to ensure that both employers and governments are more responsive to workers’ needs.

The new and amended agreements were developed from broad-based consultations with more than 700 stakeholders on how to expand and improve skills training and employment supports for Canadians.

Workforce Development Agreements

The new Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs) consolidate the Canada Job Fund Agreements, the Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities (expired March 2018) and the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (expired March 2017). In addition to the $722 million provided annually to provinces and territories under the WDAs, Budget 2017 added $900 million over a period of six years from 2017–18 to 2022–23. The new funding will also support provincial and territorial employment programming for older workers, previously supported by the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers.

These agreements provide provinces and territories with the flexibility to respond to the diverse needs of their respective clients, both employers and individuals, which include members of under-represented groups.

Labour Market Development Agreements

Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs) are bilateral agreements with each province and territory to design and deliver employment programming similar to employment benefits and support measures outlined in Part II of the Employment Insurance Act. LMDAs help Canadians quickly find and return to work. They also ensure a skilled labour force that meets current and emerging needs of employers.

Budget 2017 measures to expand eligibility to help more Canadians access skills training and employment assistance under the amended LMDAs include:

• investing an additional $1.8 billion in LMDAs over six years;
• broadening eligibility for Employment Benefits (e.g. skills training, wage subsidies) to include unemployed individuals who have made minimum Employment Insurance premium contributions in at least 5 of the last 10 years;
• expanding eligibility for Employment Assistance Services (e.g. employment counselling, job search assistance), previously only available to unemployed Canadians, to also include employed Canadians; and
• increasing flexibility for provinces and territories to support employer-sponsored training under Labour Market Partnerships (e.g. to help employers who need to upskill or retrain their workers in order to adjust to technological or structural changes in the economy).

The Government of Canada as part of Budget 2018 commitments provided $230 million to better assist workers in seasonal industries, including:

• $189 million to implement a pilot project to provide up to five additional weeks of EI regular benefits to eligible seasonal claimants in 13-targeted EI regions. The additional five weeks of benefits will be available to those who start a benefit period between August 5, 2018, and May 30, 2020.
• An additional $41 million over two years, which began in 2018–19, to all provinces and territories through their LMDAs to provide skills training, wage subsidies and employment supports for workers in seasonal industries.

Canada Training Benefit

The Canada Training Benefit could give workers a refundable tax credit on their income tax and benefit return to help offset tuition costs for training, provide income support during training and offer job protection so that workers can take the time they need to keep their skills relevant and in demand. The benefit would include:

• a Canada Training Credit, which is a new refundable tax credit that allows eligible workers to receive $250 per year towards their training amount limit, up to a lifetime limit of $5,000, to help fund future eligible tuition and fees;
• the Employment Insurance (EI) Training Support Benefit that would provide eligible workers with up to four weeks of income support, paid at 55 percent of average weekly insurable earnings, to be taken within a four-year period when they require time off work to train;
• an EI Premium Rebate for Small Businesses that would offset the upward pressure on EI premiums resulting from the new EI Training Support Benefit; and
• new leave provisions under the Canada Labour Code that would allow federally regulated workers to take time away from work to pursue training and receive the EI Training Support Benefit without risk to their job security.

The Canada Training Benefit will be available to millions of Canadian workers who have joined the workforce. It is estimated that approximately 600,000 Canadians will claim the Canada Training Credit each year. The uptake of the EI Training Support Benefit will depend on its final design.