More Funds for Apprenticeship Training

The federal government is boosting its commitment to the skilled trades. One of the highlights of the February budget was $20 million to help increase the number of women in male-dominated trades.

“There is a substantial gender gap in apprenticeship training, with women accounting for only 11 per cent of new registrants in inter-provincially recognized Red Seal skilled trades,” the budget document stated. The Red Seal program is Canada’s standard of excellence for skilled trades.

Women training in male-dominated trades will be eligible for the new Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women. It will pay them $3,000 in each of their first two years of training. An existing $2,000 apprenticeship completion grant will still be available, for a total of $8,000 in support.

A preapprenticeship program will encourage more people to “develop the skills needed to find and keep good, well-paying jobs in the trades,” the budget document says. That program will receive $46 million over the next five years, with another $10 million per year after that. The program is offered in partnership with the provinces, post-secondary institutions, unions, and employers.

Ottawa will also spend almost $18 million over five years to encourage more women to train for construction jobs, and to help vulnerable people—including Indigenous peoples, newcomers, and people with disabilities—access government funding for training.