To serve a growing nationwide skilled trades persons deficit, Canada has created a series of apprenticeship grants available to Canadian citizens, protected persons, and permanent residents.
Keep reading to learn more about the rewards, your eligibility, and how to apply. Plus, get more information on the supporting documents requirements!
What Apprenticeship Grant Opportunities Are Available in Canada?
There are currently three different apprenticeship grant opportunities available in Canada for individuals seeking qualification in a Red Seal trade.
They are:
- The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women (AIG-W)
- The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant (AIG)
- The Apprenticeship Completion Grant (ACG)
The qualifications for each vary, but the rewards range from a good amount per year to help you complete your training.
?What is the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women and How Do I Apply?
At the end of 2018, the Canadian government announced a new interprovincial program called the Apprenticeship Incentive. Grant for Women (AIG-W). Similar to the existing Apprenticeship Incentive Grant(AIG), the AIG attempts to promote the involvement of women in the trades. According to the press release issued at the time, only nine percent of tradespeople are women.
As the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Patty Hajdu explains, “when people start their Red Seal training, they are not only starting down a well-paying, fulfilling career path, they are driving our country forward.”
The AIG-W provides higher grants for its program constituents than other currently available apprenticeship grants. They are open to the following:
- Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons
- Individuals who are no longer in high school
- Individuals who self-identify as a woman
More stipulations may apply; individuals may visit the AIG-W website here for complete information. In addition to the following qualifications, applicants may also have to provide additional supporting documents, be registered in Red Seal trades that are designated as having a low female representation such as cook, baker, and hairstylist, and have already begun Red Seal training.
Here’s How to Apply
You can go here to find the most current deadlines. Here’s what the AIG-W includes:
- A grant of a good amount per level (must be a registered apprentice; the amount is taxable)
Apprentices cannot apply for the grant their first year but may apply twice, once per level, for a total award of $$$. If you’ve successfully passed your technical and on-the-job training, you have progressed and may apply for the next level’s grant.
You can also find a list of Red Seal trades here; trades such as welder, powerline technician, and industrial electrician are examples of trades inwhich women are underrepresented.
What is the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant and How Do I Apply?
The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant (AIG) is a program open to residents of every province and territory in Canada. It’s a Canadian program designed to help fill the demand for skilled workers in trade fields like the industrial electrician and construction worker fields. Here’s how to know if you’re eligible:
- Are you a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a protected person?
- Have you progressed beyond high school?
- Have you completed at least your first year level of training in a designated Red Seal trade?
- Have you registered with your territory or province Red Seal trade as an apprentice?
You will also need to be able to supply AIG support documents, which vary according to where you live. Most provinces and territories, however, require a copy of your Apprenticeship Period Completion Letter or something similar. You can find exact guidelines here.
What Do I Receive With My Grant?
The AIG is designed to help students cover expenses such as housing and food while they train as apprentices in designated Real Seal trades. You must have already completed your first year or level of your training program to apply for the AIG. However, you may apply for it twice during your entire training program.
The reward is $$$ and since you may receive it twice, the maximum award for your entire program is $$$. You should also note that it is taxable.
Here’s How to Apply
You may apply directly online by visiting the AIG website here. Here are the four steps outlined by the website:
- Gather your supporting documents
- Pull together your personal info
- Complete your application online
- Mail or personally deliver your supporting documents
Please note that you have up to 28 calendar days to mail or deliver your supporting documents after you submit your application; you don’t have to have them completely gathered before submitting your online application!
What Kind of Documentation Do I Need?
In addition to your supporting documents that vary depending on your territory or province, if you’re a permanent resident or a protected person, you must also provide additional supporting documents.
Permanent residents must provide a regular SIN, a copy of their status document, a copy of their status document issues by Immigration, or a Verification of Status (VOS) document. Other documents may suffice for these; you can verify what is needed by visiting the AIG here.
What Kind of Personal Information Do I Need to Submit?
To submit your AIG application online, you will need the following information on hand:
- Your bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit (this is how the grant money is distributed)
- Your Social Insurance Number (SIN)
- Your provincial apprentice ID number
How Do I Complete My Application?
AIG states that completing its online application will take approximately half an hour. Please be very careful that your application is complete and does not contain errors. If you cannot complete your application online, you may contact the Apprenticeship Grants office to request a paper company.
Once you’ve completed your paper copy, you may either submit it along with your supporting documents to a Service Canada Centre, or you may mail your application and documents to an Apprenticeship Grant Processing Centre.
Once your application is received–either by mail or online–as well as all supporting documents are in, Apprenticeship Grant Processing Centre typically takes 28 calendar days to process your application and submit ?payment?.
What is the Apprenticeship Completion Grant and How Do I Apply?
The Apprenticeship Completion Grant (ACG) is similar to the AIG, but it’s designed to reward and help establish individuals who have completed their apprenticeship program.
It is a taxable, one-time reward. It is only available to individuals who have become registered apprentices in Red Seal trades (we’ll explain more about the necessary supporting documents shortly) who have completed their training and have received their journey person certification.
A journey person certification, also known as a Certificate of qualification, is awarded to those individuals who have completed their apprenticeship program or who have met all the requirements of their designated Red Seal trade and have successfully passed their certification exam.
Who is Eligible to Apply for the ACG?
Journeypersons are eligible if they are Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons and are not high school students, and they may also be eligible while attending school if they are enrolled in adult learning classes, taking professional development courses, or completing vocational training as part of a Quebec apprenticeship.
How Do I Apply?
If you’ve already applied (and received) an AIG or an AIG-W, the process for applying for the ACG will seem very familiar. You will need to gather supporting materials like your journey person certification or Certificate of qualification and complete your applicationonline here.
There are options for completing a paper application, but either way, you will need the following information available:
- SIN (social insurance number)
- Your provincial apprentice ID number
- Your banking info (routing number and account number) so the grant award can be directly deposited
Once you’ve completed an application that’s error-free, you will need to submit your supporting documentation–you’ll have up to 28 calendar days from the time your application was submitted or mailed in.
Supporting documents vary by province, but here are a few examples:
- Ontario: you’ll need a copy of your Certificate of Qualification issued by the OCOT office AND your MTCU-issued Certificate of Apprenticeship
- Alberta: you’ll need either a copy of your Occupational Certificate or your Journeyman Certificate, both provided by the Government of Alberta, Advanced Education, Apprenticeship and Industry Training
- British Columbia: you’ll need two items, your Certificate of Apprenticeship and your Certificate of Qualification, both provided by the Government of British Columbia, Industry Training Authority
??/pei-home-renovation-program/???You can see all the supporting document requirements by province and territory here.
Once your application has been submitted, and your supporting documents have been delivered or mailed in, the Apprenticeship Grants office will have 28 calendar days to review your request. Upon approval, your grant money will be deposited in your account. You may visit the office’s website here to learn more about the application process.
Apply Today
Each of the apprenticeship grant opportunities we’ve listed has rolling application deadlines, but you should review the eligibility and application requirements before you’re eligible so that you can be ready. Get a jumpstart on your career by taking advantage of these valuable grant rewards. The Apprenticeship Grants office is also available for questions. Good luck!
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