April 19, 2013
Brantford, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today launched consultations with businesses on the Canada Job Grant, an Economic Action Plan 2013 initiative that will create jobs by transforming the way Canadians receive skills training. He was accompanied by Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and Phil McColeman, Member of Parliament for Brant.
“I am pleased to launch consultations on the Canada Job Grant,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “The Canada Job Grant will take skills-training choices out of the hands of government and put them where they belong: in the hands of employers with unfilled jobs and Canadians who want to work.”

Training in Canada is not sufficiently aligned to the skills employers need or to the jobs that are actually available. There are too many jobs that go unfilled in Canada because employers can’t find workers with the right skills. Meanwhile, there are still too many Canadians looking for work.

The Canada Job Grant will transform the way Canadians receive training. Canadians who have an offer for a new job or a better job may qualify for up to $15,000 or more to learn new skills to accept the new or better job, from a $5,000 maximum federal contribution and matching contributions from an employer and province or territory.

Today’s consultation in Brantford is the first of a series of consultations that will take place with stakeholder groups such as employer associations, educational institutions and labour organizations on the design of the Canada Job Grant.