Program Overview

BJO is an application-based grant program that provides unemployed individuals with financial support for skills training, up to two years in duration, to transition them into in- demand occupations. This program is available to unemployed individuals who have been laid-off or are from a low-income household experiencing challenges attaching to the labour market. Over 4,000 individuals started skills training in 24-25 training in occupations like transport truck driving, medical administration, personal support worker, and heavy equipment operating.

Financial assistance granted through BJO can help with training costs and living expenses such as tuition, books, other instructional costs, transportation, and basic living allowance. Additional funding may be available for dependent care, disability-related costs, living away from home allowance, and all costs related to Get SET (Skills, Education and Training) and/or language upgrading training.

The intention of the BJO program is to help eligible individuals rapidly attach to employment by the most cost-effective path. Additional information about the program can be found in the program guidelines.

The BJO Guidelines provide the required information and policy direction needed to deliver the BJO program. These are intended for ministry staff, external organizations responsible for the delivery of BJO, and the general public. The guidelines can be found on the BJO Guidelines page.

To be eligible, individuals must:

• have been laid off and be unemployed; or
• be from a low-income household and experiencing challenges attaching to the labour market.

In addition to the above criteria, individuals must:

• be a resident of Ontario
• be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• not be ineligible pursuant to Section 2.3.5; and
• demonstrate occupational demand for the skills training request with evidence of good employment prospects locally or within Ontario.

For the purposes of BJO, laid off individuals include those:

• whose fixed-term employment contract has expired.
• who have received Employment Insurance (EI) maternity or parental benefits and

are seeking to re-enter the labour force.

• who, due to medical reasons, have left work.
• who were laid off and then became self-employed.

Individuals who have been laid off from their last job, which they held in another country may be considered, if they can provide evidence that they have been laid off.

Individuals who were laid off can be considered unemployed if they:

• are working less than an average of 20 hours/week; and/or
• have accepted an interim job, after their initial lay-off as defined below:

• • An interim job is taken by an individual while seeking better employment after their initial layoff. An interim job must be a low-skill level job ( i.e., National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) category 5).
  • These jobs may be full-time, part-time, seasonal, or self-employment, temporary, gig, contract or other forms of non-standard work. To be considered an interim job, the individual must have held it for no longer than 12 months following their layoff.
  • More information on NOC 2021 can be found on Employment and Social Development Canada’s website and under the “Skills Training” section.

Whether an individual receives a salary continuance, severance pay, or EI benefits does not impact their eligibility for BJO. However, any income will be taken into consideration in the assessment of household income.

An individual can qualify for BJO through the “low-income household with challenges attaching to the labour market” pathway if they meet the following four criteria:

• Have not been laid off and do not otherwise meet the definition of “laid off and unemployed”
• Have been unemployed for 12 weeks or longer, defined as meeting one of the criteria below:
  • without work but actively seeking employment and available to start work.
  • not working more than an average of 20 hours per week.
  • engaging in unincorporated or incorporated self-employment with or without a business number for an average of 20 hours per week or less.

If the individual is in receipt of social assistance, the following criteria do not apply:

•  Are part of a household where the combined income of the applicant and their spouse/partner is at or below the following BJO low-income thresholds outlined in the BJO Application for Financial Assistance:

• Have had a two-year period where they did not attend high school (full-time, part-time, or academic upgrading), except if they have left full-time high school and participated in Get SET (Skills, Education and Training) programming within the last two years.

The following individuals are ineligible for BJO:

• Individuals participating in a Work Sharing agreement organized by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
• Individuals (including Feepayers) who begin skills training before being approved by the ministry will not be approved to participate in BJO.
• Individuals are not eligible if they quit or were terminated from their job less than 12 months before applying to BJO with the following two exceptions:
  • For the “laid-off and unemployed” pathway, individuals who quit or were terminated from an interim job within the past year, after being laid off, may be eligible for BJO.
  • For the “low-income household with challenges attaching to the labour market” pathway, individuals who quit or were terminated from a low skilled job (NOC 2021, TEER category 5 occupations) within the past year while seeking better employment are eligible for BJO.

The following individuals are also ineligible:

• individuals who are currently enrolled in or have completed a skills training program in the last two years (24 months) with Ontario government funding [including but not limited to, training supported through: BJO, Canada Ontario Job Grant (COJG), Ontario Bridge Training Program (OBTP), Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), Skills Advance Ontario (SAO), Skills Development Fund (SDF)]. This includes funding received directly or indirectly through SPs.
• individuals who have not had a 12-month break from formal education following secondary school.

• individuals who left their employment temporarily to take a leave of absence, with an anticipated return. A leave of absence, for the purposes of BJO, means that the individual is still tied to their employer; therefore they are not considered unemployed.
• individuals with the 900 series Social Insurance Numbers.

Individuals who are currently enrolled in or have completed skills training (under 40 hours) or assessment under the Adjustment Advisory Program and require skills training longer than 40 hours may be eligible for referral to BJO, and may qualify for funding, pending the meeting of eligibility and suitability requirements.

For consideration under the BJO program, individuals are assessed against seven criteria, each having two or three measurable indicators of suitability. The criteria are based on the needs of individuals and the economy. The criteria reflect characteristics, experiences, and barriers that demonstrate whether skills training is appropriate for individuals to support attachment to the labour market. Those individuals who meet or exceed the baseline score will be considered suitable for the BJO program. Individuals who score below the baseline may be redirected to other EO and community services and programs.

As specified in the Application Recommendation and Checklist (ARC) form, every BJO application (except for Feepayers) must include a completed BJO Eligibility and Suitability Assessment Tool from the Employment Ontario Information System (EOIS)- Case Management System (CaMS). If the tool is not submitted, or submitted outside of EOIS-CaMS, the application will be sent back to the SP.

The baseline BJO suitability score is 16. Individuals who meet or exceed the baseline score will be considered suitable for the BJO program. Individuals who do not meet the baseline score may be considered for BJO if a SP submits a suitability exception request on the Application Recommendation and Checklist (ARC) form. These individuals can also be redirected to other Employment Ontario and/or community programs and services. Suitability thresholds may be adjusted periodically based on evolving labour market needs and/or client demand.

If someone is planning to pursue training that will lead to work in a field with “good” or “very good” provincial employment prospects (3-year career outlooks) as identified on the Ontario Labour Market Information website, they will automatically receive the highest possible score in the following sections: Active Job Search, Duration of Unemployment and Work History. This means that clients who have selected training with favourable labour market prospects (as demonstrated on the Ontario Labour Market website) can automatically receive up to 9 points in their suitability score to increase their chances of faster program access.

The NOC provides a systematic classification structure that categorizes the entire range of occupational activity in Canada. The NOC is used to analyze labour market information and support employment-related program administration. NOC 2021 introduced a new six-category (0 – 5) system representing the degree of Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) required for entry into an occupation.

The BJO program currently uses the NOC 2021 system as criteria for all major facets of the program, including eligibility, suitability, eligible skills training, labour market research, assessment, and data entry.

BJO skills training is allowable for NOC 2021 TEER category 2, 3 or 4 occupations and equivalent with good employment prospects in Ontario.

BJO skills training must be:

• vocational in nature (i.e., occupation‑specific training that prepares individuals for a specific job, emphasizing practical skills over theory alone).
• lead to a recognized credential.
• deliver all the skills and knowledge required to gain employment in a specific occupation
• designed for an occupation for which the individual can demonstrate occupational demand and evidence of good employment prospects, locally or within Ontario

The training period (time between the start and end date, including breaks/vacation and

placement) cannot exceed two years. However, the ministry may extend the duration of participation in BJO if required to accommodate participants with disabilities.

Before beginning skills training, an individual may participate in Get SET or language training for up to one calendar year (12 months), if it is necessary for the applicant to be able to participate in the skills training. For these individuals, the total training period cannot exceed three years.

For example, an individual could participate in a 6-month academic upgrading program through Get SET before entering into a two-year BJO skills training program.

BJO participants can receive training at Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, Career Colleges, Indigenous Institutes, universities, and school boards across Ontario.

Participants may receive up to $28,000 for training that is 1 year or less in duration or $35,000 for programs that are more than 1 year and up to 2 years in duration. Funding can support training-related costs such as tuition, books, and other instructional costs. Based on a financial assessment. Participants can also receive support for transportation, basic living allowance, and a training access payment.

The following costs can be supported by the ministry in addition to the maximums noted above: disability needs, dependent care, living away from home allowance and all costs related to Get SET and/or language training.

Basic Living Allowance (BLA) and transportation funding are intended to improve a participant’s ability to access and complete training. BLA is intended to support a participant’s basic living expenses, such as rent/mortgage, food, and utilities while they attend skills training.

Transportation costs are available for participants required to attend in-person training
and/or in-person practicums/placements. BJO provides a weekly flat rate of $45/week, adjusted based on the BJO Income Adjustment Thresholds.

BLA is a weekly flat rate that is adjusted by the participant’s household income. For BJO participants who are not receiving EI benefits during their skills training, the flat BLA rate before income adjustment is $500/week. For BJO participants receiving EI benefits during their skills training, the flat BLA rate before income adjustment is $500/week minus their EI income. If a participant’s EI income is equal to or greater than $500/week, then the flat BLA rate is $0. Spousal/partner EI income will reduce BLA only by any amounts over the BJO Income Adjustment Thresholds.

A $500/week Basic Living Allowance (BLA) and $45/week transportation allowance combines to $545/week. This support will only be provided at an amount that brings household income to no higher than the following,  weekly income thresholds, before-tax:

Participants who have an overall income (including spouse/common law partner income, where applicable) that exceeds their related income threshold will not be eligible for BLA or transportation funding.

Any monies that are or will be received by the participant and/or their spouse/common law partner during the skills training period, from an employer or any other person (including a trustee in bankruptcy), are considered household income.

Income from all sources, subject to the exceptions identified below, must be included. This includes spousal support, part-time employment income, self-employment income, income derived from gig-work, EI benefits, pension, allocation of earnings, severance pay, income from a rental property and income from investments received by the individual and/or their spouse/partner during BJO participation.

The following categories of financial support are not to be included in the calculation of

household income for BJO:

• Social assistance payments (such as Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program)
• Dedicated financial support for persons with disabilities such as Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities (ACSD), Special Services at Home (SSAH) and other disability supports for children, and the Canada Disability Benefit.
• Supports dedicated to the care of children such as Canada Child Benefit, Ontario Child Benefit; child support payments (however, spousal support/alimony is to be included in calculation of household income), Ontario Child Benefit Equivalent (OCBE) savings program, compensation from the First Nations Child and Family Services, Jordan’s Principle and Trout Class Settlement Agreements and continued care and support for youth provided by a Children’s Aid Society such as Ready Set Go.
• Tax benefits/credits such as the Ontario Sales Tax Credit, Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit and the Northern Ontario Energy Credit.
• Some housing benefit payments provided to eligible households designed to make rental housing more affordable, such as the Canada Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB).
• Indigenous land claim settlement and treaty annuity payments that result from an agreement between Indigenous persons and Canada and/or Ontario are fully exempt as income and assets for the purposes of BJO. This is a general exemption that applies to all payments made pursuant to a land claim settlement agreement with Canada and/or Ontario. The Ministry may request associated information or documentation at its discretion.

Income received by any other individual living in the household that is not the participant’s spouse/common law partner is not to be included in the calculation of household income for BJO.

No, they do not. Section 25 of the Employment Insurance Act allows individuals who receive EI regular benefits to take part in training programs and other employment activities that will facilitate their return to the labour force by exempting them from their obligation to actively look and be available for work. The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development has the authority to issue a Section 25 approval request under the Labour Market Development Agreement and can do so for clients participating in BJO.

Participants in receipt of EI benefits will have their funding adjusted based on the BJO Income Threshold.

BJO applicants should call Service Canada at 1-800-206-7218 if they have any questions regarding their EI claim. Individuals in receipt of EI special benefits should be referred to Service Canada to transfer to EI Regular benefits prior to submitting their BJO application so that the ministry can issue a Section 25 approval.

Yes, it is the client’s responsibility to notify their SA caseworker to determine how their participation in the BJO program may affect their benefits received through Ontario Works (OW) or Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) (i.e., income support and/or health benefits). OW / ODSP health benefits may continue to be available to participants and their family if they exit OW or ODSP due to income from BJO.

Both, OSAP and BJO support Ontarians to meet their skills development, training, and other educational goals. BJO provides grant support for tuition and other costs related to training linked directly to the clients’ employment goals and in support of in-demand labour market needs. OSAP offers a mix of grants and loans to financially support people to take an eligible post-secondary program. OSAP does not have eligibility criteria related to employment goals or labour market needs.

To be approved for BJO, applicants are required to have been out of school for at least one year for the laid-off and unemployed pathway and two years for the low-income household with challenges attaching to the labour market pathway (if not in receipt of social assistance) whereas OSAP is open to Ontario residents of any age who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons.

Applicants intending to apply to both BJO and OSAP should be advised by their service provider that they must be assessed for financial needs first by BJO. OSAP applications should be put on hold while BJO financial needs assessments are complete.