Program Overview

On March 28, 2014, Ontario signed the Canada-Ontario Job Fund Agreement with the federal government. The agreement is a key source of funding for new, employer-driven, training initiatives and represents an opportunity for the province to engage more effectively with employers to support Ontarians in obtaining the skills required to fill and succeed in available jobs. Under the agreement, Ontario delivers the Canada-Ontario Job Grant.

The grant provides direct financial support for employers who wish to purchase training for their workforce. In this grant program, employers choose the individuals they would like to have trained, and the training that meets their workforce development needs.

This program is intended to support employers in taking a greater role in workforce development. The cost of training is a shared investment between employers and the government.

Employers

• Identify training needs and training participants
• Submit Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) applications
• Enter into COJG agreements, including:
  • understanding and agreeing to the employer contributions
  • providing payment for training
  • coordinating training with the training provider
  • participating in creation of job placement agreements for participants (if applicable)
  • providing required documents to receive payments
  • participating in follow-up process.

Participants

• Provide information on the Participant Registration Form
• Attend training and job placement (if applicable)
• Participate in follow-up process

Trainers

• Develop and deliver the training
• Declare any conflict of interest between the employer and training participants on attestation forms
• Enter into an agreement with the employer
• Provide relevant business information required for the employer to input on the COJG application

Service Providers

• Administer agreements with employers who apply for COJG including:
  • creation of service plans for employers and participants
  • oversight of job placement agreements for participants (if applicable)
  • issuing payments to employers
  • conducting monitoring of training in employer agreements
  • performing follow-up with employers and participants
• Conduct outreach with employers to raise program awareness
• Assist employers in their needs development and where necessary in preparation of COJG applications
• Refer employers to other services to meet their needs
• Verify employer and individual eligibility to enter program data into CaMs
• Create and maintain employer and individual service plans
• Review, assess and make funding decisions for COJG employer applications
• Manage government funding contribution to training including
• Validating employer payments to training providers
• Recovery of training funds refunded by training providers due to cancellation, early termination, etc.

​​​​The Ministry (MLITSD)

• Administer agreements and perform standard contract management with Service Providers
• Support Service Provider employer agreements requiring Section 25 approvals for participants​​​​​​​.

The COJG is administered by the COJG service provider who will make grant funding decisions and manage/administer grant agreements with employers.

The COJG supports eligible training costs up to a maximum of $10,000 per trainee, with additional flexibility for small employers. Moreover, small employers (less than 100 employees) who are training and hiring unemployed individuals may be eligible for 100% funding and up to $15,000 per trainee. The 100% funding eligibility will be automatically assessed by the service provider responsible for assessing the application.

Eligible training costs are as follows:

• Tuition or other reasonable training provider fees
• Textbooks, software and other required materials such as; training clothing, tools, equipment and disability supports (Maximum support is $500 for each trainee)
  • Other required materials cannot be the price of new equipment or the combination cost of training and new equipment.
• Mandatory student fees
• Examination fees
• Travel costs (Maximum support is $500 per trainee and is only supported if the trainee is travelling over 24 km each way)

If the employer has a travel costs policy, travel costs will be supported according to the employer’s policy up to the maximum $500 per trainee.

Employers that wish to access the grant are responsible for identifying the particular skills gaps they wish to address, the types of training that would address those gaps, and the specific individuals they would like to see trained.

Employers must provide a cash contribution towards the cost of training. Some additional flexibility is available for small employers.

Employers are solely responsible to cover the cost of training that falls under the employer financial contribution. Employers are not to recover these costs at the expense of their employees/training participants, at any given time.

Employers accessing the grant must also commit to having a job for the individual upon training completion. For exceptional circumstances, this may involve entering into a job placement agreement with an unemployed individual that would commence during or after training.

Small employers (less than 100 employees) are required to make minimum one-sixth cash contributions towards eligible training costs. Large employers (100 or more employees) are required to make minimum one-half cash contribution towards eligible training costs. Where an employer makes the minimum contribution of the eligible training costs, the grant will pay remaining eligible training costs, up to a maximum of $10,000 per individual.

Small employers (less than 100 employees) who are training and hiring unemployed individuals may be eligible for 100% funding and up to $15,000 per trainee. The application will be automatically assessed for 100% funding.

A minimum one-sixth (one-half for large employers) contribution must be made for each participating individual (i.e., an employer cannot contribute more than one-sixth for some individuals and less than one-third for others).

As Canada-Ontario Job Grant is an employer-driven training program, employers are solely responsible for making the employer contribution payments to their selected training providers. Employers must not request that training participants pay for the cost of training (full or employer’s contribution) or attempt to recoup training costs following the completion of training.

No. Only requests for funding that have been approved prior to the start of the training are eligible for funding. Applications submitted after the start or completion of training are not eligible for Canada-Ontario Job Grant funding.

If any training changes occur after the COJG training agreement has been signed, the employer is to immediately notify the service provider. Some common changes that may occur include, but are not limited to:

• Change in training start and/or end date
• Change in training duration
• Change of training curriculum
• Change in number of participants attending training
• Change to cost of training

An agreement amendment may be required depending on the changes affecting training. Any financial changes, specifically in instances when an employer receives a refund from the training provider, may result in decrease of the ministry contribution and/or overpayment for the employer.

In cases when an overpayment has been established, the employer is required to return funds owing to the service provider.

Employer overpayments may deem them ineligible for future COJG funding, until the funds have been returned to the Ministry.

For the purpose of Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG), a conflict of interest includes any circumstances where the employer, or training provider, or any person who has the capacity to influence the employer’s or training provider’s decisions, has outside commitments, relationships or financial interests that could, or could be seen to, interfere with the COJG program objectives and integrity.

All parties involved in COJG funding, must disclose any, actual or potential, conflicts of interest involving the employer, training participants or product vendors. The Employer must disclose the conflict of interest to the service provider and take necessary steps to resolve the conflict or decide to move forward with a different training provider. Failure to follow direction on conflict of interest disclosure and its resolution, if applicable, may lead to the denial of a COJG application.

Individual private and not-for-profit sector employers, First Nations and organizations acting on behalf of employers (including union training halls, industry associations, and training coordinators that meet the requirements below) are eligible to apply for the grant. Eligibility criteria apply to all employers regardless of whether they are training one or multiple individuals.

An employer must:

• make minimum cash contributions towards training costs
• employ the individual selected for training. Higher priority is given to employers who are training and hiring unemployed individuals. If the employer has hired an unemployed individual to fill a vacancy, the offer of employment can be conditional upon the individual having completed training and subject to the employer’s regular probationary period
• be licensed to operate in Ontario
• be applying for training that is delivered in Ontario and is related to a job that is also located in Ontario
• comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Employment Standards Act
• maintain appropriate Workplace Safety and Insurance Board or private workplace safety insurance coverage
• have adequate third-party general liability insurance, as advised by its insurance broker
• comply with all applicable federal and provincial human rights legislation, regulations, and any other relevant standards.

An employer must not:

• be a federal, provincial or municipal government and/or agency
• be a designated broader public sector organization, as defined by the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act
• be district social services administration boards established under the District Social Services Administration Boards Act (notwithstanding their exclusion under the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act)
• be a Canada-Ontario Job Grant service provider, or an Employment Service provider
• be currently in receipt of other government funds related to the same skills training for the same individual (e.g., Employment Service)
• use training participants to displace existing staff or replace staff who are on lay-off.
• compel individual participants to pay any part of the employers COJG contribution related to training, either directly or indirectly. The employer’s contribution is the employer’s alone.

Funding requests for employers who have previously received COJG funding would have past training outcomes taken into consideration as part of their COJG application assessment. Positive outcomes from previous COJG training include, but are not limited to, training participants moving from:

• Unemployment to part-time or full-time employment
• Part-time to full time employment
• Seasonal employment to year-round employment
• Lay-off notice to stable employment
• Lower wages to higher wages and a better position

Employer will be deemed ineligible for future funding, if they if they did not meet their obligations associated with the previously approved application or have been found to have provided false information to the ministry, including providing information to circumvent the program guidelines.

All applications from employers or trainers associate with individual(s), who have previously misused the program through another organization will also be deemed ineligible for COJG funding.

The employer will also be deemed ineligible if:

• They do not follow through on anticipated action post-training, as outlined in the COJG funding application.
• Documentation requested by the service provider is not submitted.
• Failed to inform the service provider of a participant(s) withdrawal from training, and the Ministry was still required to pay for the training.
• Approved for multiple grants in the past but withdrew or did not follow through on training.
• Ministry’s quality assurance processes, audits, surveys and any other means of verifying information on previous applications reveal that false or misleading information was provided to the Ministry.

As per the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, a “designated broader public sector organization” means,

• every hospital,
• every school board,
• every university in Ontario and every college of applied arts and technology and post-secondary institution in Ontario whether or not affiliated with a university, the enrolments of which are counted for purposes of calculating annual operating grants and entitlements,
• every approved agency designated as a children’s aid society under subsection 15 (2) of Part I of the Child and Family Services Act,
• every community care access corporation,
• every corporation controlled by one or more designated broader public sector organizations that exists solely or primarily for the purpose of purchasing goods or services for the designated broader public sector organization or organizations,
• every publicly funded organization that received public funds of 10 million dollars or more in the previous fiscal year of the Government of Ontario, and
• every organization that is prescribed for the purposes of this definition; (“organisme désigné du secteur parapublic”).

Crown corporations’ eligibility depends on whether the organization is a government agency and/or designated under the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act.

Crown corporations that are agencies and/or designated under the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act are ineligible for Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) funding. In all other cases, crown corporations would be eligible for COJG funding.

Yes. An employer may apply for the grant more than once, as long as they continue to meet the employer eligibility criteria.

As there is a limited budget for the grant, applications will be assessed on an individual basis and prior funding does not entitle an employer to future funding. However, employers who have not received funding in the past six months will be given a higher priority.

Funding requests from employers who have already accessed the program in the past, would outcomes of previous COJG training factored into the employer funding decision. Positive outcomes from previous COJG training include, but are not limited to, training participants moving from:

• Unemployment to part-time or full-time employment
• Part-time to full time employment
• Seasonal employment to year-round employment
• Lay-off notice to stable employment
• Lower wages to higher wages and a better position

For the COJG program, organizations that share the same Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) number are considered to be the same employer. This applies to different branches of a company and franchises with the same CRA number.

There is no specific policy that precludes employers from having more than one training agreement running concurrently. However, each training plan would be required to stand on its own merit and be assessed against the priorities of the program.

However, employers who have received funding in the past six months will be given a lower priority on the subsequent applications. In situations where funding is limited, lower priority applications may not be approved.

The difference between Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 employers under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is simply a matter of classification as it relates to how claims are administered. Being Schedule 2 employer does not preclude you from being eligible for the program. This eligibility requirement under the program is to ensure that employers applying for the program have complied with legal requirements by having appropriate coverage for their employees in the event of an accident.

Training must meet the following criteria:

• Be delivered in Ontario
• Related to a job that is located in Ontario
• Not exceed one year in duration
• Be provided by an eligible training institution
• Must not have already started
• Online training that is eligible to be funded can be a blended model and is not limited to in-person training/modules.
• Each application is restricted to one course. Multiple modules of one course may be accepted but must be delivered by the same training provider to the same individuals.

Eligible Training Institutions

As outlined in Section 2.3.1 of the Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) guidelines, training must be provided by must be provided by one of the following third-party providers:

• Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology
• Publicly-assisted universities
• Publicly assisted Indigenous Institutes
• School boards
• Private trainers operating in compliance with the Career Colleges Act, 2005
• Product vendors (Only eligible to deliver training that is unrelated to the use of the product or service).
  • For the purpose of the Canada-Ontario Job Grant, product vendor training is defined as any training where the vendor is involved in the creation/sale of the product and is also conducting the training. “Product” refers to business-related materials purchased by the employer.
• Union-based training centres;
• Sector Councils; and,
• Industry Associations

Ineligible Training

• The ministry will not provide Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) funding to an employer for training the employer must provide according to law
• Product vendors are ineligible to deliver training on how to use the product or service
• Executive training courses (specifically MBA, CFA)
• Preparatory training courses (specifically LSAT, MCAT, GMAT)
• Business Consulting services
  • Business consulting services are defined as any situation where the proposed “training” would consist of a review of the business or organization rather than the development or improvement of skills for training participants.
• Attending conferences
• Business owners, including individuals with a controlling interest in corporations, are not eligible as trainees.
• Training requests for trainees who are in senior management positions with large organizations (over 500 employees) are ineligible for COJG funding.
  • Trainees who are managers at small and medium employers (less than 500 employees) are still eligible for COJG funding
  • Senior Manager positions are defined by the 2016 National Occupational Code (NOC); the positions with NOC “00” Senior Management Occupations are ineligible.
• Training that exceeds one year in duration
• Membership fees, subscription fees, annual fees, and professional association fees are all ineligible for COJG funding.

The Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) program does not have an appeal process thus the employer will need to resubmit a new application for consideration.

If a COJG application is denied on the basis that the training requested has been determined to be business consulting, the employer may want to provide additional proof that the training requested involves no aspects of business consulting.

If a COJG application is denied on the basis that the training requested has been determined to be product vendor training, the employer may want to consider changing their training provider.

It is recommended that employers carefully read and fully understand the definitions of business consulting and product vendor training, as outlined in the Employer Training Deck, prior to the submission of a COJG application.

If an institution has been issued a notice, order and/or financial penalty that has not been rectified they are not in compliance with the Act and are therefore ineligible to be a trainer under the Canada-Ontario Job Grant.

Information related to notices, orders and financial penalties issued under the PCCA, 2005 can be found on the Notices, Orders and Financial Penalties site.

If an institution is found on the Notices, Orders and Financial Penalties site, the employer must request proof from the institution that they have rectified the sited problems. It is the trainer’s responsibility to demonstrate they have rectified the issue that generated the notice, order and/or financial penalty.

Training supported through the grant focuses on occupation-specific skills that address more immediate gaps or needs identified by an employer.

Offering training of up-to-one year in duration allows grant resources to be directed towards addressing the immediate skills gaps identified by employers.

The training agreement cannot exceed one year in duration (i.e. 52 weeks). Breaks or multiple modules are allowable within that one year (i.e., 12 months). Therefore, the training must all take place within the year. If the employer would like further training or additional courses that exceed the year, they must submit a separate Employer Application Form. Applications are assessed on an individual basis and, because of the limited budget, there is no guarantee that additional training will be approved.

No. Apprenticeship training is not eligible for funding under the COJG. In-class apprenticeship training is already funded by the ministry through the In-Class Enhancement Fund.

COJG does not cover training that an employer would be required to provide according to law. In some cases, an employee is required to have a certification/training according to law but it is not the employer’s responsibility to provide it. In those circumstances, the training is eligible for funding under COJG.

A training provider’s previous experience participating in COJG projects will be considered. A trainer may not be able to participate if:

• They have been found to have abused COJG funding in the past; or
• The controlling parties of the trainer, either as individuals or as the controlling party of another organization, were found to have abused COJG funding in the past.

A qualified instructor must have experience working in the vocation or teaching a program to prepare a student for the vocation.

The specifics on trainer qualifications and other program requirements are outlined in the new Canada-Ontario Job Grant – Employer and Training Provider Information Sheet located on the Employment Ontario Partners’ Gateway (EOPG) that will accompany the attestation form.

No. An individual is not eligible to apply directly. Individuals working with an employment service provider may be recommended to an employer to hire, however, it is the employer’s choice who to hire and train.

All people who are: residents of Ontario and either a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person, and meet the eligibility requirements below, are eligible to participate in training funded through COJG.

Eligibility requirements are as follows:

• Employed individuals must be identified by their employer.
• Unemployed individuals must also be sponsored by an employer, demonstrated through a permanent or conditional offer of employment.
• An individual must not be participating in full-time training or education or any other government training intervention that offers funding support for same tuition, books or other training related costs (e.g., Second Career).

In the COJG context, full-time training is defined by the training provider.

To be eligible to participate in COJG, an individual must be either employed by the employer or have a permanent or conditional offer of employment. In the context of this program, an individual is eligible to participate in COJG if they are considered an employee of the organization and are (or will be) on the employer’s payroll.

If an individual is paid on commission only, they may still be eligible if they are considered an employee of the organization.

“Individuals with a 900-series SIN and an open work permit who have received preliminary approval from the federal government and are waiting for their permanent residence status to be finalized are eligible to apply for the full range of Employment Ontario programs, depending on the program’s eligibility and suitability requirements.”

You can read the memo further by visiting: Access to Employment Ontario Programs for Individuals with 900-Series Social Insurance Numbers (gov.on.ca)

Should you have any questions, please contact the Employment Ontario Contact Centre at their toll-free number: 1-800-387-5656, or through the TTY line: 1-866-533-6339.

Business owners, including individuals with a controlling interest in corporations, are not eligible as trainees under COJG. Since the employer decides who the COJG trainees will be it would be a conflict of interest for a business owner (or majority shareholder) to be designated a trainee.

Trainees can only participate in one training course at a time and may not repeat the same training. Trainees may be put forward by their employer to participate in subsequent training through a separate application.

Income support status is not an eligibility criteria for individuals to participate in the Grant. Decisions are made based on personal circumstances. It is up to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services or Ontario Works delivery agents to determine whether participants will continue to receive their Ontario Works benefits while taking part in training through COJG.

Assessment on the provision of disability supports will be made on a case-by-case basis by the service provider. Each request should demonstrate that training would not be possible for the participant without the support being provided and it should be clear that the participant’s success hinges on the requested supports being in place.

Yes. Service providers should fill-out the Section 25 form and send it to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to process, so that clients will not be cut-off during their participation in training.

If the client’s EI claim is pending, the service provider should submit the form to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and the ministry will action (as appropriate) once a decision has been made regarding the EI claim.

No. There is no income support for trainees provided by the Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJG) program; however, trainees may be able to continue their Employment Insurance benefit while in training under COJG. The Canada-Ontario Job Fund Agreement specifies that the Grant may only be used to support training costs such as tuition, textbooks software and other required materials, mandatory student fees and examination fees. Costs outside of these categories are not permitted.

In exceptional circumstances where a job placement has been identified as an appropriate service, participating employers and individuals may receive financial incentives.

The grant is not taxable to individuals if the employer pays the tuition. However, if a third party pays the tuition on behalf of the employer, it may become taxable.

An employer in receipt of a Canada-Ontario Job Grant must declare the grant as revenue on their tax return. Employers are encouraged to consult with their accountant for any tax advice.

Taxes can be included in the cost of training covered under COJG if the employer is paying them and will not get those taxes reimbursed.

If the employer is getting the taxes back, they can only claim the portion of training cost they will not be reimbursed on.

Under exceptional circumstances, job placements are available to employers hiring unemployed individuals to fill job vacancies, and who wish to use the grant to purchase existing training for their new hires.

Individuals who the employers feel require a placement need to be assessed by a service provider.

Job placements would only be available to employers and the individuals they have identified for training if all of the following exceptional circumstances are met:

• The employer has hired an unemployed individual to fill a job vacancy (i.e., job placements do not apply where a new hire has not taken place and incumbent workers are training for same or new position).
• The individual has barriers to employment that have been identified by the service provider and that may impact the individual’s long-term labour market attachment.
• The employer has indicated that the offer of employment is conditional upon the individual’s completion of training, and that they would like to assess the individual’s performance on the job prior to hiring them permanently.

Job placements offered as part of Canada-Ontario Job Grant must not exceed four months in duration and may begin during or following completion of training, (based on occupational requirements and the nature of skills training). Exceptions to the maximum four months duration may be made for persons with disabilities.

An employer cannot receive multiple incentives for the same individual. A placement incentive is meant to offset additional costs the employer might incur as a result of the placement (e.g., additional supervisory costs, administration, job orientation, etc.) so it would not be appropriate to receive ministry funds more than once for the same individual. Placement incentives are not to be used to offset wages.

Please contact the Employment Ontario Contact Centre at their toll-free number: 1-800-387-5656, or through the TTY line: 1-866-533-6339, or on the ministry’s website. General information on the grant can be found on the employer window.

Gift cards may be used in exceptional circumstances to address specific needs of clients who are facing barriers in reaching their employment goals. An exceptional circumstance includes, but is not limited to, clients that are facing immediate financial hardship and require the urgent purchase of resources. Decisions should always be based on value for money.

Service providers must obtain itemized receipts verifying that gift cards were used to purchase eligible items. All receipts must be retained in the client file.

In this case, service providers are encouraged to purchase the item for the client.

No, gift cards may not be used to reward clients for participating in Employment Ontario activities.

Gift cards for gas may be considered as a last resort if public transportation is not available, for example, in rural or remote communities. They should not be purchased in bulk and may not be purchased in denominations greater than $100. Receipts for gas cards must be retained, and if possible, receipts for the gas purchases should be obtained as well.

Service providers may use gift cards from these stores in exceptional circumstances and must ensure they obtain receipts verifying that gift cards were used to purchase eligible items. All receipts must be retained in the client file. However, the recommended approach would be for the service provider to purchase supports with their corporate account on behalf of the client.

No, gift cards should only be purchased as needed.

These gift cards may be used in exceptional circumstances to address the specific needs of clients who are facing barriers in reaching their employment goals. Service providers must obtain receipts verifying that gift cards were used to purchase eligible items. All receipts must be retained in the client file.

Service providers must obtain receipts verifying that gift cards were used to purchase eligible items. All receipts must be retained in the client file.

Service providers must attempt to recover the funds for the unverified purchase pursuant to the wrongdoing clauses in their transfer payment agreements.

Service providers must attempt to recover the funds for the value of the ineligible purchase pursuant to the wrongdoing clauses in their transfer payment agreements.

A client with a balance remaining on their gift card must return it to the service provider.

No, service providers should review the Audit and Accountability Requirements (Schedule “H”) of their transfer payment agreements to determine appropriate program-specific use of financial supports.