Governments of Canada and New Brunswick finalize agreements to help New Brunswickers get jobs

Key agreements signed for skills training and employment programs

FREDERICTON, June 24, 2014 /CNW/ - The Honourable Rob Moore, Regional Minister for New Brunswick and Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency), on behalf of the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development, along with the Honourable Jody Carr, New Brunswick Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, today announced that three agreements have been signed by the Government of Canada and the Government of New Brunswick to help connect Canadians with available jobs.

The Canada Job Grant is an innovative, employer-driven approach to help Canadians gain the skills and training they need to fill available jobs. It is designed to be flexible enough to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, in all industries and regions. By requiring employers to put more skin in the game, the Canada Job Grant will result in training that leads to guaranteed jobs. The Canada Job Grant will be delivered though the new Canada-New Brunswick Job Fund Agreement (formerly known as a labour market agreement).

Also signed was the new Canada-New Brunswick Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities. With increased employer involvement and a stronger focus on demonstrating the best possible results for Canadians, the new agreement will better connect Canadians with disabilities with available jobs. The LMAPDs are the single largest federal government investment in helping Canadians with disabilities get jobs. Under this agreement, the Government of Canada will provide over $5.9 million per year to New Brunswick, a contribution that will be matched by the province.

Additionally, Canada and New Brunswick signed the renewal of the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers, a federal-provincial/territorial cost-shared initiative that provides unemployed older workers in eligible communities with training to re-enter the workforce. This represents a three-year federal investment of over $2.5 million in New Brunswick.

Quick Facts

• In New Brunswick, as many as 6,000 skilled tradesmen—or 28 percent of the current skilled labour force—are expected to retire within the next few years.
• If approved, the TransCanada Energy East Pipeline project will create more than 3,700 jobs in New Brunswick in the development and construction phases alone. Almost 40 percent of the jobs created will be in engineering and construction in the oil and gas industry.
• The Canada Job Grant will provide employers with up to $10,000 for training costs for an individual worker, including tuition and training materials.
• Approximately 800,000 working-age Canadians with disabilities who are able to work are not currently doing so. Almost half of these individuals have some post-secondary education.
• Since its launch in 2007, the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers has helped over 1,100 unemployed older workers in New Brunswick.

Quotes

"Our government's top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity. The Canada Job Grant is part of our commitment to address the paradox of too many Canadians without jobs in an economy of too many jobs without Canadians. With employers' skin in the game, the Canada Job Grant will lead to a guaranteed job. Helping employers train Canadians for jobs that need to be filled will help their businesses grow and succeed. And that is good news for the New Brunswick economy."
- The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development

"New Brunswick has the potential for a strong economy and employment growth over the coming years. To ensure the Province's prosperity, job openings have to be filled. The agreements signed today will not only help create jobs and opportunities for New Brunswickers, they will also help develop the skilled workforce New Brunswick's economy needs."
- The Honourable Rob Moore, Regional Minister for New Brunswick and Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)

"We are growing our province's economy by focusing on people, skills and jobs. These agreements will allow us to serve New Brunswickers with flexible, responsive employment programs and services that will meet our province's economic needs and challenges. By working with communities, stakeholders and the federal government we will provide more job and career opportunities for vulnerable workers, the unemployed, persons with a disability and older workers while ensuring employers a greater role in training."
- The Honourable Jody Carr, New Brunswick Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour

Associated Links

Canada Job Grant
Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities
Targeted Initiative for Older Workers

---

Backgrounder

---

Canada-New Brunswick Job Fund

The current Labour Market Agreements, created in 2007, are being transformed into the new Canada Job Fund to ensure greater employer involvement in training. Nationally, the Government of Canada will continue to provide $500 million annually to the provinces and territories for investments in skills training through the Canada Job Fund. New Brunswick will continue to receive approximately $11 million—its per capita share of the $500 million.

The Canada Job Fund will include $200 million of employer-driven training nationally, beginning in 2017-18, which may include funding for the Canada Job Grant or other existing employer-driven training programs.

Canada Job Grant

The Canada Job Grant will help Canadians get the training they need for available jobs and put skills training decisions in the hands of employers. It will provide up to $15,000 per person for training costs, such as tuition and training materials, which includes up to $10,000 in federal contributions. Employers will be required to contribute on average one-third of the total costs of training. New Brunswick will be developing the Canada Job Grant over the coming months.

The provinces and territories will have full flexibility on the source of funds for the Canada Job Grant. They may be sourced from provincial/territorial allocations under the Canada Job Fund, the Labour Market Development Agreements or provincial/territorial sources.

The Canada Job Grant will be for short-duration training provided by an eligible third-party trainer, such as community colleges, career colleges, trade union centres and private trainers. Training can be provided in a classroom, on site at a workplace or online.

All private and not-for-profit businesses with a plan to train Canadians for a new or better job will be eligible to apply for a Canada Job Grant, once implemented.

The Canada Job Grant will be flexible enough to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, in all industries and regions. Small businesses will benefit from flexible arrangements, such as the potential to count wages as part of the employer contribution. This will help ensure that all businesses, regardless of size, can fully participate in the Canada Job Grant.

The Canada Job Grant will ensure that employers participate meaningfully as partners in the skills training system, sharing in the associated costs. This will ensure that training is better aligned with job opportunities, particularly in sectors facing skills mismatches and labour shortages.

The Canada Job Grant is strongly supported by employers and other stakeholders including:

• The Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO;
• National Association of Career Colleges;
• Canadian Federation of Independent Business;
• Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters;
• Canadian Construction Association;
• Information Technology Association of Canada;
• Canadian Welding Bureau;
• Engineers Canada;
• Progressive Contractors Association;
• Christian Labour Association of Canada;
• Canadian Home Builders' Association;
• Canadian Shipowners Association;
• Canadian Electricity Association;
• Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating;
• Merit Canada;
• Polytechnics Canada;
• Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada;
• Chemistry Industry Association of Canada; and
• Aerospace Industry Association of Canada.

Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities

As announced in the Economic Action Plan, this new generation of Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities (LMAPDs) represents an investment of $222 million per year by the Government of Canada in the provinces and territories. This will allow provinces and territories flexibility to determine how to best address the needs of Canadians with disabilities, while helping Canadian businesses benefit from their skills and talent.

Additional support for Canadians with disabilities

Through Economic Action Plan 2014, the Government of Canada is providing:

• $15 million over three years to the Ready, Willing & Able initiative of the Canadian Association for Community Living to help connect Canadians with developmental disabilities with jobs; and
• $11.4 million over four years to support the expansion of vocational training programs for Canadians with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

To further help Canadians with disabilities in the workforce, the Government:

• announced a $10 million increase in ongoing support for the Opportunities Fund, to $40 million annually. The Opportunities Fund helps Canadians with disabilities to prepare for, obtain and keep employment, or become self-employed.
• extended the Enabling Accessibility Fund on an ongoing basis at $15 million per year to improve accessibility in facilities across Canada, including workplaces; and 
• provided funding of $7 million per year for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, some of which will support research related to the labour market participation of people with disabilities.

Targeted Initiative for Older Workers

The Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW) is a federal-provincial/territorial cost-shared initiative that provides unemployed older workers (normally between the ages of 55 and 64) with employment assistance services, skills upgrading and work experience. The TIOW assists unemployed older workers in small communities of 250,000 or less that are experiencing high unemployment and/or significant downsizing or closures to re-integrate into the workforce. As announced in Economic Action Plan 2014, the TIOW is being renewed for a three-year period, representing a federal investment of $75 million. The TIOW is also being expanded to include communities experiencing unfulfilled employer demand and/or skills mismatches so that communities with tighter labour markets can participate in the initiative, particularly if they have vacant jobs that could be filled by unemployed older workers.

SOURCE: Canada's Economic Action Plan

Alexandra Fortier
Office of the Minister
819-994-2482

Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
[email protected]
Follow us on Twitter

Tyler Campbell
Communications
Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour (New Brunswick)
506-444-3194
[email protected]