Feds open proposals to help equity-deserving groups get apprenticeship training
The federal government has opened two requests for proposals aimed at helping equity-deserving groups, including women, get the apprenticeship training and support they need to enter the skilled trades workforce.
Under Stream 2 (Innovation in Apprenticeship) of the Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP), the Government of Canada is investing up to $55 million over five years, beginning in 2023–2024. This will help fund projects that seek to improve the participation of apprentices in Red Seal trades who are women, newcomers, persons with disabilities, Indigenous people, and racialized individuals, including through mentorship, career services and job matching.
The call also targets projects that will support the development of environmental skills for Canada’s transition to a clean economy.
Under the Women in Skilled Trades Initiative, the government is investing up to $43.5 million over four years, beginning in 2023–2024, to support projects that aim to recruit and retain women apprentices in 39 eligible Red Seal trades found predominantly in the construction and manufacturing sectors.
“Canada needs more skilled trades workers. That’s why we’re focused on helping traditionally marginalized persons – women, persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQI+, Indigenous peoples, and racialized people – get the resources and training they need to start a career in the skilled trades,” said Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough.
These projects replace the temporary measures of the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women, which ends in March 2023, and the Women in Construction Fund, which ended in March 2022.
Both calls for proposals close on December 1, 2022.
Eligible organizations are unions representing workers in the Red Seal trades, not-for-profit and for-profit organizations, Indigenous organizations, municipal governments, and provincial and territorial governments, agencies, institutions and Crown Corporations.
The UTIP Stream 2 call for proposals is expected to support approximately 18,300 Red Seal apprentices between 2023–2024 and 2027–2028, while the Women in Skilled Trades Initiative call for proposals is expected to support approximately 10,900 women between 2023–2024 and 2026–2027.
The government says it is also working with provinces and territories to harmonize apprenticeship training requirements in targeted Red Seal trades.
Data from the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum suggests that, to meet the demand for skilled journeypersons in Red Seal trades, an average of 75,000 new apprentices will need to be hired each year for the next five years. Those skilled trades most at risk of not meeting the demand include welder, industrial mechanic (millwright), bricklayer, boilermaker, cook and hairstylist.