Funding Available for Employee Training in Alberta
The Canada-Alberta Job Grant is a training program where an employer applies on behalf of their present or future employees for eligible training costs. Employers decide who gets training and what type of training may be needed for their employees.
Funding provided by the Government of Canada through the Workforce Development Agreement.
See Canada-Alberta Job Grant Applicant Guide for more information.
Up to $10,000
of funding available for individual employee training (covering 66% of training costs)
Up to $15,000
of funding available to hire and train an unemployed Albertan (covering up to 100% of training costs)
Up to $300,000
available to individual employers per fiscal year
Funding
Eligible employers are required to contribute a minimum of one-third of the total training costs for existing employees. Government contributes two-thirds of the cost to a maximum of $10,000 per trainee per fiscal year. If hiring and training an unemployed Albertan, up to 100% of training costs could be covered, up to $15,000 per trainee.
Individual employers will have a cap of $300,000 for the amount of grant funding they can receive per fiscal year. This ensures that funding is available for as many Alberta employers as possible.
The CAJG is available for direct training costs only, including:
- tuition fees or instructional fees charged by the training provider
- mandatory student fees
- examination fees
- textbooks or software
- other required materials directly relevant to the training course and distinct from materials required to run the employer’s business
- eligible travel cost for participant and trainers (outside of Edmonton and Calgary) when training is over 100 km one way within Alberta for small and medium-sized organizations (see Appendix A of the Applicant Guide for details
Employee wages cannot be reimbursed through the grant and Income Support is not available for workers who are in grant-funded training.
Eligibility
Eligible employers
The CAJG is available to:
- private sector employers, including sole proprietors and partnerships
- non-profit sector employers
- First Nations and Metis Settlements
- the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (if in a community with a population of 100,000 or less)
- Alberta Treasury Branches (if in a community with a population of 100,000 or less)
To be eligible, Alberta employers must have current or potential employees who need training to fill current or future positions.
Eligible trainees
CAJG trainees must be one of the following:
- Canadian citizens
- permanent residents
- protected people under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) who are entitled to work in Canada
- business owners (incorporated, unincorporated, sole-proprietor, partnerships) with 4 or fewer employees, including all owners, are now eligible trainees
- employed family members
All eligible trainees must live in Alberta.
For more information, visit the Alberta Government’s page on the Canada-Alberta Job Grant.
Training Programs at Columbia College
For training, employers are required to use a third-party provider, such as Columbia College. A program or course of 21 hours or more qualifies for the grant.
