Deadline: 15-May-24
The Government of Canada is offering grants to support a series of training projects that will help workers upgrade or gain new skills for jobs in the low-carbon economy.
The fund will focus on low-carbon energy and carbon management, green buildings and retrofits, as well as electric vehicle maintenance and charging infrastructure.
Program Objectives
- They’ll fund a series of projects offering free or low-cost training. This training will help workers upgrade or gain new skills for jobs in the low-carbon economy. Projects must focus on 1 of the following 3 priorities:
- Low-carbon energy and carbon management
- As opportunities grow in a net-zero future to use new and existing technologies, the fund will support projects to help workers develop skills for jobs in energy-related sectors. These sectors include wind, solar, geothermal, hydrogen (including vehicles and related infrastructure) and other low-carbon fuels. It will also support skills development for jobs in carbon management, such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage.
- Green buildings and retrofits
- The Fund will support projects that help train a workforce to build and retrofit homes and buildings to reduce energy consumption and achieve low-carbon performance. This includes, but isn’t limited to, installing low-carbon heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment (including heat pumps), energy efficient components, or renewable energy systems.
- Electric vehicle maintenance and charging infrastructure
- The global and domestic mandates for electric vehicles (EVs) are resulting in the need to build and support charging infrastructure across Canada, as well as offer accessible and affordable automotive maintenance for this new type of vehicle. The Fund will support projects that help train the workforce across Canada to support the country’s transition to EVs with a focus on repairing and maintaining EVs, as well as charging infrastructure.
- Low-carbon energy and carbon management
Funding Priorities
- The Government of Canada is taking significant action in response to climate change. As new industries emerge and existing industries pivot to reduce emissions, workers will need to adapt and reskill. By directing investments towards the most critical workforce needs within key sectors, the fund can have an impact on important labour supply pressure points.
- In order to select a diverse range of projects and ensure that the fund will provide the most important opportunities for the low-carbon economy, they may prioritize projects that:
- help ensure the fund has sufficient projects in each priority area
- align with federal government economic and climate priorities
- target key sectors and/or occupations required for the low-carbon economy
- maximize geographic coverage across the country
- maximize the number of participants trained through the Fund
- increase the participation of Indigenous Peoples and/or members of equity-deserving groups
- support the offering of training in both official languages, and
- scale up existing successful initiatives
What this program offers?
- The Sustainable Jobs Training Fund will support a series of training projects that will help workers upgrade or gain new skills for jobs in the low-carbon economy. The Fund will allocate up to $99.1M for projects from 2024 to 2028. Projects will range from $8M to $15M each, with agreements to start as early as Winter 2024.
Eligible Projects
- The Department will accept proposals from organizations that show that they have:
- established partnerships or a proven capacity to develop and support partnerships with employers, unions, training institutions and other relevant stakeholders. Partners may include, for example, provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous governments and organizations, sectoral stakeholders, or organizations representing equity-deserving groups
- in-depth knowledge of skills development, training, and labour market issues with regards to one of the priorities: low-carbon energy and carbon management, green buildings and retrofits; or electric vehicle maintenance and charging infrastructure
- recent experience, within the last 3 years, delivering initiatives that support skills and workforce development, including designing and delivering training programs leading to certifications and/or career pathways in French and/or English
- Projects must:
- demonstrate how they are addressing a training need that is key for 1 of the priorities
- target a minimum of 1,500 participants and benefit a variety of employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- Note: Applications aiming to train less than 1,500 participants will be considered under the low-carbon energy and carbon management priority area only, in which case applicants will need to explain why a smaller target is justified for the type of activities they propose
- have activities that cross jurisdictional boundaries (occurring in at least 2 provinces/territories)
- Note: For projects under the Low-carbon energy and carbon management priority, a narrower geographic scope could be considered where justified to reflect the regional realities of emerging sectors
- convene key stakeholders and forge partnerships to ensure training is demand-driven and addresses skills needs
- end by March 31, 2028
Eligibility Criteria
- Organizations must be 1 of the following:
- not-for-profit organization
- for-profit organization
- Indigenous organization, including:
- band council
- tribal council
- self-government entities
- provincial or territorial government such as:
- institution
- agency
- Crown corporation
For more information, visit Government of Canada.