Ontario Job Grant - OJG

Description

The Ontario Job Grant (OJG) provides funding to help businesses train their employees and update their skills. This helps employers ensure their workforce has the right skills to adapt to a changing economy. 

Funding for the Ontario Job Grant is provided in part by the Government of Canada through the Canada-Ontario Labour Market Development Agreement. 

The grant lets employers choose who to train, and what skills to focus on to address their needs. Employers can use the grant to train: 

• existing employees to upgrade their skills 
• new hires, whether currently employed elsewhere or previously unemployed (a new hire is a trainee with an identified job opportunity) within the employer's workforce that has been provided with an offer of employment prior to training) 

An approved third-party training provider must deliver the training. 

Grant details: 

The OJG supports eligible training costs up to a maximum of $10,000 per trainee, with additional flexibility for small employers. 

Employers with 100 or more employees:

For employers with 100 or more employees, the government will cover half of the training costs, and the employer needs to contribute the other half, regardless of whether employees were previously unemployed. 

Employers with fewer than 100 employees: 

Employers with under 100 employees are required to pay at least one-sixth of the training costs of each trainee. If the employer is training new hires who were previously unemployed, they are eligible for up to $15,000 per trainee and not required to make a minimum contribution to training costs funded through the program. This means an employer may be eligible for 100% funding. 

Note: Employers must not use trainees to displace existing staff or replace staff who are on lay-off.