B.C. Employer Training Grant

What is the B.C. Employer Training Grant program?

What's new? See what’s new with the ETG program. Learn more.

The Province of British Columbia is committed to building a strong economy. A skilled workforce is essential for strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Building an agile and resilient workforce—one with the right mix of skills to respond to the evolving demands of the labour market—provides B.C. enterprises with a strategic competitive advantage for productivity and innovation.   

For individual British Columbians, skills development increases participation in the labour market and provides a key to adapting to the changing world of work.

Receive up to $300,000 for Skills Training

The B.C. Employer Training Grant provides funding to small, medium and large enterprises to support skills training for their workforces, including prospective new hires.   

The intent of this program is to help British Columbians access the skills training required to adapt to the labour market’s changing job requirements, while also encouraging employer involvement in skills training.   

The Employer Training Grant helps employers pay for training, which in turn helps employees experience increased job security or move into better jobs.   

Employers can apply as often as they need and receive 80 per cent of the cost of training up to $10,000 per employee, with a maximum annual amount per employer of $300,000.

For more information about the program, please email ETG@gov.bc.ca.

1. Create a Business BCeID account. This provides secure electronic access to online government services
2. Identify who needs training and pick a training provider
3. Use the Business BCeID account to apply online through the ETG’s Skills Training Grants System*
4. Receive decision
5. Begin training
6. Submit a reimbursement claim

*Important: Please apply early to help ensure you receive a decision on your application before the training start date. Training may begin before an employer receives a decision. If training begins and the application is denied, the employer will be responsible for all costs.

Additional Details:

• Training must result in increased job security or a better job* for a current employee** once training is completed, or a job for an unemployed person.
• The Province will reimburse employers 80 per cent of eligible training costs. The employer must contribute the remaining 20 per cent.
• Employers are eligible to receive up to $10,000 per participant and up to $300,000 per fiscal year (April 1 – March 31).
• At the time of application, participants must be unemployed, or employed by the applicant employer.**
• Employers must submit their application on their own behalf, using their Business BCeID. Third parties cannot apply on an employer’s behalf.
• Participants must submit their own Participant Information Forms before an application can be submitted. Employers cannot submit these on an employee’s behalf.
• If approved, employers (not participants) are to pay for all costs in full and, after training has started, submit a reimbursement claim within 30 days.
• Employee participants must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada). Temporary foreign workers, international students, or other temporary residents are ineligible.
• Training cannot be longer than 52 weeks in length. Note that the ETG does not fund diploma or degree programs, in full or in part.

*A “better job” is defined as:

• Increased pay
• Promotion or advancement to another position
• Move from part-time to full-time employment
• Move from temporary/casual/seasonal employment to permanent employment

** For employers looking to hire workers that have been directly or indirectly impacted by local economic disruptions, such as tariffs or mass layoffs in forestry or other sectors, the ETG may support training for participants employed by another employer at the time of application.

Please review the complete program Eligibility Criteria before applying.

Priority Applications

The ETG uses a prioritization system to manage applications and ensure equitable access of available funding.  Applications receive points based on how many priority factors are met. In total, there are six priority factors:

• first-time applicants
• small businesses
• regions facing the greatest skills shortages
• training delivered by a B.C. public post-secondary institution 
• trades apprenticeship levels 3 or 4 
• industries facing the greatest skills shortages, including Look West priority sectors:
  • Aerospace
  • Agriculture and Food Processing 
  • AI and Quantum Computing
  • Construction Innovation
  • Education
  • Health Care
  • Life Sciences
  • Maritime
  • Social Services
  • Tourism 

Applications that meet more priority factors are placed higher in the queue. Depending on funding availability, applications that meet fewer priority factors may be returned unassessed.

Learn more about B.C.'s labour market and industries and B.C.’s Look West strategy.

Processing Time

Applicants will be notified that their applications are approved, denied or returned unassessed within 60 days. Applicants should apply early, well before their training start dates to know the outcome of their applications before training starts.
 

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