Federal employment minister Jason Kenney and provincial jobs ministers say they are making progress on the contentious Canada Job Grant program, but that more talks are needed.
"I did ensure my provincial colleagues that we are flexible in the potential design of such a program," Kenney said during a press conference on November 8 following a meeting between Kenney and the provinces in Toronto.
The provinces have been unimpressed with the Canada Job Grant, which was introduced in the 2013 federal budget. Under the new program, the provinces will lose 60% of their skills training transfers previously available under the Labour Markets Agreements program, which targets funding to low-skilled workers.
The federal government, provinces and employers are expected to each fund one-third of the grants. The maximum amount of grant for each worker is $15,000.
Business groups say the program will be too expensive for small businesses. On November 7, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce called for more flexibility and for the program to be tailored to the needs of individual provinces and territories.
Kenney said the one-third, one-third, one-third funding formula may be too rigid.
"One of the pieces of constructive criticisms we heard ... [was that] this would discourage smaller businesses from participating," Kenney said.
"As long as we a business puts in a minimum of 15%, we'd be flexible in how the provinces administer those ratios, to increase small business participation."
Employers can also work together to share training costs, Kenney said. For example, a group of businesses could approach a college to develop a specialized training program.
Since Canadian employers consistently spend less on training their employees than other countries, the new grant program is designed to push businesses to commit funds for training, Kenney said.
While the provinces have criticized the new program for being a "one size fits all" approach, Kenney said he hoped to "reach 13 agreements, with 13 provinces and territories."
The deadline to reach an agreement on the skills training funding is March 1, 2014. The provinces and territories will also discuss the issue at an upcoming Council of the Federation meeting on November 15.
