Canada-Alberta Job Grant

The Canada-Alberta Job Grant is closed for applications until March 31, 2025. This closure is due to the federal government's decision to cut funding delivered under the Canada-Alberta Labour Market Transfer Agreement.

Applications submitted prior to the closure will continue to be processed. You can read more about the reasons for this closure in the Minister’s Statement.

Overview

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.

Canada-Alberta Job Grant Applicant Guide

Canada-Alberta Job Grant Portal

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.

An employer is eligible for up to a maximum amount of $300,000 per fiscal year.

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 are not eligible training costs through the CAJG program.

Eligibility

Eligible employers

To be eligible, employers must have current or potential employees who need training to fill current or future positions.

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)

Eligible trainees

CAJG trainees must be employees (current or prospective) and 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
family members employed with the applicant company for more than 3 months

Trainee employment may be verified.

Ineligible trainees

The following individuals are ineligible:

company owners (includes shareholders of a corporation and any member of the employer's board or council) of businesses with more than 4 employees
family members who are not current employees
Temporary Foreign Workers, or anyone temporarily working in Canada

Refer to the Canada-Alberta Job Grant Applicant Guide for complete eligibility criteria.

Training providers

Employers are responsible for finding appropriate training providers and programs.

Training providers must be:

a third party
separate and distinct from the employer
training must be a main business activity

The employer applicant cannot be the training provider.

Trainees cannot be an employee of the training provider and the training provider may not employ the individual it is training.

Training

Eligible training

Training must:

total a minimum of 21 instructional hours per trainee per application
start after application is received
be courses (listed separately) that start within 6 months
be completed within 52 weeks of the training courses’ start date
result in some credential (record of completion, certification, grade and so on)

Training may be delivered on a full or part-time basis, and may be any combination of online, on-site or in a classroom setting.

Apprenticeship Technical Training programs and self-study models like instructional books or DVDs are not supported by the Canada-Alberta Job Grant.

Trainees receiving Employment Insurance (EI)

Employers must declare on the Canada-Alberta Job Grant Application if their trainee is receiving Employment Insurance (EI) benefits.

A trainee receiving EI benefits must notify their EI case worker of the training as soon as possible, to ensure they continue to receive their benefits.

How to apply

Canada-Alberta Job Grant applications must be submitted through the online portal.

Step 1: Read the Applicant Guide

Canada-Alberta Job Grant Applicant Guide

Step 2: Complete the correct application for your trainees

Go to Canada-Alberta Job Grant Portal to complete the application.

Canada-Alberta Job Grant Portal

You only need to submit one application for all trainees taking the same training at the same time.

Check the Applicant Guide every time you apply to make sure you are up to date on the program requirements. If the application or supporting documents are incomplete your application will be rejected.

It is recommended that applications be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the start date of the training. Applications are not considered 'received' by the CAJG until ALL trainees have submitted their consent via email.

Receiving payment

In order to receive payment after applying online, complete these steps:

Step 1: Read the Training Completion checklist

CAJG Training Completion Form Checklist

Step 2: Fill out the Training Completion Application form

Access Canada-Alberta Job Grant Portal to complete the Training Completion Application form. (Use the Create/Resume Training Completion Application button on the top left of the approved file.)

Refer to the correct applicant guide, that was active when you applied, for the correct program requirements.

If the Training Completion Application form is not accessible, check your initial Employer Application form for the course’s end date. The Training Completion Application form is only accessible after completing all the courses listed in your application. If all the courses are completed, contact [email protected] with the new end date(s) for the course(s) on this file.

Employers may choose to receive 2 payment instalments by contacting the Canada-Alberta Job Grant team and requesting an interim reimbursement. This request can be made by contacting us via email with the reference number. However, all training must have been paid to qualify for the interim reimbursement.

Acceptance of the interim payment will mean you need to submit the second half of the Training Completion Application form at the end of the training to:

receive the second payment
keep the first payment

Delays in both payments may occur if interim reimbursement is not submitted until after training is completed.

If the employed trainee paid for the training costs, documentation must be included to show the employer has reimbursed the trainee for the full training amount paid to the training provider and any approved travel costs incurred by the trainee. Unemployed trainees are not permitted to fund their own training costs.

The Training Completion form must be submitted within 30 days of finishing training.

Providing payment information

The Government of Alberta's preferred method of payment is Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). It is a faster and more secure way to ensure your company is reimbursed without error. If you wish to receive payment by way of an EFT, you must upload the Application for Electronic Payment along with a void cheque or a bank stamp and signature from the bank on the form into the Canada-Alberta Job Grant Portal when submitting your Training Completion form.