The Ontario government is offering to help even more people start a new career by giving students up to $28,000 for training through Better Jobs Ontario. The program will assist even more people looking to train for a new in-demand career; this includes people on social assistance, gig workers, youth, and newcomers to the province looking to kick-start their careers.
The residents of Ontario can apply to receive up to $28,000 in funding for costs, including tuition, books, student fees, transportation and a basic living allowance (of up to $500 per week).
On top of this, some people could also be eligible to receive additional funding for childcare, living away from home, disability-related supports and more.
To qualify for Better Jobs Ontario, you either need to have been laid-off (and have not been working or are working at a temporary job) or have been unemployed for six months or longer and be part of a low-income household.
You can still apply if you receive either:
- Employment Insurance (EI)
- Ontario Works (OW)
- Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
According to the government, better Jobs Ontario focuses on programs that take 52 weeks or less to complete. If you want to attend a program longer than one year, you will have to apply to OSAP.
Fast-track application
A fast-track stream is available if you were laid off because of COVID-19 and want to retrain for jobs in sectors with potential future employment.
If your application meets all the following criteria, you will go through a faster approval process, giving you access to training sooner:
- You were laid off on or after March 1, 2020.
- You have a high school education or less; you were laid off from an occupation requiring no more than a high school education and job-specific training, such as food and beverage servers, flight attendants and retail salespersons.
- You were laid-off from an industry hit hard by the pandemic, such as hospitality and food services, transportation and warehousing or wholesale and retail trade.
- You want to train for a career in demand in a local community or provincial priority area.
Get in touch with one of our student advisors today to discuss your study plans and funding application. Please email us at [email protected] or fill out this assessment to get you promptly started.