If you’re currently unemployed, the Ontario Government is making it easier and faster for laid-off workers, underemployed individuals, and anyone who has been on Employment Insurance (EI) after 2005 to access the Second Career program.
What is Second Career funding?
This program enables you to upgrade your skills that are required for jobs in demand now, and at the same time, receive financial support up to $28,000 for costs that cover:
- Tuition
- Books
- Manuals, workbooks, or other instructional costs
- Transportation
- Basic living allowance (maximum $410 per week)
- Child care
Are you qualified for Second Career?
See the criteria below to find out if you’re eligible to apply for Second Career.
- Be a resident in Ontario
- You have worked in Canada
- You have been laid off and have not been working
- You have been laid off and are working a temporary job just to cover costs
- You have received EI any time after 2005
If you have been laid off in one of the sectors most impacted by COVID-19 since March 1, 2020, or have been receiving employment insurance (EI), you may benefit from being fast-tracked in the program. We extracted from the official website of Ministry of Labour, Training and Skill Development.
Which applications are being fast-tracked?
While the Second Career program is open to all laid-off workers and jobseekers, priority is given to applications for people who were laid off because of COVID-19 and want to retrain or academic upgrading for jobs in sectors that have good potential for the future employment.
Applications that meet all the following criteria will go through a faster approval process, helping people get access to training sooner:
- The applicant was laid off on or after March 1, 2020.
- The applicant has a high school education or less or was laid off from an occupation requiring no more than a high school education and job-specific training, such as food and beverage servers, manufacturing sector, flight attendants, and retail salespersons.
- The applicant was laid off from an industry hit hard by the pandemic, such as hospitality and food services, transportation and warehousing, or wholesale and retail trade.
- The applicant wants to train for a career in demand in local communities or provincial priority areas.
How long are the trainings?
The Second Career program aims to help people rejoin the workforce quickly by providing the student aid in funding within Ontario province or territory. That’s why the program focuses on supporting training programs that take 52 weeks or less, for both full-time students and part-time students, including micro-credential programs. It’s a perfect grant for full time students who seek a student financial assistance.
There is a grace period until January 8, 2021, where Second Career applications for extended training programs will be accepted if the training program starts before February 1, 2021. Second Career clients from an employment service who have already been approved for funding will not be affected.
Ready to reinvent your career?
Our college offers a list of programs suitable to your passion and interest as well as career eligibility and demand occupations, so you can bounce back to the workforce immediately.
- Business Administration
- Computerized Accounting with Office Administration
- International Business Management – Finance
- Supply Chain and Logistics Management
- Accounting and Payroll Administration
- Personal Support Worker
- Cisco and Red Hat Engineering
- Systems Administrator – Cloud
- Database Administration and Big Data Predictive Analysis
- Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
- Enterprise IT Management
- Enterprise LINUX Administration
- ERP Information Systems Technical Consultant
- IT Support with Software Quality Assurance
- Network (LAN/WAN) Administration
- PC Support Technician
- System Administrator (LINUX/UNIX)
- Medical and Health Office Administrator
- Early Chidlcare Assistant
How to apply for Second Career in Ontario?
Take advantage of this funding because not only will tuition and books be covered, but also your basic living expenses so that you can work part time to get the dependent care covered, for instance. And this is not of one of a student loans, means that you won’t need to pay the funding back. Have you been laid off since January or last year? Get your training and skills development at Canadian College for Higher Studies and stay current with your new skills in the labour market. Please contact us at [email protected] for a free Second Career information session for our Second Career questions and answers. Our seasoned student advisor would be happy to guide you through the admission requirements as well as eligibility checklist as provided by Employment Ontario!