Employment Ontario
(Formerly Human Resources and Skills Development Program HRSDC)

Program Objectives:

• The purpose of the program is to provide support to unemployed Employment Insurance eligible individuals without marketable skills, to find the most direct route possible to employment, resulting in savings to the Employment Insurance Account.
• The objective of the Skills Development Program is to provide a negotiated level of financial assistance to individuals who require skills training in order to secure employment.  Eligible individuals, who are approved under the Skills Development Program select, arrange and pay for their own training.

How does it work?
An application for funding under the Benefit must be approved by Employment Ontario in advance of the applicant commencing training.

Duration?
Agreements are generally for up to 52 weeks, but may be approved for a period of up to three years.

Financial Parameters?

• Individuals currently on an active Employment Insurance claim may continue to receive their regular Employment Insurance benefits until the end of their benefit period;
• Individuals who participate in Employment Ontario are normally required to make a contribution towards the cost of their training;
• Funding may be provided to cover all or a portion of the cost of tuition of a course or program of instruction and/or living expenses;
• Funding may be provided to individuals to cover all or a portion of the cost of required books, software and related expenses for a course of instruction;
• Assistance, negotiated on an individual basis with a program official, may be provided to cover all or part of incremental costs due to participation such as expenses relating to dependant care, disability needs, transportation and accommodations;

Who can apply?

• Eligible participants are those who, according to the Employment Insurance Act, are unemployed individuals:

a) for whom an unemployment benefit period has been established or has ended within the 36 months prior to the date of requesting assistance; or
 
b) for whom a benefit period that included a maternity or parental claim has been established within the 60 months prior to the date of requesting assistance, after which the individual remained out of the labour market in order to care for a newborn or newly adopted child and is now seeking to re-enter the labour force.

• The date the completed application is received by the Commission is when an individual is considered to have requested assistance for the purpose of determining whether you qualify as an ‘insured participant’.Other criteria may apply.

How do I apply?

You must complete the Employment Ontario application form (EMP 5259) to make your request for assistance. As part of the application process, it will be necessary for the applicant to receive an employment assessment and develop a Return to Work Action Plan with a case manager. The case manager's statement is required before the Commission can assess an application. Please contact your  local Employment Ontario for information on where you can receive this service.
For more information visit http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/tcu/etlanding.html

 

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